Outward Definitive Edition

I've been running back and forth between 2 major cities because I forgot a few things playing with a friend. Took us like 4 real world hours to do that. Traveling is grueling, combat scales when you play with 2 people and everything in the game is not meant to be easy at all. This is a hardcore wiki game so make sure you're ready to learn before you even set foot in it, there's a million tips and tricks to barely alleviate some of the artificial difficulty this game provides.

If cock and ball torture is your kink this game is for you.
If challenging clunky game play is your reason to live this game is for you.
If you get headaches easily and you cower in the face of difficulty this game is not for you, seriously I think only a very select few would ever dare play this game start to finish so be warned and have an open mind.

I'd play with mods to avoid the terrible mechanics this game has to offer and save a lot of hours to enjoy the story. look up Thunderstore mod manager to get started

Game saves, but settings and keybinds won't save. Tired of setting them every time I load up. Other than that I thought the game was fine.

I love the fact that when you die, something else always happens to you instead of actually dying. Like losing your armor or food. Or better yet, put you in a worse off situation than where you were before you died. I tried to enjoy this game for what it is but just couldn't. There's so much I didn't understand about it and still don't. I got stuck because I couldn't figure out where to go. I know that the map isn't interactive and doesn't tell you where you are on it and that's fine. But I find it hard to navigate through it. I gave up. It's sad because I wanted to like this game.

Simply a 10/10 RPG.
In terms of pure gameplay and class building mechanics it is one of the best i've ever played comparable to games within the elder scrolls and witcher series.
The extreme level of replay value as you try to mesh different class trees together and play through the game with different factions is truly staggering.

The only thing that I could say about it that is lacking would be the story and lore behind the game and the way that it is told/ explained not being exactly on par with other games within this realm and genre.

Edit: I'm hooked and cant stop. I am going to try and just not use parries because they don't interrupt attacks. everything i said is still valid except maybe dexterity type builds work if you don't try and use parries. not to mention parry cool downs are too long and punishing without big reward, so maybe don't use them.

Warning: get familiar with the auto-run button.

Note: having the ability to buy homes in other cities from the start would help a lot but the game gate keeps it behind the story quests....why.

I really tried to like the game, I love the game truly but Its too slow. 80% of the time is click the auto run button and wait. The combat needs help, if you like magic, shields or big f$%@ off weapons the combat probably works but dexterity type builds kick you in the A@@. The enemies do not have an animation to follow where you are they just rotate and you cant really roll past an attack because the lock on prevents you from doing so. in my 80 hours of clicking auto run and getting fairly strong I do not feel rewarded for playing I feel like its a gigantic wast of time. This is coming from someone that REAALLY wanted to like the game. Just to get the skills you want to play the game the way you want to you have to grind for 10 to 20 hours for gold of which 80% of is auto run, then auto run across maps to trainers that you will have to of known about before hand because the game only lets you train with 3 and cant be changed once you have made the choice, and that's only if you make it there because the cold or hot will eat you alive if your not wearing appropriate gear which you wont be because it takes a lot of time to get that gear. than after all that prep get killed because all of the tougher mobs have homing attacks that give status effects that kill you in minutes. Minutes is not a lot of time in this game because fights with basic mobs can last minutes. Its just a no from me, a game can be hard without kicking you in the d%&k for 80 hours. I will keep my eyes on outward 2 but if they don't at least add QOL I don't think I will ever look at this game again.

Rated
Really wanted to like / 10

Updated review: I'm an addict / 10

It is a flawed masterpiece. Not for everyone, but for those willing to continue through its challenges, an unforgettable gem awaits.

