Outcast – A New Beginning Review: Stuck in the Past

Open-world can be one of the most challenging video game genres to design into an engaging player experience. Developers either make an oversized empty world with little to do or fill it with stuff until it becomes a cluttered mess. Among the pioneers of this type of game, the one that revolutionized its design was Outcast in 1999. Before many picked up their Nintendo Switch to play in boundless Hyrule, we had Cutter Slade, who introduced us to non-linear exploration. Over a decade later, Outcast – A New Beginning has returned but sadly offers nothing that reinvents or appeals to open-world lovers.

Outcast – A New Beginning Review

Outcast – A New Beginning feels like a beautifully decorated cake; however, upon tasting it, you realize it lacks the sugary sweetness a cake should have. Still, it is an experience that excels in visual design; I would even say it is among the best looking among all the open worlds we’ve seen recently. But that’s as far as it goes. While the non-linear gameplay is entertaining, nothing encourages you to explore. Add to that technical glitches, lousy animations, and stiff combat, and you’re not left with much to enjoy on this adventure.

Story: Liberating Adelpha

First of all, it is not necessary to play the first Outcast to understand A New Beginning. While Cutter Slade returns, you won’t feel lost for skipping out on the prequel. Conversely, you will instead feel lost because of all the mumbo-jumbo of terms and locations, but more on that later. Our ex-Navy SEAL turned hero is transported to Adelpha, a colorful planet that lives under the oppression of humans and their killer machines. If it reminds you of James Cameron’s Avatar, you’re on the right track. To return to his home world, Cutter must liberate the planet by accomplishing either of two missions: arming Adelpha’s soldiers or encouraging them to perform a mating ritual.

Since I consider myself a great wingman, I obviously opted to help the inhabitants of Adelpha procreate. To do this, you must assist all the villages in any order you want. Once you finish the tutorial, you can go wherever you like. I decided to go to the initial settlement to help an adventurer hatch an egg. From there, I went to a fishing town to help them with their activities. These storylines are quite engaging and grow even more so, thanks to their well-crafted characters. However, there was a clear headache during my adventure: its lore.

Frankly, one must be as attentive as possible to understand all the jargon the game throws at you. There are more strange lore and character names in one village than in the entire Star Wars saga put together. While I love sci-fi, the barrage of confusing terminology stifled my enjoyment and emotional investment in the world I was in. Although there is a glossary to explain things, the descriptions are unclear. Eventually, I got disconnected from some stories because there was too much to memorize and recall. Overall, the narrative isn’t bad, but it’s not too friendly when it introduces you to its universe and how it works.

Gameplay: Icons Galore

Modern open-world experiences are packed with icons and activities to do. Glance at their maps, and you’ll see areas full of activities that will cause those with OCD to faint. While these mechanics aren’t something new, they were a letdown as I played Outcast – A New Beginning. Even more so when the studio said Breath of the Wild was its inspiration. If it only took the non-linear element from it, the developers nailed it. But being that the first Outcast set the standard for boundless exploration, I don’t see what they took as inspiration to make this installment something different or appealing.

For starters, we have a wonderful world that is truly unparalleled. The environment is a visual wonder, from the canopy jungles that touch the sky and are rich in vegetation to the plains full of wildlife. Yet, there’s not much to explore, and the fact that everything was already marked on the map to see took away that feeling of discovery. I would have loved to encounter enemies without being notified with red map icons. Taking to the skies and stumbling across a base by chance might have been a unique discovery, but the huge icons ruined any mystery to be had. As a result, I quickly found myself finishing optional activities out of boredom, not for fun.

Another thing that I disliked was the outdated combat. You have two weapons and several mystical abilities that help you against your enemies. Yes, there are many modules to modify your guns that outshine Dead Space 3‘s systems, but if the enemies don’t present much of a challenge, what’s it there for? While the gunplay is good, melee fighting feels like forcing someone who hasn’t moved in years to throw a punch. Thankfully, that’s where the stiffness stops because traversing Alphea is one of the most enjoyable things I’ve seen since playing the Just Cause series.

With mounts or your flying squirrel glider, getting from Point A to Point B felt incredible. Outcast – A New Beginning made its traversal mechanics entertaining when going between each activity. As I said, I didn’t like how cluttered the map was with activities, but I never used fast travel because flying about while swerving past trees and enemies and landing in style was a blast. It’s a shame A New Beginning lacked a better open-world mission design, as this sequel could have rivaled many of the big games in the genre. 

Graphics & Audio: A Visual Wonder

Of all this game’s shortcomings and disappointments, the design of the world was not one. The art direction is second to none regarding environmental design. While this decade has been full of open worlds with memorable zones, Outcast – A New Beginning could compete against the giants of the genre. Each village reminded me of James Cameron’s latest work. You might recall Pandora’s established tribes and how iconic each locale is. The same happens here. From its inhabitants to their daily activities, it all comes together to breathe life into this world.

I don’t have much to say about the audio besides that it is there. There are no memorable tracks, but not bad ones either. The voice acting is decent, and once Cutter Slade learns the language of the world and the natives start “speaking English,” it’s a lot of fun. Each inhabitant of this planet has distinct personalities that make the game entertaining while advancing certain missions. Seeing more care in the lipsync would have been nice because I rarely saw the audio match the character animations. But overall, it wasn’t something that ruined my experience.

Conclusion: A Flavorless But Beautiful Adventure

Outcast – A New Beginning is a visual delight. Instead of leaving me with a satisfied sense of invested fulfillment after liberating the planet, my experience left me feeling like a passing tourist who was only partially impressed by their visit. The characters and narratives are interesting but confusing due to their jargon’s lack of explanation. The combat is stiff, but fortunately, the traversal system contrasts this with different slick options that become addictive after a while. For a series that gave a lot to the genre, it offers nothing new to stand out from the sea of open worlds we have nowadays.

Review copy given by Publisher.