We have thoroughly tested the substantial Outriders demo, released by People Can Fly in the last few hours.
–
Of Outriders we have been talking for some time now and the same guys of People Can Fly are trying, with dedication and pride, to convey the philosophy behind this new third person shooter RPG to the best of their ability. A month after the release, set for the next, ironic, April 1st, a demo totally open and that goes against the trend with many of today’s market rules.
Precisely this aspect could represent the strength and weakness of Outriders, which we talk about in this tried, waiting to get your hands on the final version in the coming weeks.
–
The hard life on Enoch
Let’s start with the basics: the setting. Outriders certainly does not shine for originality of writing, but anyone who knows the development team knows that this aspect has never been the spearhead of their productions. Despite this, Outriders also brings together some interesting ideas, catapulting us into a future in which the earth’s resources are now exhausted and the remaining humans have seen well to embark on a pioneering mission in search of a new planet to call home. Enoch, this is the name of the unfortunate, is reached after a journey of 83 years and a consequent long cryosleep, finally convinced to have found the Promised Land.
It goes without saying that everything will fall apart and that we, the Outriders designated for exploration before the rest of humanity lands, will almost all end up dead due to the wicked choices of a few. The fault of the degenerate situation would seem all attributable to a sort of alien anomaly (but the aliens are actually us) who begins to wipe out everything he can, but which changes some human beings and makes them special, giving them special powers. Due to the contagion we will be sent back to cryosleep again, only to be awakened after a further thirty years, finding some of our comrades now old and tired, torn apart by a factional war as an end in itself.
Obviously we will be among colors which have been touched by the magic of mutation and the closure of prologue – playable only in single – it will be used to choose the class generated by the contact with the anomaly, but we will return to this aspect shortly. From here the actual campaign begins, divided according to a specific timeline and which we will deepen in the review, when we will be able to complete it.
–
A little shooter, a little RPG
It’s not a Gaas (Game as a Service) keep repeating those of People Can Fly. Maybe what they actually do is repeat it to themselves. Trying in every way to avoid falling into the trap of a business model that is not bearing the hoped-for results over time and that they would like to avoid approaching their game. Too bad that in practice we are not so far from reality, at least as far as the bare and raw experience is concerned.
These first few hours of play allowed us to get our hands on all four classi, scratching only the surface, but giving us an idea above all as regards the game system and the feedback of the shooting system. It would in fact be premature and unfair to try to make judgments on the growth component of the character and equipment, which obviously requires access to the advanced stages to be properly displayed.
Just for the record, what we can say is that each of the four classes has two different types of individual development: one dedicated to real powers and one instead delegated to talents and the branch of specialization. There combination of skills with the chosen direction they will outline the type of character created. It is possible to have up to six of them, at least in this demo, a sign that obviously you want to leave ample freedom for the player to create different builds, it being understood that it is always possible to reset the growth of each of your characters and radically change their specialization.
The four classes differ in powers and skill trees, bringing into play some characters who are more rated in the long, medium and short range. Despite this classic look, in full People Can Fly style, the player is always driven to unbridled action and to use the cover system borrowed from Gears of War only when strictly necessary. All this is due to the fact that the energy recovery it is delegated to the use of the powers themselves. According to the chosen class, the parameters and requests will change, but it will be through the fire of the pyromancer or the brutality of the destroyer that you can recover life.
The other fundamental element of production is obviously that linked to shooting and therefore to the offensive and defensive equipment which, as a classic of these times, is subject to the rule of values and rarity. The rarer a weapon or helmet is, the greater its peculiarities and the more slots dedicated to modifications. During this demo it is obviously impossible to get a specific idea of the variety and this will certainly be one of the aspects that will most need attention in the final judgment phase.
What we have been able to notice so far is that, on the battlefield, the classes seem sufficiently different from each other, but unfortunately all are flattened by a really dull and bite-free shooting system. It is almost strange to say this when talking about People Can Fly, but if there is something that has left us really dumbfounded it is the phase with mouths of fire leveled. Zero recoil, no type of feedback and the general feeling of always shooting with the same weapon, at least within the specific category. We do not know if this could be a problem related to the lack of power and functionality of the first weapons in the game, but if this were the case it would still be an important error in the balance of the experience, which risks communicating the title badly with its first impression.
–
The contents of the Demo
The contents of this demo are rich and mediocre at the same time. We really appreciated People Can Fly’s willingness to put us in front of a full version of the title, which simply blocks the progression of the story after a handful of missions and allows you to grow your character only up to level 7. At the same time, this choice does not pay off from an attractive point of view. Unfortunately Outriders is a too derivative game, which lends itself to a consolidated and abused structure, which risks not highlighting the peculiarities that it could show in its most advanced stages. The presence of some main missions, the entire first map and a handful of secondary missions, are an incentive for those who want to start an adventure to resume with the same characters in a month, but far from entertaining as they really could.
–
Technique
We tested Outriders on a high profile setup and can’t say we’re fully satisfied. Unfortunately the game suffers from anot splendid optimization, which pushes to several slowdowns especially during the cutscenes, already in themselves locked at 30fps. We are sure this is a cleaning job that can be completed in recent weeks, but which should still be reported at present.
Despite this, the game seems to defend itself discreetly. It will not set any visual and stylistic standards, there is no doubt about this, but at least it lets itself be seen.
The aspect linked to theartificial intelligence, which by definition of the genre has never made people cry for a miracle and which here is confirmed more prone to deficiency. The same can be said of a very small level design, which leaves something to be desired at least as regards the first location.
Discreet on dubbing, which however is currently plagued by a series of sudden cuts and other small inaccuracies that seem more linked to a not exciting final mix, also thanks to a banally epic soundtrack and of which not a single piece has remained imprinted. Enjoyable dubbing in Italian.
–
Outriders is not a GaaS, but in practice it would like to be. It tries to deviate from it as a matter of “public opinion”, moving away from the idea of a badly viewed and little sought after business model. Despite this, all the components are there. Instanced missions, loot, rarity, classes, world levels and activities of different difficulty to be performed as a single player or in company. Nothing new under the sun, at least according to the impressions that a demo gave us which, according to the developers, did not reveal everything to us anyway. We remain at the door for the final version, curious to see where the project will go and whether or not the structure will pay off the developers. For now, we are still very skeptical, but we would be happy to change our mind.
–
CERTAINTIES
- The classes are interesting
- The story is trivial, but it has some nice ideas
- The branches of the talents seem deep
–
DOUBTS
- The level design is as bad as few
- The shooting system is dull and without feedback
- In coop it is an unprecedented caciara
–
–
–