One of my favorites - I return to this game once a year or so, for a month or so at a time. I have not found other RPGs to be as satisfying. The world is a challenging one, and I like the dialogue and player choices much more than those of other modern RPGs. Exploring this world is exciting and difficult. Other reviews are right to point out that this game emphasizes preparation over skill - I, personally, enjoy that aspect of it and still find the combat to be exciting. The combat itself can be frustrating at first - I simply got used to it, and now like it a lot. Every swing matters and one has to be very careful - I think that's a virtue of the game. I love the general atmosphere, world, factions, etc. The creators make an effort for the world to be a *reasonable* place - the factions' and characters' attitudes and outlooks make sense, their disagreements are genuine ones that aren't *merely* matters of tradition or some secret lore that's kept from us. This world is an intelligible and interesting place that keeps me engaged. I'm looking forward to anything else this studio makes.

I personally dont like this game at all. The combat feels too clunky and slow to me. I may only have 3 hours on steam but I tried this before on Epic, figured I'd give it another chance as its been a few years and i quickly remembered why I quit playing this.

If you like open old-school sandboxy rpgs you'll enjoy this one. Reminds me of old school rpgs where you actually have to take a few notes, strat through your combat & dungeons crawls. It's challenging yet rewarding. This game is well thought through on it's features/mechanics. Feels like a game that honors the og rpgs by og gamers. <3

A weird mixture of gameplay concepts that often clash with each other.

One of my top games, I've played it on my old steam account, rebuy it at gog for a drm free version and this new steam account. The game is great with its exploration the combat can be clunky and part of its charm, it has a cool poise mechanic that can be lowered faster by a heavy weapon it has also has a resistance mechanic all enemies have their weaknesses coupled with great magic system that can be learn with trial and error. Learning recipes can be also learned by knowing it or buying it. This game is awesome

Hands down one of the best games I've played.

I've got 40hrs played here on steam, and well over 150 on xbox. I bought this game shortly after it was released in like 2018 or 19, bought the DLCs as they came out, bought the definitive edition (all on xbox). Then bought it on steam.

Beautiful challenging game with a nice story and side quests to follow.

Outward is an ambitious Third Person ARPG/Hack and Slash with souls inspired combat and survival/camping system. Due to budget constrains it has certain compromises: underdeveloped elements such as incomplete dubbing and simplistic story (which I liked its not bad), but that is unimportant in the grand scheme of things because the gameplay is good. Combat, while floaty in feeling is responsive and consequential. Exploration and Character progression are the main pillars which is very good, since the main replayability value of it is various playing through the game with different builds.

Sense of adventrue is strong with this one. The zero to hero road our PC goes through is as satisfying as one from Gothic or Enderal. Random on death events that put you in unique dungeons and situations make the world feel alive.

Music is well made, its style echoes sense of adventure and feeling of being homestuck at the same time.
Graphics are also simple, but shaders are well stylised and the art direction is wonderous.

I give it a well deserved 8.5/10 and even though its not my highest rated games its one of my personal favourites.

Unfortunately, although I have been looking forward to playing it for almost a year, I ended up dropping it after three coop gaming sessions.

The combat is very hard, which would be fine, but it's ultimately unrewarding, as that is not the way to make money in this game. That instead, according to my own experience and online forums, is endlessly grinding fishing and cooking.

That is simply not worth it for the time investment that the game, a game without fast travel mind you, proposes.

The gaming experience is mostly walking from point A to point B, fighting difficult battles against respawning enemies and getting jack shit for that. The few times you do get a big reward, that reward seems as powerful as the starting gear in action.

Quests barely pay out anything and don't ever pay out both people, which is unheard in any coop game I've played so far. Same for quest progression, which also doesn't happen for both players.

I got it on a sale, so not much is lost, but also I don't feel any need to start this game ever again.

If I consider this as purely a single player game, it's a fantastic RPG survival game.

The multiplayer feature isn't adequate though. Players can't complete the same quests in the same game. If you want to complete the quest, you have to return to your own game and complete it. Although the game starts out strong, you'll quickly feel demotivated that the two of you are unable to progress together.

