Outriders Review
Author: Griffin.
Genres: Action Adventure, Reviews, RPG.
Outriders directory.
Here is our Outriders review giving you a subjective, unbiased review helping you make a more educated decision on whether or not the game is for you.
- Release Date: 01-Apr-2021.
- Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC.
- Price At Launch: £59.99.
Free on GamePass at launch for console only. PC will still need to pay full price. - Developer: People Can Fly.
- Publisher: Square Enix.
- Genre: Third Person Shooter, Action-Adventure.
The game
Outriders is a third person shooter, action adventure looter shooter game that sees you play through as an “altered” Outrider utilising one of the four available classes in the game each who restore health in unique ways making it important to pick the class that suits your playstyle.
You have the Technomancer, a cryo infused warrior who can utilise gun turrets and grenades who replenishes health upon damaging the enemy, the best for newcomers to the genre.
Next up is the Pyromancer who can use some devastating fire attacks for long lasting damage who recovers health once enemies that have been burnt by your skills are defeated. More for the advanced player this one.
Third on the list is the Trickster, a character that can slow time and fold space allowing for defensive tactics that can rip enemies apart. The Trickster regenerates health and shields by killing enemies up close, good for half decent third person shooter players.
Finally we have the tank, the Devastator and who I mained the story with the first time around. The Devastator is exactly that, an incredibly powerful class that can negate a good portion of damage that comes your way and unleash some very powerful AOE attacks. Devastators’ replenish their health from enemies that get to close.
A good choice for beginners and skilled players alike.
As an Outrider, you’re tasked with going through the planet in search of the source of the storm ultimately culminating in saving the human race. The story definitely leans on the fantastical side of science fiction getting more and more intense as you progress.
When Outriders is working, it is a fantastic game.
You get tonnes of cool abilities and new gear every few minutes so you’re always on top of a combat scenario unless you go to far through the World Tiers which are a a very nice twist on the difficulty, we’ll go over the World Tiers more later in the review.
The action is fast paced and there’s always plenty to do with a decent length story and a tonne of side missions / activities to work your way through.
The good
The gun play is very good, it feels solid albeit in an arcadey way, this game is no Call Of Duty or Battlefield but that adds to the games’ style and character.
There are four different classes to choose once you complete the prologue, all of which bring unique skill sets along with them which depending on your build can make or break a battle, and there are a lot of battles to go through in Outriders.
Outriders is definitely at its best when you have an army of enemies either humanoid or otherwise to get through as you make your way through to your next objective and there’s always a challenge to be had given the World Tiers that are available.
World Tiers are essentially 15 levels of difficulty ranging from an “easy mode” to an intense level 15 battle mode where you’ll need the best gear to have any chance of taking down the enemies that throw themselves at you in battle.
Outriders can be played in online co-op cross play, when it’s working, which to be honest, wasn’t very often for me at launch.
When it is working, however, it’s a good time that can be had with friends or with other online players as you fight your way through the areas.
The not so good
Outriders, Outriders, Outriders…
I’m torn between this being a very good, solid, action looter-shooter with incredibly cool abilities and some awesome gameplay or a broken mess with more connection issues than my dead Grandma trying to figure out a WiFi code.
The main problem with Outriders is that it requires a constant online connection, the second that drops off either at the server end or locally, you’re instantly kicked out of the game lobby even when playing solo losing mission progress, gear and patience.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be a one off. I play in the UK with ultrafast dedicated fibre. My PS5 runs on its own business internet line and I’ve had more dropouts on Outriders than any other game I’ve ever played which in 2021 isn’t acceptable.
Audio
Outriders sounds… OK. It’s not going to blow you away or rewrite the rule book on how a voice actor portrays a character, the guns sound as they should and the skills have appropriate noises, either slams or whooshes or flames burning.
The characters you meet throughout the game including your protagonist do a decent enough job of portraying what they need to, with a few accents thrown in to mix things up.
Online
When the online side of things is working, which unfortunately, isn’t very often, Outriders is a dream to play, especially if you team up with friends as you progress through taking down hordes of enemies and gathering up the best loot.
The problem is, Outriders is an online only game, which, whilst it can be played solo, forcing everyone to play online I don’t think was a wise decision as the servers clearly struggle given the amount of dropouts that are being experienced and as soon as you lose connection, all of your current mission progress is lost as well which is frustrating to say the least!
Trophies
There is a decent selection of trophies to be found throughout Outriders, seeing you need to complete the main story, perform a few combat moves as well as levelling up your character and your accolade level which sees you go through nearly everything the game has to offer on your way towards the Platinum.
Click the link to go to the Outriders Trophy Guide.
Gallery
Here are a series of photos to show you how the game looks:
Overall
If Outriders didn’t have such severe connection issues for being an online only game it would certainly be a better experience, unfortunately though, I have to review this game as is, and its current state at launch, just isn’t acceptable.
The servers clearly struggle to cope with everyone being online either in solo play or with other players.
Once the developers fix the connection issues, Outriders will be a very good third person looter shooter with a plethora of skills and weaponry at your disposal, sadly though, at launch, it’s not there yet.
Maybe another 3-6 months development time and Outriders would have received an 8 / 9 out of 10, sadly not though, due to the amount of connection issues and current state of the game. Outriders is scored a just above average 6 / 10.
Final Score: 6
That’s our Outriders Review I hope it helps you decide whether or not the gams is worth your time and money.