Outriders is a multiplayer video game, now that the game is out there is one lingering question Is Outriders Worth it? Despite its shortcomings, Outriders has amazing combat. It seems like the combination of Gears, Anthem, The Division, Destiny, and Avengers all in a single package. The fast-paced and aggressive nature of its combat is a sweet combination. The more aggressively you play, the better Outriders feel. The story is generic but the lore of the game is rich. You are the one with powers and are expected to be the savior of the human race. The setting of the game has a good design but the levels are bland.
The game makes a bad impression at first but playing it for a couple of hours can change a person’s perception regarding the game. Outriders lean more towards being a Co-Op game rather than a live service game. It is more fun when played with friends. Outriders utilize its Co-Op aspect by letting players combine abilities from different classes. At its core, Outriders is a looter shooter with good loot mechanics. The build-making system and loot go hand in hand to provide a good experience. Better loot is not just numbers going up because they can be used to make builds.
Outriders had a rough launch that was plagued by glitches and crashes. Most online games launch with a large number of glitches so this was to be expected. The server issues and other glitches are less prevalent after updates. It plays and feels like a 7th gen console game which is not something that I expect from a cross-gen game of 2021. Its Co-Op nature and lack of an in-game store does not show a bright future making you wonder Is Outriders Worth it? Let’s find out.
Premise of Outriders
Outriders take place on the planet of Enoch. Earth is destroyed and humanity has traveled to another planet in hopes of a fresh start. Events lead to anomaly and you get into hibernation. After getting out of hibernation, you have special powers. As one of the last Outriders, you have to help humanity live through the nightmare. Once again humanity is at war with each other and natives of the planet. History is repeating itself on another Planet and hence the war.
The story is generic like other looter shooters. You can feel the vibes of Destiny in the story. As you progress you will come into contact with other characters. These characters will shed light on the lore and progress of the story. I wouldn’t call the story good because it’s just generic. It’s not like Outriders has a story-driven narrative since its central focus is being a looter shooter. Your character has a voice, unlike other looter shooters bringing it to life. Having a voice brings your character to life making them an important part of the events. The story and characters have not a lot to offer and feel like it’s just there to justify the existence of the game. It makes you wonder Is Outriders Worth it? Well, there is more.
Good Setting but Bad Design
The artistic style of levels is good because levels are divided into different types of habitats. The level design includes desert, snow, grasslands, tranches, and ruins of old buildings. However, the level design, in general, is not that good and it feels more like glorified hallways. Settlements are good and lively with lots of NPCs. Especially the Trench town which is quite good for a game with straightforward levels. There isn’t much interaction that these levels offer other than moving around even in towns. The level design reminds me of the Godfall which followed somewhat a similar pattern. A good artistic style of levels does not mean good level design.
Acting is Horrible
Voice Acting of character is horrible and it might be one of the worst Voice Acting I have seen in a video game. At times, it almost seems intentional. I mean how can you not put emotions in some of the most intense sequences? The lack of emotion makes it seem hollow and even the voice of your character can’t save it. Your character has the voice but the voice acting of your character is as bad as they come. Characters are supposed to show anger, happiness, focus, concern when there is need but in Outriders, there is none. Even dialogues are not good. Dialogues do not carry any weight other than progressing the story forward.
It has even worse voice acting than some of the full-fledged RPG games in which voice acting is mostly neglected. RPG mechanics of Outriders does not impact story or gameplay so they are just there to present multiple choices of dialogues. It doesn’t really matter what dialogue you choose because the end result would remain the same. The bad voice acting might make you wonder Is Outriders Worth it? Well, it doesn’t end there.
RPG and Looter Shooter
RPG mechanics of the game are not good but they are there and sometimes, can play an active part. Like most other looter shooters, you have the choice of building character. At the start of the game, you make your character like any other RPG. Character building is not that good and offers only basic customization. You get to choose from a specific set of faces and even the choices of color are not that much. Character creation is basic so don’t expect too much customization when making your character.
