Outland

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 65 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 65
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 65
  3. Negative: 10 out of 65

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  1. stop9091
    Jan 20, 2017
    7
    It's a bit hard to judge this game, because it'a a mix of a pure platform and a metroidvania, but it does so without too much success.

    First, the good: - the energies idea is interesting; it works as platform (although, the large amount of life makes the hurdles a bit too forgiving) - the bosses are great. I give one point just for them. - it's a stilish game - at least the first    It's a bit hard to judge this game, because it'a a mix of a pure platform and a metroidvania, but it does so without too much success.

    First, the good:

    - the energies idea is interesting; it works as platform (although, the large amount of life makes the hurdles a bit too forgiving)
    - the bosses are great. I give one point just for them.
    - it's a stilish game - at least the first map, and the bosses, look really great

    The meh:

    - wall jumping has fixed trajectory; this is a missed chance for more skillful playing
    - the variety and strategy of the enemies are good enough; maybe not great, but good enough.
    - the story is not too good, but not too bad. summary: everybody on earth goes **** crazy; the player beats the crap out of everybody

    The negative:

    - the art style looks flat after a while; although individually taken, the environments are aesthetically interesting, they look somewhat the same as a whole
    - the upgrade system is bland - only life and charge energy
    - the upgrade system is fueled by money. after a while, colleting money becomes uninsteresting; in order to "buy" (offer money!?) the upgrade from the most obvious upgrade locations, it's enough to collect the accessible money.
    - WHY SHOWING A GUIDE!!! WHY!!! It completely ruins the metroidvania experience. completely!!!!

    All in all, it very much fails as metroidvania, because it lacks the depth, but it pleasantly succeeds as a platform.    … Expand
  2. SilverOrlov
    Sep 23, 2019
    9
    Bright, stylish and beautiful Metroidvania on some mythology theme. General it is all about "Light and Darkness" but in very unusual performance. You can switch red and blue colors to to interact with enemy of differ color or platforms of same color and etc.
    Interesting and different bosses, which still need to be reached, by searching the keys to open the gates to them.
    At the very    Bright, stylish and beautiful Metroidvania on some mythology theme. General it is all about "Light and Darkness" but in very unusual performance. You can switch red and blue colors to to interact with enemy of differ color or platforms of same color and etc.
    Interesting and different bosses, which still need to be reached, by searching the keys to open the gates to them.
    At the very beginning, the game can be repelled by the fact that it seems primitively picture, or very bright color, or poorly drawn map. But after some time, the cons smooth out and there remains only the pleasure of a very interesting platformer. The only pity is that it hasn't page and price on steam.    … Expand
  3. piszozo
    May 5, 2015
    8
    Have you ever wondered what would be the outcome when you mix some irrelevant games?

    I am sure every gamer does it from time to time. For instance, I always wonder what kind of a game would come out when we combined Devil May Cry franchise with Diablo franchise. As if you were playing Diablo, but you need to press right buttons at the right time to perform skills to keep your combo up.    Have you ever wondered what would be the outcome when you mix some irrelevant games?

    I am sure every gamer does it from time to time. For instance, I always wonder what kind of a game would come out when we combined Devil May Cry franchise with Diablo franchise. As if you were playing Diablo, but you need to press right buttons at the right time to perform skills to keep your combo up. There is no pressing your skill buttons when cooldowns are up, you need to sweat to perform your skills and moves! I don’t know, maybe there are already games like that.

    Anyway, I suppose some developers at Housemarque were wondering what would be the result if they wanted to mix Ikaruga with Super Metroid. The result is a whole new game; Outland! Outland is a 2D platformer game uses action and puzzle elements together. What Outland offers may not seem unique but every game is somewhat similar to some other game. I mean, from this perspective, every game is one way or another, a derivative of another game that was released before it. However, in terms of combining different elements in it, Outland is unique in my opinion.

    Read the whole article here;