7/10
Outward Definitive Edition is actually a really fun game, especially when playing together. The world of Aurai is vast, full of mysteries, and incredibly challenging. From hunger, monster attacks, to getting lost because there’s no automatic map, it’s all nerve-wracking. My GF and I were really excited to play together at first. But over time, the challenges in this game turned into challenges in our relationship. Different playstyles, me being impulsive and them being cautious , gradually led to arguments:D.

The breaking point came after 6 hours of non-stop gameplay when we lost all our progress in a dungeon due to a disagreement about strategy, which then spilled over into a real-life fight. Looking back, this game teaches a lot about teamwork and compromise, but not every couple can handle the pressure that Outward brings. Even now, I still hope to play this game with them again, not just to finish the adventure, but also because it quietly made me realize how much our time together meant to me.

Outward Definitive Edition sebenarnya adalah game yang seru banget, terutama kalau main bareng. Dunia Aurai-nya luas, penuh misteri, dan tantangannya nggak main-main. Dari kelaparan, serangan monster, sampai tersesat karena nggak ada peta otomatis—semuanya bikin deg-degan. Aku dan pacarku awalnya excited banget main bareng. Aku jadi jagoan, dia jadi perencana. Tapi, makin lama, tantangan di game ini ternyata juga jadi tantangan di hubungan kami. Yang namanya beda gaya main, aku yang nekat vs dia yang hati hati, lama-lama bikin ribut.
Puncaknya, kami kehilangan progress di dungeon setelah 6 jam main tanpa henti karena beda pendapat soal strategi, dan itu langsung nyambung ke pertengkaran di dunia nyata. Kalau dipikir-pikir, game ini tuh ngasih pelajaran soal kerja sama dan kompromi, tapi ya… nggak semua pasangan bisa handle tekanan yang ditawarin Outward. Sampai sekarang, aku masih berharap bisa mainin game ini lagi dengannya, bukan cuma untuk menyelesaikan petualangan, tapi juga karena game ini diam-diam bikin aku sadar betapa berartinya kebersamaan kami.

one of the best games ever made, and surely THE BEST couch coop game. this is a masterpiece.

This game is quickly becoming one of my top favorites. I'll be honest, it's not very welcoming to first timers for a lot of reasons, I nearly put it down, mostly because I didn't see it for what it really was. I thought it was just a survival exploration game, but it's way more than that. It tells you very little, it can be harsh, mechanics overwhelming. Dont be ashamed to look at the wiki with this game. It has far more depth than it first seems, superior gear isn't as simple as higher stats, and the skill tree is not revealed to you all at once, making build planning impossible. With some study of the wiki, I realized builds should be approached like you would an ARPG. And the game is designed well enough that you can pretty much make anything work if you plan it right.

If you're short on time like many of us, the unforgiving nature of this game could prove a steep hill to climb. I'll say that there are some really handy quality of life mods available. Faster running outside of combat, no food spoilage, not needing to get stuff from your stash to craft things, stuff like that. For me, it made the game more enjoyable but muting some of the monotony, and focusing on the adventure.

The devs have made something really special here and I'm looking forward to the upcoming sequel. I'll definitely be picking that up. This is one of the best survival adventure games out there, I wish there was a higher recommendation than "yes".

very specific players would enjoy outward and i respect the vision here.

This game is very fun, but it has several problems. Namely the complexity of the combat falls off very quickly. The early game is horrible if you don't know what you are doing, it feels like drowning under the weight of the difficulty. The lack of meaningful fast travel plus the insane travel distances is not great. The science is set for this, 30 second rule, meaningful check points should be within 30 seconds of travel. On the positive side, this game is unique and a better version of old rpgs. The survival aspect is well flushed out and the story is incredibly compelling.

What this is:
One of the best and most immersive and unique open world action adventure RPG's ever made.
What this is not:
One of the most modern open world action adventure RPG's ever made.

