Outward

From the outset, it is clear that Outward has not seen the type of polish indicative of a AAA game - the landscapes are pretty flat, the colours are (mostly) pretty muted, the models and textures aren't of a high standard, the combat has only a few tricks and story beats seem to circumvent eventual efforts to care about the world.

There is something to this game though, I find it hard to identify what leaves me thinking about it months after finishing it. I played this game mostly co-op with 1 person, we eventually walked away from the game after what seemed like the end of all story sections in the main game, amounting to around 30-35 hours of gameplay - there is sufficient content to justify a price tag of around £30, especially in comparison to something like Jedi Fallen Order, which admittedly was very good but upon a purely binary review, I shelled out £40 for 14 hours of gameplay.

The beginning of this game will often make or break your experience, the combat is pretty difficult and sluggish and it is clear that you will have to bend to the it's rules. The world can be colourful at times, but landscapes don't always beckon you towards them in hopes of finding unique treasures, the game has not developed it's level or graphical design to a point that intrigues you to explore every corner, knowing that your perseverance will be well rewarded, although it features some dungeons which are quite fun to battle through.

Musically is where this game shines the most for me, the soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal - adventurous and grandiose, whilst being able to stand out amongst other classic open world soundtracks.

Outward has your standard RPG elements, a host of weapons and armour to find, magic to use once you gain the ability, which comes later on in the game, stats to level up and a variety of monsters to fight.

This game has spirit, I'm just not sure it has the polish or design pedigree necessary to warrant any re-plays or entice novices to the genre.