Outward Definitive Edition

This game has a lot of flaws. Some of them are not bugs but features. Combat is difficult... or it is extremely easy. The well stocked, well rested bandits in their lair fall by the dozen to your bow, but the pair of desperate bandits in the wild that are half starved will survive your traps, ambush, and make you burn all your pathetic abilities and still beat you down. My biggest complaint is that you get stronger though your gear. Wander and train and study all you want, you never get more HP or devastating skills, but that sword over there will make you legendary. As a retired Soldier, I can honestly state that the person behind the weapon matters a lot more than the weapon itself. I find the lack of character development sad (there are abilities, but they do not live up to their name of "breakthrough" abilities. Also, you need to pay someone to teach you new things - there is no exp). I do not understand why I can swing a sword every day but never get better at it. Does my character have some sort of wasting disease? This style might appeal to some, but I found it to be overly disappointing.

If it is on sale, buy it. Outward is a unique open world game in that it takes bits from multiple genres. I have given it 5 stars not because it is perfect, but because this game is so solid in the areas that they wanted to deliver on. Let me breakdown my thoughts. - There is a crafting system that includes a nomber of weapons, clothes, food, potions, etc. But it has that DayZ extreme survivalist feel. Weather, temp, and other environmental effects can cause a number of debuffs if you are not properly dressed or don't have the proper consumables needed. Naturally, there are a number of potions, teas, food, etc. that will 'cure' you. I love this kind of challenge. But if you don't, this game is not for you. - There is a large array of weapons and magic. Skills are purchased from trainers and there is not a level system. It is all based on gear. Again, this could be a pro/con depending on player. I like not having to worry about where to dump points for a change. This also is great because there are no classes either! You can use what ever weapon, armor, magic you need to for a certain quest, situation, or play style. - Co-op mode is where this game absolutely shines. Y'know how people want to play Mount and Blade or Skyrim w/ friends? Well this nails that! No mods needed! Online AND Splitscreen! Too few open world RPGs have this included. This is why this game is an absolute 5 for me. Improvements: - I wish you could enter more of the buildings in the game. Cities in this game have sooo many buildings in them! They look cool & unique, but you can only enter a handful of them which is disappointing. The buildings you can go into are very detailed! - Ability to interact with more NPCs. Lots of mobile & unique looking NPCs but you can only talk to a few - Major lack of lore makes it not as interesting or immersive. Dialogue includes hints, but you are left w/ so many questions Outward 2 is in the works! I am very excited for the next installment.

This game is harsh to the newcomer, the learning curve is cruel, but for a good reason. The survival aspect is often neglected in adventure games, you must learn how to live efficiently to prosper. The game really shines at the coop feature - imagine Skyrim ou Dark Souls I with a fully integrated mechanic like this? Buy it, and try to not ragequit at your first couple dozen of deaths

If you like otehr games like Runescape Dragonwilds or Enshrouded then this game has all of that and more, the graphics on this game are also excellent and the playability is very much on par with those other titles mentioned. I got this for 8 dollars, what a steal, over 60 hours in and I haven't even cleared the 1st and 2nd zones. Lets hope it keeps delivering. Man worth every penny!

I rate it higher than I enjoy it. This could be so much more fun, but most people are dead set on "this is a great game because it's difficult and it makes you think". Same was said about, I dunno, Dark Souls. But aside from the type of game, the real difference is walking/running and overall approach to dealing with encounters: if you don't have proper gear, you either have to cheese a lot or, you have the gear and it's made trivial. It's supposed to emphasize the ideology of preparing for something. Except the game has two things working against each other: limited storage and lots of small things that helps with different types of enemies. You're supposed to organize and haul only the necessary things, but it's made meaningless because there's lots of different enemies, packed in small/medium sized maps. It feels weird to prepare for a small dungeon like you'd prepare for a whole journey across the continent. Really, all that wouldn't be that much of a bother if there were more ways to move around faster. Funnily enough there is one way: die. Unless you choose hardcore which gives you a chance to die, if you're downed you will have a scenario that depends on the zone and where in the zone you are. From getting rescued and given help, through being left in the zone's town to getting kidnapped by monsters where you need to get out. Which sometimes make you move quite far - good in first 10-20% of progress in the zone, later on it's a nice mechanic. Overall, I like minimalistic approach to skills, no experience, small passive bonuses - but it feels stiff. And I mean the whole thing. I wish more games had moving combat rather than "stand still and do an attack while watching the enemy do their attack and you can't really do anything at this point". Still, it's a fun game overall. I recommend speed hack for walking. Because there's a lot of it.