Build-making is good and it helps in improving your character. The more time you spend on your character the better it will become. Loot is not just about sheer numbers, sure better numbers mean better loot but that’s not the only thing. The roles and abilities of different items play a key role in the formation of builds. Leveling up helps you upgrade your characters through both gear pieces and abilities. Outriders reward you for spending more time in the game and the frequency of loot drop is better than other such games. It rewards you for playing and spending more time on the improvement of your character. Is Outriders Worth it based on what you know so far about its RPG mechanics?
Rough Launch
The game has a rough launch and was extremely broken at launch. Updates have fixed most of the issues but not all. Bugs and crashes were extremely prevalent but it’s now better. Even after all the updates, it is still not an ideal game. There are still some bugs and balancing issues. I hope that it does not end like Anthem which seems to be a possibility. The game has server issues and there are also issues with cross-play.
Outriders as An Online Game
You might be wondering Is Outriders Worth it for its always-online nature? First, you have to know the type of online game it is. Outriders lean more towards being a Co-Op than a live service game. At times it seems like the game is stuck somewhere between being a live service game and a Co-Op game. Outriders is an online game that directly contradicts the previous claim of People Can Fly. It is online only even if you are playing solo.
Combat is The Star of The Show
The combat of Outriders is brutal and aggression is always rewarding. Different classes have different ways of gaining health but all of them have one thing in common. You have to attack enemies to regain health. Depending on the class you can get the health back on kill, applying effects, or attacking enemies. If you want to survive you have an attack because that’s the only way to get the health back. The more aggressive you play the more health you gain. Outriders will reward you for playing aggressively through healing and reduction of the cooldown time of abilities. The aggressive nature of the combat makes it both chaotic and brutal at the same time. You can feel the adrenaline rush when you are in combat. There is always a chance to come back if you are aggressive enough. Is Outriders Worth it? For its aggressive combat.
The sounds that the gun produces when fired are quite good. Not to mention the after-effects of shots, enemies can explode if the force of the shot is strong enough. Sometimes, even normal shots can explode enemies. The blood and gore in the game are similar to the Gears series and acts as a constant reminder of Gears 5. For good reason, People Can Fly were the co-developers of Gears of War: Judgment. They are also the developers of the Bullet Storm and the essence of it is visible in Outriders. The game wants you to use abilities and it will even force you to do so. Aggressiveness impacts every part of its combat making it more interesting. Depending on the abilities you can turn the combat into your playground. The effects that the abilities produce are really good and make the combat look better.
Cover Mechanics does Not Sit Well with Other Aspects of the Combat
The brutal and fast-paced nature of combat makes it fun but it also does not sit well with its cover mechanics. At times cover mechanics seems unnecessary. I have completed missions without taking cover. You might even forget that cover mechanics exist, once you are focused on combat. So Is Outriders worth it for you? due to its chaotic combat with less option to take cover. It’s not like taking cover is going to help you in any way in most cases. The abilities force you to get out in the open. If you want to do more damage and regain health then cover mechanics becomes useless. The aggressive nature of the combat is rewarding but it directly contradicts the cover mechanics. The inclusion of cover is confusing because the rest of the combat mechanics does not sit well with it.
Customization
Outriders offer a large amount of customization. It offers one of the most extensive amounts of customization in looter shooter games. Using different gear pieces and combat can enhance the combat. The better your gear is the better the build will perform. You will find random attributes on weapons that can help you improve your build. These attributes will complement other parts of the build helping your build to perform better. You can replace any mode on a weapon to customize it the way you want. Even if you dismantle a weapon, you don’t just get material but the mods on that weapon as well. Builds will directly impact your damage and health so they are an essential part of the game. Is Outriders Worth it for you for all the customization that it offers? There is more to it.
