035PREVIEW
have been sent insane by the bizarre storms that
still ravage the landscape. Amid the carnage ‘altered’
beings walk as gods – and our exposure to the
destructive alien storm and subsequent sleep has
turned us into one of these evolved humans.
In our hands-on this manifests as the ability to
launch rivers of fire, freeze time, and cloak ourselves
in a rock-like armoured skin. Evolved humans are
split into classes – Trickster, Pyromancer, and
Devastators – and we can earn new active and
passive abilities using XP. (This is Outriders’ nod to
being an RPG.) Though there’s a Mass Effect veneer
to the styling and the option to engage in dialogue
trees to discover character backstories, there are no
alternate paths or narrative branches.
If Outriders’ roleplaying is light-touch, reduced to
character creation and ability upgrades, its combat is
far heavier. People Can Fly understands its strengths,
and that’s shooting. Lots of shooting. Combat feels
physical; it’s heavy and robust, with enemies sitting
on the right side of the bullet sponge gauge. Rattling
shots into an armoured foe sees them dance with
each bullet that hits. They stumble and stagger like
puppets on the strings of our machine-gun fire. It
feels fantastic. Combined with our character’s altered
skills, there’s a unique tactical juggling act at play as
we set alight a group of enemies before peppering
their vulnerable bodies with bullets.
In three-player co-op the shooting gets
better. The enemy AI feels more aggressive,
and a lack of teamwork can ensure a fight
spirals out of control if you fail to defend
your flanks or believe hiding behind cover
will offer protection. (It won’t.) The enemy
will find your weakness and make the most
of it, and in this sense Outriders succeeds.GUN QUEST
While the RPG side of the game feels
limited in our early hands-on, the game
changes with how we play. Each map is a
central hub, consisting of your upgradeable
truck and caravan of followers (which
grows over the course of the game), linking
intocombat arenas. Hidden in this hub are side-
missions, which offer tasty incentives such as new
weapons, armour, and extra XP to develop your
outrider. For example, we rescue Eva from a handsy
merc, and after she reopens her shop and we flirt
through some iffy dialogue, she offers a choice of rare
gun-shaped rewards.
The end-of-stage boss in our hands-on is easier
to defeat with two side-quests under our belts than
without. The earned ‘rare’ weapons and clothing –
stat-ranked helmets, boots, gloves, and armour – put
an end to the electrically-charged altered enemy far
more quickly than we can manage with our old kit.
While Outriders is shooting down the same
RPG-influenced corridors as live service games like
The Division and Destiny there will be no lootboxes.
The entire game will be playable on day one – yes,
we’re told its 40-hour story will be playable with
no need to purchase additional content. We could
bemoan the lack of serious roleplaying present in
our demo, as the only way to affect this world is
via the barrel of a gun. Yet when the combat is
this enjoyable and open to abuse by three players
blending abilities, classes, and weapon choices, we
don’t think you’ll notice too often how restrictive
the campaign could turn out to be.FACTRICK
The game will feature 15
‘World Difficulties’ to rank
through.Weplayedupto
numberfive.1.GETHARDThere are eight primary
abilities to unlock for each
characterclass.Therewill
befourclassesatlaunch.2.MAXDAMAGEWe’re promised hundreds
of guns to unlock or earn,
including some weird alien
technology to master.3.GUNS‘N’MOREAbove Playing alone restricts your tactical choices and the AI feels less
aggressive, but Outriders is still shaping into a solid shooter for lone wolves.
Above Bosses have set attack patterns that can reveal
weaknesses; you just need to get the timing spot on.
Above What’s a shooter-RPG without the option to collect
loads of stat-buffed armour and weapons?
“IT’S HEAVY AND
ROBUST WITH ENEMIES
SITTING ON THE RIGHT
SIDE OF THE BULLET
SPONGE GAUGE.”