This game is fantastic, but you do have to get used to a certain degree of jank. It's actually almost endearing once you get used to it actually. Kind of like old Morrowind fans who just got used to the bugs and janky combat... this is not so different. It does work, and once you practice a bit you get the hang of it. And it isn't bad... actually it's quite rewarding when you win a good fight. Primarily I would boil it down to a couple things:
- Melee range is hard to judge. Swinging and missing is easy.
- Not all enemy attacks are as well visually choreographed as you would hope. This isn't Elden Ring, you have to accept some inconsistency.
- Action chaining is finnicky... holding right click to block, then releasing it and left clicking to attack... but you clicked too fast and so the guy does no attack. You realize it half a second later and click again, and now he attacks but now it's too late to get your block back up! You just got hit.
Stuff like that.

Now for the positive, and boy is there a lot of it.

I like immersion, and the survival mechanics in this game are wonderful. They are there, and they are constantly putting pressure on you but not so much that it distracts from the game. Food is easy enough to figure out, as is water, and sleeping is always a fun decision. And boy, there are some incredible things in this game! There are wondrous creatures, flame spitting bugs, giants wielding lightning axes, glowing fungus caves, giant missile shrimp.... it's pretty incredible. You can work with runes and spells, or you can try your hand at the bow and sneaking... although admittedly the damage model of bows is a bit lower than you might think. There are seasons, and you need to dress for the snow! Or you can cast cooling magic on yourself to prevent overheating in the blazing desert sun. There is literally so much here, and it all feels incredible because of how lowly your character is. This game nails the feeling of being a very small fish in a very dangerous world.

My favorite part is that you are essentially a nobody... you have some cloth rags and a sword. You don't level or have skill points per se, and there is no XP... you basically have your skill as a player and your gear.

At first I was nervous because this game auto-saves, and you are stuck with every decision. I was afraid to die! But finally I broke out of my shell and made my way across the world. I've died several times and I promise, there is nothing to be afraid of. There are some instances where you have timed quests, and it's important to not die because you lose time, but that's about it. The way they handle player death in this game is by adding a story telling element that winds this incredible narrative about how your character survived by luck of the draw, or was captured alive and imprisoned... but in each case, you get to escape with all of your stuff.

And that's where the magic happens.... because as I said before, I am a very immersive player. I play as close to how I would in real life, and so I am careful with risks. But eventually you do venture out a bit... and then a bit more... and pretty soon you are crossing the terrain, and learning your way around, and what to watch out for. Your character has got some better gear, but all of the confidence is what you, the player, have built in your ability to navigate safely. So in a sense, it's you the player who are coming out of your small shell and taking risks as much as it is your character. That's been a really cool experience. And I'm still such a basic bro in the game!

I know Outward 2 is announced and perhaps coming next year, but if you haven't tried this game yet you really should. It's an absolute charm to play, and I can see so much here that I have barely even scratched the surface on.

Wonderful game, steep learning curve. It's an inherently difficult game that rewards preparation and exploration. Sometimes the combat is clunky and I think the game would definitely benefit from animation cancelling. But that aside I love the combat because it is based around changing up your strategies to face different enemies. Early on in the game there is always something you can improve on whether it be in terms of armor, skills, or weapons. The biggest trap in this game is thinking that you can improve by not changing anything about your approach to combat. One large criticism of this game is that there is no fast travel system and overland traversal gets boring. I agree that travel can be boring once you've been through the main areas a few times. I don't think a fast travel system would be horrible for the game, but it would definitely change how its played. Traveling is just another aspect of the game you can improve with knowledge and planning. Preparing the right consumables and wearing the right equipment for travel can make things easier. Of course you have to make sacrifices because you have limited space to carry items, that is the design of the game. If you want to keep playing the exact same way the entire game, then you're going to have a hard time and have to make sacrifices to do that, and I think that is also a valid way to play the game. One thing I really appreciate about the game is that knowledge and experience helps you insanely. Knowing what enemies are weak to, where items are, and crafting recipes gives you a huge edge in this game. If you want to be good at this game, don't avoid the hard things like learning recipes, preparing traps, changing your equipment, etc...
One way to make the game much easier is to use the wiki, for a game based on knowledge it is like a cheat code.
Almost every potion is easy to make if you keep your eye out for the ingredients, don't be afraid to use them, they help tremendously. The crafting is also incredibly useful, crafting recipes are much simpler than you'd think and actually come in hand more often than not.
The lore of this game is also interesting, the main story may not offer too much, but if you pay attention to dialogue, enemies and the environment I think the tells tells a really cool story.
The feeling of progress you get from learning and improving bit by bit in this game is wonderful.
I highly recommend this game if you like somewhat niche games with learning curves that you can improve significantly at with time and effort. If you're the type of player who doesn't like to try new tactics, adjust your builds, or learn crafting recipes you will not like this game. Progress is not guaranteed to be linear, and you will hit bottlenecks in your build that you will have to make sacrifices to overcome.