There are four different classes in Outriders. These classes include Pyromancer, Trickster, Devastator, and Technomancer. All four of these combat classes have different abilities. Pyromancer is all about using fire, Trickster is a close-range class with high speed, Devastator is a tank class that can stand its ground and takes heavy hits, Technomancer is a long-range class that can support allies and does massive damage. Devastator is a tank but it is still the worse class. The game rewards you for being aggressive. Doing a large amount of damage in a short time is always better because you need to damage enemies to heal. Devastator is a tank that can’t actually stand the ground. Surprisingly the most efficient class is Technomancer which is supposed to be a support class. There is a big issue when it comes to the balance of power between the classes.
Skill Tree
All of the classes have skill trees and these skill trees are important to complement builds. Each skill tree is divided into three sub-skill trees. Depending on your build and playstyle you can focus on damage, defense, or abilities. You can respect the skill tree any time you want for another build. The skill tree system is similar to the one in Borderlands. There is a huge emphasis on customization and every aspect of the game is affected by it. Outriders is a good looter shooter if you only focus on the implementation of its loot mechanics.
General Gameplay of Outriders
In the looks department, Outriders is not a next-gen game from any angle. In fact, it looks even worse than an Xbox One and PlayStation 4 game. It could have been a good-looking game on 7th gen consoles but not in this day and age. It is one of the worst-looking AAA games on the 8th gen consoles. The game looks bad on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X as well. Even if you play it on a high-end PC it still won’t look any better. Even the movement is not fluid and characters move rigidly similar to the games in the Xbox 360 era. I just don’t understand why the developers would make it look so bad. The least they could have done is make it look a little better.
One of the most annoying aspects of the game is its point-less cut scenes. If you want to travel from one location to another or even want to open a door then there will always be a cut scene. These cut scenes are annoying and unnecessary because it does not act as a loading screen. There is always a loading screen waiting for you even after the cut scenes. Even if you are playing on an 8th gen console, you have to look at the cut scenes and a snap of the loading screen.
Is Outriders Worth it for its customization? Well, the customization extends beyond your characters. You can even customize how your truck looks. You can’t get inside the truck but its exterior is customizable. Despite being a Looter Shooter there is an emphasis on RPG mechanics as well.
Outriders as Co-Op
Outriders is a Looter Shooter at its core with good combat. Think of it as a 3rd person diablo that plays and feels like Gears of War, Anthem, Borderlands, The Division and, Destiny. Though it has a different identity than any of these games, the influence of these games is there. The things that make the game fun are builds, gear, and customization. Build-making is an important part of the game. Outriders lean more towards being a Co-Op rather than a full-fledged game as a service. Things could change later but at the time of this writing, there is no in-game store. The game is free from Microtransaction and according to the developers, Outriders is a one-time package.
World Tiers are an important part of the game and it could make it difficult or easy. The higher the World Tier the tougher are the enemies and rewards are also better. At the higher World Tier, you will get better rewards that will help you make better builds. Getting experience will help in rising up your World Tier. The total number of World Tiers in the game is 15 and farming at max World Tier will help you get better loot. If you die you will lose XP which will result in the setback of unlocking the next World Tier. Dying a couple of times can even result in demotion of World Tier. Is Outriders Worth it for you? For its integration of World Tier with XP and Co-Op nature.
Outriders As An Online Game
Things look good for Outriders as a Co-Op game but things start to become messy once you consider its status as an online game. Sure Outriders is not a live service game but it is an online game which is kind of problematic. The issues that are plaguing the game don’t just stop at bugs but verity as well. Outriders is a looter shooter so repeatability is expected but Outriders is taking it to a certain level.
The lack of verity and level diversity is plaguing the game. There are only a few types of enemies and some of the bigger enemies are extreme versions of the base enemies. After playing the game for a couple of hours you will get tired of shooting the same enemies in different locations. The level design visually looks different but it’s all just glorified hallways. Even their layout is similar which makes it a highly repeatable experience.
