Outriders

Outriders is a rare example of a complete looter-shooter, with fun combat mechanics but a lack of ambition as you play through the story and its endgame.

What we have here are two stories told with mixed results. The grim, gorgeous sci-fi saga fell flat for me. I couldn’t get invested in this last leg of the human race turning to tribalism and violence in the face of adversity. I’m pretty bored with ‘special soldier saves the day’ stories. But the loot cycle was a different matter. This tale of frustration, anticipation, determination, and joy was immediately compelling. I dug into the mechanical guts early and easily. The combat is varied, breathless, and brutal. The character progression is a decent mix of stats and skills, there’s a ton of customization to mess around with, and the difficulty scaling is perfectly fluid. I can tolerate a lot of nonsense in exchange for a good gameplay loop. But if you’re hoping for a package as good as the prize, you might be disappointed. So long as you’re prepared to dig a little for that glittering pearl, there’s a ton of fun to be had with Outriders.

In two highly competitive genres, this crossbreed may go unnoticed, but its difficulty system should be taken into account. It’s advisable to embark on the campaign of this shooting RPG since Outriders offers tons of hours of fun, invites players to play with friends, and has appealing visuals. Fans of both RPGs and shooters can get a lot out of it, but they shouldn’t expect a revolutionary game, for it is a mixed bag of interesting features and cliches. Even though the journey is enjoyable, Outriders is neither a strong contender in the RPG elite nor in the shooting universe.

Outriders is not a perfect game by any means. Its narrative, while containing some fun characters, feels somewhat underdeveloped. The conflict between the intended aggressive style of play and the omnipresent walls for cover lead to a strange kind of dissonance where the level design feels at odds with the most fun way of playing the game. The server issues are ongoing and can occasionally make the game inaccessible. The endgame is a lot of fun, but only if you’re playing in a group. When the experience is working well, it is a ton of fun shooting your way through hordes of enemies and marvelling at the latest rare gear. However, while the flaws do not ruin the experience, they are notable.

Outriders' best quality is its addictive gameplay. Add to this an admirable amount of options and you'll find yourself constantly coming back for more. Unfortunately, there are some downsides here as well. The story isn't all that interesting, the levels start to look the same after a while and the enemy AI doesn't complement the game's cover system. Still, while you're playing Outriders, you're bound to have some fun.

Outriders' blend of wickedly fun sci-fi shooting & looting is well worth enduring its lackluster story and rough edges.

Outriders blends frenetic combat and hard hitting class skills to make each encounter feel tense and rewarding. Chasing loot drops and collecting mods to bolster your collection is as addictive as using storm whip on vulnerable foes. The presentation makes it hard to connect with the characters, but players willing to read a lot may be surprised by how much thought has been put into things behind the scenes. With the current state of problems however, waiting a bit longer for things to get sorted out is recommended.

Outriders is a fun game that does get many things right, even though it certainly lacks some personality and new ideas, as well as some fixes on the technical side.

Without revolutionizing the shooter-looter genre in any way, Outriders does things efficiently and offers frenetic non-stop action that goes frankly well with co-op play. Too bad the game is repetitive and subject to technical instability, which spoils the game experience.

Outriders absolutely excels when it lets combat, solid gunplay, and supremely satisfying abilities do the talking. Its unique blend of aggression really is something to behold in action. Rubbish characters, the requirement to maintain an online connection and couple with servers, and various technical hitches hold it back from greatness, but they don't muddy the picture so much to dissuade a recommendation. Outriders is pretty class in motion.

It’s a lower bar to clear to be sure, but People Can Fly have delivered what Bungie and other studios can’t seem to do these days: a complete $60 game.

We didn’t exactly see anything new in Outriders, to be honest. The game delivers a fair amount of content in terms of levels, weapons, or skills. However, from the gameplay point of view, it’s nothing more than meeting aliens, zombies and insurgents in paintball arenas for 15 straight hours, plus the expeditions.

Outriders could have been a great looter-shooter, but with its unbalanced structure and current instability, it’s hard to recommend.

At its best, Outriders is a looter shooter that’s surprisingly generous with its loot.

Outriders is an OK RPG shooter that can be thrilling in it gunfights, but it never takes off. Its weak narrative and numerous bugs and crashes and lack of memorable moments prevent it from sitting next to the most successful online TPS.

Outriders juggles some truly captivating ideas for the looter shooter genre, yet fails to deftly execute them. While it succeeds in combining traditional third person shooting with rewarding dungeon crawling, its messy matchmaking, repetitive mission design, and a dull sci-fi story hold People Can Fly back from delivering to their fullest potential.