I felt compelled to review this game based of its mixed rating status.

Other comments about this game not respecting your time are true, it is a slower game. Though that doesn't make it a bad game in my opinion, it just probably isn't for you if you have a tight schedule or have a massive backlog of games to play.

I found this game through looking for splitscreen co-op compatible games and this is where I enjoyed this game the most. I
was able to chill out talking with my non-gamer gf while we walked for what felt like an eternity, she would play a ranged character and enjoy her experience while I face-tanked most of the damage as the melee support. She really enjoyed this introduction to gaming and this is the sole reason why I'm giving it a positive review.

At best, it's still an okay experience if you're a min/max gamer, but the game was simple enough and the games mechanics were not so overwhelming that she was able to keep up with the game. For that I appreciate the experience I had.

That being said, I completed the campaign 4 times, I don't think I'll be prepared to do it again unless it was co-op. What a slog..

I really, really wanted to enjoy this game; yet, despite a few hours of gitting gud, reading guides and watching pros play this game, I came to realize that Outward is an experience 10 miles long but only an inch deep; AKA a 'wiki game' with 10000 pages but almost nothing to do with any one of them.

The first enemy you encounter (wolf) will take 20% of your health with a single hit with basic tier clothing (and you're basically guaranteed to fight two at once). This is fine because the combat is so jank that they cannot hit you unless you are practically standing still.... or it would be fine if the iron tier weapons didn't take 5-10 hits to kill a single wolf and it's extremely brain numbing to sprint-kite in circles whilst sneaking in 1 hit at a time. (The kick is hilariously overpowered against beginning enemies, but is on a super slow cooldown and almost always requires you to trade for a hit.)

Unfortunately for the game, high level play looks IDENTICAL to this; OR the player can put on their heaviest gear, stack buffs, trade hits, and heal using the nigh-infinite amount of supplies that the games "survival crafting" system provides.

Neither of these two options provide particularly compelling combat to me and the world is too empty, and the narrative not interesting enough for me to care to explore it otherwise.

Good
99% of what people list as negatives are avoidable
Not for everyone, but if it's for you, very fun

It's a great game with an even better magic system, but it's not for everyone. For example, traveling from point A to point B always requires walking, as there are no fast travel options; this can be tedious for many players. Additionally, the story is quite underwhelming.

"Outward: Definitive Edition" is more than just an updated release—it's a comprehensive overhaul that refines nearly every aspect of the game. Whether exploring mysterious dungeons, battling formidable foes, or enjoying cooperative play with friends, this title delivers an unforgettable experience. For those seeking a challenging yet rewarding RPG adventure, "Outward: Definitive Edition" is undoubtedly worth diving into.
Rating: 8.5/10

Excellent survival RPG. Clunky combat of course, but that's normal for a classic.

very difficult game but solid structure if this is the blueprint I'm excited for the second game to come out. Also, definitely play with a second person makes the 10x funner and playable.

Amazing adventure. Enjoyed the secrets, discovering recipes, and vast variety of progression.

