Sequel Outcast – A New Beginning from THQ Nordic and Appeal Studio is ready for you on PlayStation 5. Learn more in our Outcast – A New Beginning review!
Sequel Outcast – A New Beginning from THQ Nordic and Appeal Studio is ready for you on PlayStation 5. It follows on what remake Outcast – Second Contact did on PlayStation 4 in 2017. The original Outcast was released way back in 1999, and it’s now time to return to Adelpha. You’ll take on the role Cutter Slade, who has been resurrected by the almighty Yods in order to save the Talans, who have been enslaved. You’ll have to give it your all to once again save the planet before it’s too late.
This one being made by Appeal does mean that the original developers for the first Outcast game are back at the helm to give this universe another go, now on Sony’s latest console. Yes, there is no PlayStation 4 version, so you’ll need a PS5 console for this one. And before we go any further, I do want to mention how the locations you’ll visit do look great and offer some good variety, between the jungle-like outdoors to the mythical temples… but the face for the character model for Cutter Slade looks as if they were going to put a helmet over his head right from the start because it seems out of place and undetailed compared to everything else.
There are four different difficulty settings for you to choose from: Story, Easy, Normal, and Hard. Story will allow you to experience the game’s narrative without worrying too much about combat, making it very simple to defeat your opponents. For Easy, enemies will be easier to beat and will deal less damage. They will also be less aggressive. Normal offers the standard experience, just as the developers intended. The last one is hard, in which enemies will have more health, will be more reactive, and will do more damage, thus considerably bumping up the challenge.
Once you gain control of Cutter Slade, you’ll walk around each area with the left analog stick as you move the camera with the right one. Pressing in on the left analog stick will allow you to run. The X button will be for jumping, and you can dodge by pressing the Circle button. If you press the Circle button along with the X button, you’ll perform a long jump. Melee attacks are mapped to the Square button. Once you have your weapons, you’ll be able to aim by pressing the L2 button and fire with the R2 button.
Press the L1 button to project your shield. This can be used to protect yourself from incoming attacks, but do know that you can’t just hold it up forever since it will eventually run out of energy for a bit. Collect the visor, and you can scan your surroundings by pressing down on the D-Pad. This is very useful since it will mark items that you can collect, objects you can interact with, and characters for you to talk with. By collecting Eluée Plants, you’ll be able to use them to heal your wounds by pressing up on the D-Pad.
By collecting Blue Helidium and Nano Cells, you’ll be able to unlock new nodes on the Skill Tree with upgrades. You can obtain jetpack upgrades or combat upgrades. Jetpack upgrades include things such as an energy battery to store an additional energy charge for the jetpack, a jet sprint that will allow you to gently glide over the ground by pressing the L1 and R1 buttons, or the glide ability, so that you can glide through the air while airborne, allowing you clear large distances without touching the ground.
As for the potential combat upgrades that you can get in exchange for your hard-earned Nano Cells, some examples are a boost to all melee damage dealt, a module upgrade so that you can install more modules on your weapons, a reinforcement for your shield so that it can take more damage before breaking, an armor upgrade to reduce the damage you receive, a tackle that will make it possible to hit an enemy while dodging, or q charged attack so that you can press and hold down the Square button to charge up your melee attack to deal extra damage and potentially stun enemies.
Since you’ll be exploring the planet of the Talans in another dimension, there are many different things you probably won’t be familiar with. This is why your Database will be a very important resource. From there, you can review the Bestiary to learn more about the different enemies you’ll be fighting against. There’s also a Characters tab with information on the many characters you’ll meet, such as the Almayel, the sacred ruler and oracle of Adelpha. There’s also a Diaries section with more specialized information that you’ll unlock by finding some locations or performing specific actions. The last tab is the Glossary, which encompasses all remaining elements that don’t fit into the previously mentioned tabs.
The game features a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy for you to work on. The list has 40 Bronze trophies, 9 Silver trophies, and 2 Gold trophies. You’ll have to complete the tutorials, destroy 500 droids, defeat 200 creatures, obtain the rifle, equip a module, spend 5,000 Nano Cells, open up all Daoka – the magical portals that will allow you to fast travel – clear all nasty Gork eruptions, neutralize all 30 outposts, neutralize all bases, open 50 Orym chests, and earn 3,000 Zorkind, to name some examples.
Sequel Outcast – A New Beginning once again brings together the original development team for one more go at saving Adelpha from certain doom. As the Talans’ last hope against the invaders, you’ll have to collect a bunch of gear, find modules, and unlock upgrades for your jetpack and your combat abilities. Other than how weird the main character’s model looks and some audio issues I ran into, this is a fun 3D adventure on Sony’s current-gen console. Outcast – A New Beginning is out on PlayStation 5 with a $69.99 price tag.
Disclaimer
This Outcast – A New Beginning review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by THQ Nordic.
