This Outcast Is a Welcome Return for an Open-World Pioneer

Chances are many gamers might not remember the original Outcast game that released in 1999. It was widely considered one of the early, if not first, open world RPG games. The newest title, Outcast – A New Beginning, debuted amid a historic glut of releases praised as among the best of all time. Can this relatively low-profile title defy expectations and compete in a crowded market?

My interest was piqued by videos that showed off distinctive settings, jet pack navigation options, and shooter gameplay reminiscent of Just Cause or Far Cry with the challenge of taking over its lush open world one base at a time. This Outcast, as it turns out, is a deeper experience that adds jet pack actions, special abilities and a branching story enriched with strong world building.

Initial impressions are a little bit of a mixed bag. The presentation is not as polished or detailed as one might expect from a modern RPG, however, inspired and beautiful art design help elevate the appearance of this alien world. Colorful, creative models for Adelpha’s flora and fauna combine with unique Talan clothing, facilities and interiors to suggest a kind of pastoral existence long attuned with this natural setting.

The impressive design comes to life with myriad ambient sounds – especially the unusual calls of varied creatures in each habitat – and a Talan language that feels authentic and interesting (though just as the game picks up, English is substituted – a missed opportunity as the main character could have learned it along with the player via the latter’s use of an intuitive glossary option during dialog).

Music accompanies much of one’s exploration and thankfully is a sweeping score that lends itself well to the open world and the player’s epic journey of discovery. All combined, the presentation is evocative and immersive, establishing a solid foundation from which to build this world and introduce a narrative that explores not only Talan society past and present, but the main character’s history and the threat to them both.

In fact, the world building on display by developer Appeal Studios goes beyond the superficial presentation to reveal a vibrant Talan culture coming to grips with the fateful events of the first game and their newest threat of robot invaders, and how their institutions, leaders and defenders attempt to cope with these influences as well as the return of a main character, Cmdr. Cutter Slade, who may be their savior.
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Early on, players are introduced to Talans representing different social classes. (Spoiler alert) A Dolotai Guardian enlists Slade to help Talans despite being an outcast herself. A village chief seeks collaboration with Talan invaders to hasten their departure. And a priest helps outsider Slade in order to save children he cares for. But how the oracle Almayal is affected and their beliefs challenged is especially interesting to me.

Such distinct personalities and biases influence how they behave toward Slade and other Talans. This comes into play as Slade navigates story quests or side quests, which can improve Talan trust, unite separate villages, repel invaders and reunite Slade with his family. Slade’s backstory, in fact, is slowly revealed, as is the story of alien collaborators. These different threads craft a satisfying interwoven story, at least to start with.

All this brings us to the gameplay. Players begin by selecting between story, easy, normal or hard difficulties that can be changed at any time, and accessibility options in the form of vision modes and/or subtitles. Playing on the Xbox Series X initial options include right thumbstick for camera (toggle down for crouch/sneak) and left for movement (toggle down for sprint). The B button is for jumping, though another missed opportunity is grabbing ledges or climbing, which would help with navigation challenges.

These standard elements also include use of the menu button to access a skill tree, inventory, database (for bestiary/characters/diaries/glossary) and settings. Soon, actions are added such as jet pack launch (A) or dodge (B), shield activation (left bumper) or attack (X), scan (down on directional pad), and shoot (right trigger), and upgrades unlocked including a jet pack double jump or glide and new or enhanced combat options.

Slade can gather a variety of items from the environment, fallen foes or loot crates that can help on his journey, such as green helidium (ammo and increased weapon damage), blue helidium (jet pack upgrades), robot nano cells (combat upgrades), plants like eluee (health recovery) and creature parts. The latter two can be combined to craft potions. Collectibles like statues encourage exploration.

Scanning helps identify items in the world, while enemy drops or loot crates are highlighted for easy discovery. Most of the time. One annoyance is how loot will sometimes get stuck in the environment, like a floor, making it inaccessible. You know what also gets stuck in floors? Enemies. That turns victims into amusing dolls or live foes into easy targets. Thankfully Slade has yet to get stuck.

Adelpha is well designed for combat and exploration, with a variety of biomes and rock formations and an emphasis on verticality in some areas. This works for jet pack navigation but some obstacles can break fluid forward motion, such as short ledges that can’t be climbed, a finicky sprint control made worse with a slow-start animation (so players have to wait to know it works), and low ceilings that interfere with jet pack jumps off cliffs.

The latter can be a problem with timed navigation challenges such as those involving shrines. One also confounded with a spirit guide that floated too far in midair until I realized that I needed to unlock other jet pack abilities. That’s fine, but it would have helped to have an alert at the start of the challenge like some games do, such as “you can’t access this,” “your skill level is too low to compete,” etc., so players don’t waste time.

Despite such shortcomings, jet pack travel and the free roam nature of each setting encourage near constant movement whether surveying Talan or fighting enemies. Players will run into boundaries like fog or notifications to stay on the path/task, and even be returned to the proper location when leaping too far afield. Slade also can’t be killed when falling, as the jet pack automatically fires before touching the ground.

But these guardrails don’t feel restrictive as accessible areas are expansive and allow freedom of movement to a large degree. Scaling heights or diving underwater can yield loot or collectibles such as statues, though more impressive finds in hard to reach places would encourage more investigation. Nonetheless, the terrain, Talan structures or ruins, and lifeforms are inspiration enough for me to search Adelpha high and low.

The journey won’t be unimpeded as invading forces and predatory or corrupted creatures dot this alien landscape. Slade has been tasked not only with clearing out numerous bases established by the robot enemies, but with neutralizing Gork eruptions that corrupt respective locales and wildlife. His firearm will harm foes, but so can his shield when used as a melee weapon. And the jet pack allows quick movement to avoid enemy strikes.

A good example of the combat is using the jet pack to surprise foes or assault others behind cover or on a platform above, approaching on foot while alternating between the shield and firearm then, when up close, using the jet pack to dodge between foes and land shield blows. The action is fast, furious and satisfying. The same tactics apply to Gork eruptions and infected creatures, but player options allow different approaches to each challenge.

As with other things there are a few caveats. Namely, enemy AI is literally hit or miss. On the one hand, they fight in groups and will surround players, sometimes constantly moving and seeking cover. On the other, some foes on occasion will stand in place until killed (robot snipers in particular). If you happen to find yourself wading in water during a firefight, targeting airborne enemies can be problematic as the underwater camera perspective obscures one's view.

For his part, Slade's weapon can overheat and he can be killed by enemies, but will respawn at the nearest checkpoint with full health. It's worth noting that health, shield and jet pack gauges are included in the HUD along with a minimap marked with Slade's objectives, which not only include conquering enemy bases but opening portals after earning villagers' trust (portals unlock fast travel options). Key to earning trust are side quests and conversation in the form of nested dialog trees.

​Overall, Outcast – A New Beginning appears to be a well crafted, open world adventure game that is entertaining to play despite occasional issues or the trope of the familiar savior come to free a hapless indigenous population. There are positive similarities to Far Cry, Just Cause and even the movie Avatar, with unique jet pack navigation options, impressive world building/design and a branching story that all help this game stand out as a title worth one's time.

​(This post was based on a review code of Outcast – A New Beginning for Xbox Series X/S. The game is also available on PC and PlayStation 5.)

(Be sure to check out additional images here: Screenshots.)