Really enjoying playing this in split screen co-op; combat is challenging but fair, and becomes much easier provided you prepare for excursions properly and learn the mechanics. There also isn't too much penalty for dying, as you just wake up in a different area of the map, and occasionally will need to find your gear in a nearby chest etc - this means you can learn from your mistakes and figure out what went wrong each time.

As others have said, a lot of the game is based around exploring the map and finding new points of interest, loot and avoiding (or attacking) enemies. If you're looking for an action packed RPG with constant combat and a levelling system, this might not be for you; personally I enjoy the loop of prepping for a trip and deciding what I need to take with me, planning a route on the map (there is no location marker for the player, so you need to use landmarks to figure out where you are!), finding places to camp, etc.

I've only encountered one minor bug in split screen mode (sometimes the second player can't cook, but reloading seems to fix this), but nothing game breaking.

TL;DR - combat is tough but fair (and can often be avoided if you aren't ready to fight), and the game is great if you enjoy a slower, less action oriented gameplay style, consisting of planning for excursions, map reading, exploring new areas and hunting for equipment and provisions that will help you on your next trip.

Extremely brutal when you first get into it, I was thinking it would be a souls like adventure. In reality you're a weakling who can get smacked down by the weakest bandits and even if you have end game gear/ stats the same bandits could still kill you just as fast. Its all about game knowledge, gear, and the right skills at the right time. Eating the best food, popping buffs, sleeping and taking in account of enemies weakness and attack cues are key. The game has many unique systems in place to make it stand out; from enchanting, magic, death scenarios, puzzles for boss fights and gear. Theres a lot to love about this charming game, you'll be met with many challenges to combat and work through. The jank is real though, while you can get quest from vendors and do other small quests here and there towns are empty and serve more as hubs to craft,buy,sleep etc. The story is intriguing and piecing things together is great, doing each faction quest lets you take it all in the most but that's a lot of game time, and a lot of walking. The walking IS brutal, ive found ways to make it bearable through gear, but a new player who dosnt have that is walking halfway through a zone with a heavy pack trying to get to a new area dies and is sent back to some location thats far away. This sucks a lot, but if you stick with it learn about the fast traveling through caravaners and get some movement gear it gets mildly better. Your first play-through is definitely a crash-course, after that youll start getting build ideas, adding friends to play with, collecting gear. Then BOOM you're with a teammate fighting all the liches/bosses, building towns, and becoming the hero of Aurai. After you get to that endgame is genuinely surprising to see how far youve come and thats what makes this game one of my favorites of all time. With definitive edition you get everything, new mini bosses, dlc items in all regions, and effects/updates to existing locations and gear.

great game. pretty fun, especially with a friend. theres a little jank here and there and it certainly shows that this was made by a small team, but its fun and entertaining.

Great game, bit of a learning curve, got it on sale and def worth the sale price! Large open world layout that i happen to love.

Great game with fantasy explorer soul. Best to play with friends, alone could be hardcore

This game is a masterpiece, it's not a souls-like so don't go in expecting fast paced gameplay. Outward is all about preparation, knowing your enemies, managing your resources and learning how to survive! Now let me be clear this game is not perfect, it can feel empty at times and it doesn't have a lot of voice acting and no cutscenes at all. I personally like the combat system but before you understand it, it'll feel outdated and even after you do it's not gonna be the main draw of this game that is meele combat. But when it comes to magic, oh boy does this game shine. Outward hands down has the best magic system in any video game, they somehow made magic feel REAL. In most RPGs I played becoming a magician was basically get the spell, push a button, there you go. Not in this game you don't, using magic is a process and that might not sound like fun at first but after you get used to it something just clicks and you will feel like a master of the arcane arts and learning it feels so great because it makes your life easier and let me tell you in outward you don't start as a great hero, no you start as an average guy and literally even pearlbirds and bandits will mess you up at times in the beginning.

This game doesn't hold your hand it places you in an unforgiving world and just kinda goes "go figure it out" and I'm all for it. This game has a ton of innovative ideas and most of them work really good, one of favourites is what happens when you die, in this game you don't get to reload a save if you mess up, there is no save system, the game only saves when you exit. So what happens when you die is different everytime, sometimes a nice stranger helps you, sometimes you crawl back to town, if u died near bandits you'll became a slave or they steal you'r equipped weapon and armor and leave you to rot. The choices you make will affect your characters life in many different ways.
This is a really neat idea, one that I'd love to see implemented in more game's because it really lets you get immersed in the game. Anyway if you like magic in general or any of this sounds like fun to you GET. THIS. GAME.

Don't listen to all the knob heads who played for an hour an left a bad review, this game is an awful lot of fun if you just take your time with it, it deserves nothing but appreciation!! Games like this are really important in times like these when soo many games use the same ideas over and over again, this game doesn't do that, it's something new, something for more mature players!

It's nice but I can't play it. They don't allow you to idle and AFK. No. Instead, your character gets thirsty and hungry and die from it. And it's not like you can eat and drink to keep going no. There is very limited available non renewable amounts of drink and food, and twice as bad if you are doing coop play (which I am) = no go, not playable.

This game is a gem, it needs some refining, maybe full voice acting and a new UI, but otherwise, it's fun

Hard game, doesnt hold your hand and while its not perfect and has its issues It has been one of those unique gems of a RPG survival game. Sadly Co-OP story is only tied to the host player however all loot and stuff you find in your friends game you keep and take to yours and vice versa. I never found much issue with this because the story has concrete choices that change a lot as you play so there would not be much of a way to have 2 different players choose different paths and play the same game.

Combat is not perfect and fairly difficult early on, the game is not very beginner friendly but if you get past the initial learning curve there is a unique and stellar RPG world to discover.

This game is a great experience if you're the type of person that gives games a chance and doesn't run headfirst into the wilderness being unprepared. Always prepare before leaving Cierzo at the beginning, there are plenty of ways to make money and get the items you need slowly to be able to stay outside for longer. It's a gradual process.

I see people being annoyed at having to manage carry weight, when this is meant to be a survival adventure game. There are larger backpacks that you can find within the first 20-30 min of the game that will easily give you enough carry capacity to make it to any other region stress free.

The combat may be a little Janky but don't treat it like Dark Souls, there are no I-frames to speak of so spacing is key (Very similar to Risen franchise). If you want to play it safe use a shield to block attacks, use traps to bait enemies and make it an easy fight or make your way to Conflux mountain and pick up some magic to add a variety of different spells that will help you in combat.

At the beginning of the game go to the main gate after choosing a weapon type and talk to the guy blocking you from leaving, he'll teach you an ability related to your equipped weapon. There are other trainers in Cierzo that you can learn skills from to make you journeys outward that much easier.

The beginning is really the hardest part IMO because the game doesn't hold you hand at all when learning your limits you get bogged down with illnesses and bleeding and if you don't have the necessary preparations you'll be running slower, dying faster and end up re spawning in random places that are potentially further away from main settlements.

Once you make it our of the first region there are many different options for travel based on the faction you want to join and what kind of class you want to play the game through as, I would suggest looking up the trainers relative to a class you would be interested in to give you a direction instead of wandering aimlessly. There are MANY different weapons and spells in the game and it opens up later one one you've joined a faction.

Just take this game slow and appreciate what the game offers. If survival and inventory management isn't your thing then give it a pass but if you give it a chance you wont be disappointed.

Have a good Journey Outward!

(Side Note):

Playing single player first is probably best to understand the mechanics and factions because you don't split rewards in multiplayer, so I would suggest you play two separate factions of your choice and do the quests for each interchangeably or separately (depending on how close the two factions are from each other in the the world) if you are going to give multiplayer a go.