    http://gameground.net/review-outland/    … Expand
  4. Fuz
    Oct 11, 2014
    1
    Keyboard controls are not redefinable by the user.
    This makes this game totally unplayable for me. it's a terrible, lazy port and these sort of things shouldn't be tolerated.
  5. clarky
    Oct 11, 2014
    3
    Sonic, but in 2014 with a different title and style. If you enjoy falling into spikes, and jumping around on moving platforms, you will love this game. I gave 3 stars because they allowed me to skip dialogues, and its an OK looking game and smooth enough. Not for me though.
  6. PeaceGuard
    Jan 4, 2018
    8
    Outland deserves a better average than current 7.5. Ori and the Blind Forest, which is a clear crib of Outland has currently 8.7 average. And these games are basically equal in value. If you don't like the default controls just use Autohotkey and stop whining. Mine is below, but you can use any comfortable for you.
    lctrl::rctrl
    rctrl::lctrl space::lctrl tab::m m::tab rbutton::i    Outland deserves a better average than current 7.5. Ori and the Blind Forest, which is a clear crib of Outland has currently 8.7 average. And these games are basically equal in value. If you don't like the default controls just use Autohotkey and stop whining. Mine is below, but you can use any comfortable for you.
    lctrl::rctrl
    rctrl::lctrl
    space::lctrl
    tab::m
    m::tab
    rbutton::i
    i::rbutton
    lbutton::j
    j::lbutton
    o::`
    `::o
    k::e
    e::k
    h::q
    q::h
    l::1
    1::l
    return    … Expand
  7. ningky
    Sep 2, 2019
    8
    This game is totally awesome!!!! Graphics, Story, Cut scenes and Game play are great.
  8. MrWitzelsucht
    Nov 14, 2018
    9
    Smooth, relaxing, at times a little taxing, Outland is a fantastic platform-puzzler/Metroidvania that looks as beautiful as it sounds. The reds and blues might melt your mind occasionally, but overall Outland is a very soothing experience.
    My only annoyance is the the reliance on controller right-shoulder button to switch between light/dark. I never feel like that particular button on    Smooth, relaxing, at times a little taxing, Outland is a fantastic platform-puzzler/Metroidvania that looks as beautiful as it sounds. The reds and blues might melt your mind occasionally, but overall Outland is a very soothing experience.
    My only annoyance is the the reliance on controller right-shoulder button to switch between light/dark. I never feel like that particular button on my controller is the most responsive, but this is down to dodgy controller design, not game design (UPDATE: Just discovered you can change controller set-up so that dark/light switch is the Y button instead..... a game changing discovery!)    … Expand
  9. pcapinheiro
    Mar 2, 2022
    8
    Jogo de plataforma e combate muito divertido, com bastante ação.
    Pontos Positivos:
    + Controles e Combate
    + Mecânica das cores

    Pontos Negativos
    + História fraca
  10. Baltifru
    Apr 19, 2020
    7
    Outland is overall a good game.

    Its main problem is its competitors: Metroidvanias represent a saturated market and it's difficult to come up with some innovative game design ideas in this domain. So you won't find much in Outland that you can't find anywhere else: a good mixture of platform phases, exploration, new skills to unlock, hidden objects to hunt for completists... although    Outland is overall a good game.

    Its main problem is its competitors: Metroidvanias represent a saturated market and it's difficult to come up with some innovative game design ideas in this domain. So you won't find much in Outland that you can't find anywhere else: a good mixture of platform phases, exploration, new skills to unlock, hidden objects to hunt for completists... although not so original, the game proposes some nice (but rare) boss fights that bring a little bit of depth to the gameplay.

    The game suffers a couple of bugs, especially a very strange one that automatically fires the ray skill (once unlocked) after unpausing the game... weird that such a bug could make it all the way without any patch.

    One thing that I particularly disliked though is the map system: there is no possibility to see the map of the whole game. The world is split into approximately 30 levels which maps can be seen only once inside the level. Furthermore, the fast-travel feature is unlocked quite late, and does not allow to travel to each of these levels, but only to about 60% of them. A real pain for completists... I raged quite a lot until I finally found the level in which the last helmet was hidden.

    The artistic design is quite acceptable, although very simple. As for the scenario, you might as well not read any of it, it is completely uninteresting.

    In short, a good game, but looks a little bit too much like a weaker version of Ori and the Blind Forest to me.    … Expand
  11. c64gamer
    Apr 24, 2020
    0
    The game is repetitive, simple, boring, uninspiring... its better to buy good platformer like Celeste. Life is too short to play weak games.
  12. apokalipto
    Aug 23, 2023
    9
    Very good game. I enjoyed playing this game a lot. I strongly recommend this.

Awards & Rankings

81
#81 Best PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. USgamer
    Sep 23, 2019
    60
    Overland is a strange mix of stellar art direction, smart and simple design matched with often arbitrary difficulty. Even when I felt like I was playing at my smartest, it was easy to slip up in a single move and ruin a whole run, no matter if I spent 20 minutes or over an hour on it. The more I played, the more bored I got with the procedurally generated cycle. Surprises grew commonplace; fuel gathering grew tedious rather than just tense. And yet, I still found myself driven to rev up the engine another time at the end of a run and give it another go. Overland is bound to be a probable cult favorite among tactics enthusiasts, but as for recommending it for other curious eyes, I can't say I fully can.
    Read full review
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Nov 15, 2014
    85
    A beautiful platformer with a solid game mechanics. You have to know how to play it, if you intend to master it. It’s tricky, but never unfair. Although the game was originally published over three years ago, this geezer has aged with style. [Nov 2014]
  3. Gaming Nexus
    Oct 27, 2014
    85
    For only $10, fans of platformers should give this one a try, but skilled gamers might not find Outland all that challenging outside of a few areas.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »