It can be hard to appreciate just how long ago in gaming terms 1999 was. 3DFX was still a competitor in the hot graphics card market, the Dreamcast didn’t arrive until the latter half of the year, Sony was nursing the first PlayStation while getting its ducks in a row for the next year’s launch of the PS2, and Nintendo wrapped up its year in Japan withPokémon GoldandSilverfor the Game Boy Color. Toys R Us was a force to be reckoned with, Electronics Boutique still existed before becoming EB Games and dying under GameStop, and for that matter almost all games were bought at retail. It was a different world, but one that still reverberates today, with games from that era coming back on a surprisingly regular basis. The latest one is a full-fledged AAA sequel toOutcast, which was a cult classic at the time due to its large open world years beforeGrand Theft Auto IIIset the planet on fire.
A Massive Playground
The originalOutcastis a long time gone, and even its remake,Outcast: Second Contact, is six-and-a-half years old at this point. Cutter Slade’s adventures on the world of Adelpha are a footnote in gaming history, and the open world that made it special has been normalized in the decades since to the point that players automatically expect it unless explicitly told otherwise. This might be a problem if that had been all there was toOutcast, but what really made the game memorable all these years later is the way it integrated its alien culture into the world, making Cutter feel like a visitor to a place with its own rules, culture, environment and even not-quite-magic. The tech of the time wasn’t really up to the task of rendering a massive sci-fi landscape, butOutcast: A New Beginningwill create a massive playground to run, shoot and soar through.
Exploring New Lands in an Old World in Outcast 2
As many years have passed in the real world, it’s been so long since Cutter Slade’s first adventure in Adelpha that to get their savior back, the native Talans' Yods had to resurrect him. Once situated with being alive again, Cutter is confronted with a world overrun by a relentless robot force and the planet’s ecosystem thrown out of whack due to its resources being torn away. The new demo doesn’t go into all that, though, and instead launches straight into one of three missions: combat, exploration and story. For the sake of the demo the native Talans set up Cutter with plenty of gear to take on the invaders, including a tricked-out gun and rifle, energy shield, wing suit, and rocket pack. Those last two provide excellent mobility and add some incredibly fun options to both combat and exploration.
The jetpack is used in a number of less obvious ways than simply flying, including a lightning-quick dodge and a triple-jump. It also enables a turbo mode that gives a nice speed boost on land while also letting Cutter skim over the water’s surface. Finally, while the jetpack doesn’t enable true flight in any of the demo scenarios, it lets Cutter almost hover during combat, great for taking out hostile creatures below but also being a giant obvious target when fighting anything with ranged capabilities. For those enemies it’s best to seek cover, either in the environment or by activating the energy shield.
Out in the world exploring is where the wingsuit comes into play, and like most open-world games that allow gliding (Just Cause, for example) it quickly becomes a sub-goal to find the highest point possible and throw yourself off it. Not only is this great for finding points of interest in the world like dilapidated ruins, spots of environmental corruption, or robo-enemy bases, it just feels nice to do. One of the drawbacks of theOutcastdemo is that its three sections can only be played twice, two of which are time-limited at twenty minutes apiece, and it was still completely worth it to scale the tallest mountain around just to glide from its peak.
Mods, Custom Weapons and More
Big and open as the world is, Cutter is there to save it for the Talans rather than just fly around to see the sights. The Talans in their villages have quests ranging from side-activities to full-on base assaults, and Cutter is fully prepared with a set of modular guns to take on the challenge. The pistol and rifle both have slots that allow you to swap in and out different components once they’ve been earned, adding effects like burst shot, explosive bullets, sticky grenades and many more. The mods can also be upgraded with cells found in chests out in the world, which will probably make all kinds of logical sense once the lore explaining how guns and cells combine is available. you’re able to change the configuration of each weapon on the fly, so if one tactic isn’t working, there’s probably a combination that’s more suited to your combat style available with a little tinkering. The fight can work just as well in close combat with the dodge and shield as it does sniping from a distance behind cover, so there’s no reason not to tailor it to your preferences.
TheOutcast: A New Beginningdemo is a promising look at a game that always had the potential to become a great series. Cutter is very much a ’90s hero, and it’s hard to ignore the Great White Savior vibes, but the Talan aren’t Ewoks and won’t be taking down a technologically-advanced evil empire with rocks and logs. They will, however, be able to restore Adelpha to the point that it can start defending itself, with the creatures joining the battle as the ecosystem heals. That’s for later in the game than the demo shows off, but you can get a hint of it in the trailer. Adelpha is a big world that’s still a beautiful place to explore even if it’s seen better days, and while it took well over twenty years to get back to the planet, Cutter’s resurrection promises to be an impressive introduction to new players and a welcome return for the original game’s fans.