Worst combat system I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing. There is no fluidity in combat, it always ends up being a battle of attrition, either that or you're required to kite the enemies (that are almost always found in groups of 2 or more) away from each other lest you be beaten to death almost instantly, even by low level enemies. Granted this game is meant to be difficult but that difficulty mostly lies in borderline unwinnable combat scenarios. Not unwinnable due to enemies being strategic or having unique abilities, but by having almost all enemies you come across have health in the hundreds and having no way to stagger them without whittling down their 'poise' meter and hoping they dont end up killing you first.

It isnt all bad though, if steam had in between reviews this would be a maybe considering it has a lot of redeeming qualities, like the exploration. And im aware this is a skill issue on my part and i should just get better at the combat, but if you arent a fan of every encounter being about tanking hits until one of you ends up dying (probably you) then I wouldn't bother buying unless its on sale.

I think the game is very unfriendly for new players because it is not clear that you need to get skills or items in the next zones to really gain power. However, the ambience and exploration are basically the best I have seen in a RPG. Looking forward to Outward 2.

60% of your game time will be running from place to place and camping in the wilds after the local government seizes your house for not paying your taxes. Then while sleeping you get ambushed by bandits who capture and enslave you to work in the mines where you drink dirty water and get sick.

Overall 10/10 very realistic would recommend

Sad to see the negative review are talking about how bad the game is but all they do is trying to fight and/or grind in a exploring game. The name have a meaning to it

This is a GREAT GAME... but not for everyone. Its hard, combat can feel clunky, the story isn't that great and there is little to no hand holding. That being said, it has a learning curve.

But why is it enjoyable? It's has a slower pace souls-esc combat with an different style character skill building system. You use gold to purchase skills from trainers, but you can only "master class" train with 3 professions. (Don't be shy to look them up online.)
There's also a good amount of dungeons to explore across each biome/location and they usually have a unique item in them if a puzzle is solved or boss is defeated. That being said, there's an abundance of weapons and armors that grant different stat bonuses, so there is potential for a wide variety of fun builds/play styles.


Tips/Thing you should know:
There can unfortunately be a lot of running around, so I'd recommend keeping a set of armor that allows for more movement speed.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND MODDING. Downloading a fast travel mod so you can get from zone to zone quickly is a huge help. One of the downfalls of this game is starting with low stamina and movement speed while having to run from and to each of the locations.
There are various mods and if modding skyrim is a justifiable reason to purchase skyrim, then i'd say it's the same for this lol.
There are issues with the game that can feel nitpicky but make it hard to enjoy. Some mods can fix those issues.
Also, save scumming is pretty easy. Anytime there is a load screen a new save file is created. Exit the game, delete that last save and reload. Some fights can unexpectedly go bad quick and if you had used some rarer consumables for it, there's no getting them back.
Don't be shy to look up questlines online. The story isn't that great, but the rewards are lol. If a questline fails or you don't hit all the requirements, the rewards will be reduced, sometimes significantly.

All in all if you understand and prepare yourself for the games survival mechanics and make your own objectives such as exploring dungeons or gathering resources/materials for crafting weapons and armor to "Perfect" your build, it can be very enjoyable.

It feels like an empty MMO which is offline and a mobile game combined. I got it for the splitscreen coop, but it's just bland and doesn't feel like 2024 more like 2010 at best. Maybe someone else will like it, but it's not my cup of tea even on heavy discount.

This game is Incredible, Take your time and immerse yourself in each faction. Combat is a little too easy, Switch it up and you're in for a ride!

Only played for 3 hours so far but the game seems really underrated, honestly. Mechanics and animations are on point, survival mechanics are interesting, good balance between directions and leaving you alone to find your own way. Combat really isn't as punishing as some reviews make it seem. Enemy moves are well telegraphed, openings are fair, AI is good. Works as an open world survival or an RPG if you don't like cutscenes and excessive narrative. Highly recommend.

Pretty buggy, Kinda crappy, Buy on a sale.