Review of Outcast – A New Beginning – old soldier back in service

When Outcast released in 1999, it was a miracle for many gamers. The sequel was supposed to be created over many years, but it was realized only in recent years, thanks to which we now have Outcast – A New Beginning, the qualities of which we will consider in the following paragraphs of our review.

• Platform: PC (review), PS5, Xbox Series X/S
• Publication date: 03.15.2024
• Manufacturer: Appeal studios
• Genre: Action adventure game
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: No
• Download data: 37 GB
• Game time: 25 – 35 hours
• Price: 1299 CZK (Alsa)

Slade is in trouble again in Outcast – A New Beginning

After his last mission, Cutter Slade disappeared for a long time. But now he is back and again faced with the same situation as in the past, which in practice means that he finds himself in front of a portal to a world in trouble. The main character’s only goal is not so much to help the locals, but to try to get out of the “newly” discovered planet.

But, as is often the case, it is not enough for him to do it alone, which forces him to ask for the help of a native, thus beginning an adventure in many ways that is perhaps too reminiscent of the theme used in Avatar: Pandora Frontier. , with the only difference that the player communicates not with monumental alien creatures, but with humanoids, which, unfortunately, are very similar to what Outcast offered from 1999.

The main idea of ​​the story is not revolutionary at all. That’s why my favorite part is the fact that it features the aforementioned Cutter Slade. Why this is so is not so much a nostalgic connection as it is the treatment of it in Outcast – A New Beginning. This is because he is an old action hero who shows that he has already done something and makes it clear. But he has a clear goal in the form of uniting all tribes in the name of expelling the conquerors, and he is determined to achieve it, despite all the troubles that aging brings.

To be able to complete the task, he must always fulfill orders in individual villages. Washing machines are revealed to you gradually in settlements, and they are often connected throughout the map, so you will rarely see everything you have to do right after arriving. For example, a mountain village full of sages asks you to interact with alien bug larvae. If you succeed, you will start other lines, at the end of which you will receive a special ability associated with that tribe. In this case, they are more likely evil alien “wasps.” In the villages, in addition to those giving tasks, you will find villagers living their own lives and various specialists led by a merchant, amplifier and alchemist, with whom you create healing and strengthening potions from ubiquitous herbs.

A beautiful but hard to believe world

To create potions in Outcast – A New Beginning, in addition to herbs, you will also need additional biological material, which you obtain from the bodies of your victims. Slade can only hunt creatures that are aggressive towards him during his quests. He has no chance of harming those who don’t have a red light. The general interaction of the inhabitants of the plains here with the main character is only aggressive. Then they don’t “work” with each other at all, which results in the world looking completely dead. I’m not saying it’s not full, but it’s hard to believe. Personally, I think this is a problem.

However, its design itself is at a very high level. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such an interestingly structured planet, the beauty of which I can admire. With Cutter you can travel to snowy mountains, sandy deserts and grassy plains. They are an absolute pleasure to drive around, but it’s a shame that you can’t admire them for anything other than how they look. Personally, aside from the fact that it looks really nice, I also appreciate the fact that the game world in Outcast – A New Beginning is vertical, so you can go almost anywhere using planes and sailing. He is limited only by his capabilities.

The entire space, divided into provinces belonging to villages, is then filled with several activities. The menu includes clearing infected points, eliminating enemy forces from another world, destroying their fortresses, and movement challenges that test your abilities. Completing fairly repetitive missions rewards you with two types of points that can be upgraded. One form targets Cutter himself so he can upgrade his batteries, while the other works with weapon systems and multiple weapons.

There isn’t a lot of equipment here, but what you have access to you have the opportunity to gradually enrich it with various attachments that will give even an ordinary pistol a surprisingly high level of effectiveness. The development of the main character is largely connected with these two moments. If you aim correctly, few will be able to kill you here because the difficulty itself is not too high. The range of enemies isn’t the widest, so you’ll quickly figure out how each juice works. I probably wouldn’t mind dealing with a wider range.

The Rogue Event – A New Beginning does not break the rules of the genre

In many ways, Outcast – A New Beginning reminds me of the formula used in the Far Cry or Elex series. In practice, this means that we have an acceptable plot, very well-developed action, an extremely well-thought-out connection of the game world through quest lines, a varied set of weapon modifications and a visually beautifully designed game world. The problem is that the beautiful plains, although filled with life, do not interact in any way; Cutter himself can only “work” with enemies, which is relatively limiting and spoils the overall impression.

As is traditional, the activities are not very creatively repeated, so after completing the relatively decently crafted side missions, there isn’t much new to look forward to. Despite this, in my opinion the entire game ranks in the top seven as it offers a very memorable experience in terms of world exploration and action traversal. However, if it weren’t for the flight above the surface and the eye-catching graphics, I might have gone down a notch.