Outriders

That it proves so rewarding as a solo venture in spite of these launch issues speaks to Outriders' finely honed mechanics, and the success of its central "cover shooter but not really" principle. [Issue#358, p.100]

Outriders is a good looter-shooter at times that has some moments of greatness buried beneath a generic if well-realized sci-fi veneer. In short, Outriders is not going to dethrone the likes of Destiny from its throne, but it is a welcome distraction that’s fun for being fun, even if there are parts of it that shine less brightly.

Outriders is a brash and bold looter shooter that will keep you entertained through the campaign and side missions, but its endgame content gets repetitive fast.

Outriders would have been a much better game had the campaign been half as long and the end game had twice as much content. I had fun exploring the dozen or so environments throughout the story mode, but the game doesn’t start firing on all cylinders until the gear you get becomes meaningful. The disposable nature of gear during the campaign/leveling process makes the game feel a lot more shallow than it actually is, and getting players to that end-game grind sooner would likely have exposed a lot more players to the best that Outriders has to offer. I hope that Outriders gets DLC, but only if it’s content that builds out the end game even further. If an Outriders expansion is just another story-driven campaign, I likely won’t even bother playing. If I do, I’ll almost certainly set the difficulty to easy, skip all the cutscenes, and rush to the new end game. If you’re playing Outriders for the first time, I highly recommend you do the same.

Outriders' fast-paced combat and imaginative sci-fi setting make it a journey worth taking. And for all its flaws, this could be the start of something very special for developer People Can Fly.

Outriders is one of the games which is blocked by only-online features. This game is a brilliant third-person shooter but needs to be improved on the technical side.

I'm hooked. I love Outriders' shooting, skill, and loot mechanics and how they work together to form a highly addicting co-op shooter. While it has a lot of features that I'm not fond of, the core gameplay is solid enough to easily carry the rest of the experience. If you're into looter shooter or dungeon crawler games, Outriders will scratch that itch — if you can play it. With its current matchmaking and server issues, we cannot help but score it lower than we'd like. Whenever the technical issues are resolved, the experience could be as high as 8.3, making Outriders a co-op shooter that's well worth experiencing either alone or with friends.

Buried by an unsatisfying combat loop and bad campaign, Outriders is a forgettable loot game that ends right as it's getting started.

Outriders offers a deeper narrative than its looter contemporaries, but it's ultimately a run-of-the-mill shooter that leaves no lasting impact.

One of the most polarising game in the last months: Outriders serves fun and entertaining gameplay but also dishes out a clichéd story and a vast number of technical issues. Most glaringly: the inevitable online-connection to play the game, which is undermined by the server problems. Being full price and a Triple-A-production, players should be able to expect more.

Outriders has great ideas and those come shining through at various high points to spectacular effect, but it is pushing against the weight of inconsistent execution and unstable systems.

Outriders feel like a game designed by two different teams with no communication. The result is a discordant third person combat experience that arrives 10 years late.

Gears of War meets Destiny… and the end result is mediocre. Take away the "coolness" of playing a gun totting superhero, and all you are left with is basically one more generic looter shooter, that doesn't manage to impress, neither with its repetitive gameplay, nor with its boring story and world building. Add to that a couple of technical and network issues, and you are in for a - pricey - treat.