The melting pot
Outland is a cool game. It takes a lot neat ideas from a wide variety of sources, and mashes them all together in clever, interesting ways. It may not push any individual idea farther than it’s been before, but such a unique combination of mechanics is a refreshing treat, making Outland a blast to play.
Outland is perhaps best described as an agglomeration of ideas: 2D platforming, pattern based combat, semi-open world exploration, and dual color “bullet hell” gameplay (think Ikaruga) are its main components. Each one is done really well too. The world design is consistently solid, and combines with the tight controls to make the platforming and exploration satisfying throughout. You’ll find plenty of neat power-ups that allow you to access previously inaccessible areas, which generally contain additional upgrades and collectibles. I would have personally liked more interesting and/or rewarding collectibles, but what’s there isn’t bad. The combat is also serviceable in its simplicity, and there’s a decent amount of enemy variety to keep it fresh. The bosses are particularly noteworthy, with some of them being pretty epic encounters. Finally, the Ikaruga style light and dark mechanic adds another layer to everything you do. Enemies, platforms, and switches are almost always one color or the other, and you have to constantly switch your own alignment back and forth on the fly to make it through the game’s hazards.
On their own, none of these things are particularly noteworthy. Each of them has been done better somewhere else, but Outland really shines when all of its pieces are functioning together. It’s incredibly exciting to be doing things like jumping across light and dark platforms as bullets and enemies of both colors litter your path. These kinds of scenarios are commonplace by the game’s end, forcing you to switch your character’s alignment back and forth with precise timing. In fact, Outland can get pretty challenging in spots, which I enjoyed. I frequently felt pushed but not overwhelmed, which made completing those tricky segments extra rewarding. Last but not least, Outland is a beautiful game (even if the story is a bit dull). I absolutely love its art style, and its original musical score is awesome- some of the later tracks are downright epic. Perhaps best of all is that Outland gives you all of this for a measly $10. I spent almost eight hours playing the game, and it sustains its high quality for that entire time. Such a small price tag almost seems to be an injustice against the developers, as Outland is simply worth more than it costs.
Sure, you could describe Outland as “Prince of Persia meets Ikaruga meets Super Metroid” if you really wanted to, but that’s doing the game a clear disservice. The way it combines so many different elements makes it feel like nothing you’ve ever played before, and it’s clear that the talented team at Housemarque put a lot of thought into every part of their game. If you have any amount of appreciation for unique, high quality downloadable titles, you owe it to yourself to give Outland a shot.
For additional information on my review style and scoring system, click here.