Side missions, bounties, and monster hunts are also part of this cycle. Bounties revolve around hunting target with guns and monster hunts revolves around hunting a specific monster. That’s the only difference between the two. In a sense, it’s the same thing with different types of enemies. Rewards and approaches are different but at its core, it’s the same thing. Side missions are generic and most of them are just different versions of each other. Though it is better than the other side content of the game. Is Outriders Worth it for you? as an online game now that you know about its online nature.
End Game Content
Whenever there is a mention of looter shooter the lingering question is the end game content. Good end game content can help the game in keeping players on the servers for a long time. Since Outriders is not a live service game, it might not even be the focus of developers. The end game content of Outriders is digestible but it’s not great by any means. The name of its end game content is Expeditions. You can start it after reaching level 30 which is the cap level. As a fan of looter shooter Is Outriders Worth it for its end-game content?
According to developers, it is a different experience than the base game but in reality, that’s not the case. Expeditions are timed-based events that take place in the terrain similar to that of the base game. The difference between the levels of base games and Expeditions is not much so you might even confuse it for being the same levels on a smaller scale. Depending on the completion time of the Expedition your reward can be good or bad.
Is Outriders Worth Playing For A Long Time? (Future of Outriders)
A live service game survives through microtransactions. The in-game store plays a huge role when it comes to income generation for a live service game. The goal of developers of such games is to keep players in the game for as long as possible. The more people play it the more will they spend in the in-game store thus the revenue. Some of this revenue is used to bring new updates to the game and keep it fresh.
Outriders is not a live service game, there is no in-game store. The only income that the developers receive for it is through the upfront cost. If a person buys the Outriders the developers/publishers will get the money. That is the end of the cycle for any game that does not have an in-game store. Developers release different versions of the same game in the form of Deluxe Edition, Complete Edition, Collector Edition, etc. Doing so helps developers sell games for a higher price.
Additionally, developers will release paid DLCs as post-game content. These DLCs would help developers/publishers keep on earning money. The base game of some Co-Op games would receive updates as an advertisement for the DLC. The thing is that Outriders is a complete package so it means that there won’t be DLCs. Developers of Outriders kept on insisting that it will be a complete package so don’t expect any updates. If developers are not gaining anything from the game why would they release the update? Unless they change their mind later down the line. At present, I don’t see any future for Outriders due to its complete package nature.
Conclusion
Outriders is a looter shooter with many promises but minimal delivery. It had a rough launch and was plagued by major bugs that made it nearly unplayable. The server issues are now resolved but there are still crashes from time to time at the time of this writing. A lot of things such as customization and crafting are not even part of the demo. The full game is better than the demo so don’t judge it on the basis of the demo.
It is a good looter shooter with lots of customization but not a good game in general. Aside from combat and customization, all other aspects of the game are mediocre at best. Enemies can be bullet sponges and will have limited variety. The game does not make a first good impression but can become better with time. Outriders is not the type of game that is going to keep you glued from start to finish. It is a Co-Op looter shooter and that’s exactly how it should be played. Don’t expect an exceptional story or game but rather expect a good Co-Op shooter which it is.
There is repeatability and levels are bland but it gets better as you play more of it. Just don’t expect to play it for a long time because there might be no update for it due to its pure Co-Op nature. Unless developers decide to make it a live service game or release paid DLC content for it. What do you think? Is Outriders Worth it based on all you know about the game so far? Let us know in the comments.
Is Outriders Your Type of Game?
Now let’s answer the question “Is Outriders Worth it?” If you are a fan of looter shooters then Outriders will be to your liking. If you like Co-Op games then Outriders could be the game for you. In case you have Game Pass and Xbox console then go for it since it is available on Game Pass. It might also be a game for players who want to experience chaotic combat.
Outriders might not be the game for players who are not into looter shooters or Co-Op games. It might also not be the game for players who are not into online-only games and like games with a good story. Outriders is has repeatability and might not receive any updates or DLC. So don’t expect to keep on playing it for a long time like live service games. Outriders is the type of game that I would buy at sale rather than full price.
