Outcast – A New Beginning (Xbox Series) Review

Outcast – A New Beginning feels like the perfect sequel arriving at the very wrong time. When the first game released in 1999, its vast but relatively shallow open-world was still a novelty. It played much like any other clunky third-person PC shooter from that time – the kind that just felt like a first-person shooter with the camera pulled back – but it had an incredible sense of scale and allowed you to tackle objectives from literally any angle, rather than being funnelled down a corridor of some sort. In 2024, Outcast – A New Beginning releases into a market that has been saturated by open-world games in the last decade.

The sequel picks up right after the first game – sort of – as Cutter Slade’s attempt to travel back to Earth works out about as well as his first trans-dimensional jump. He finds himself back on Adelpha, receiving voices and visions from the Yods (gods), and he’s unable to revert (die) without being dragged back from the brink. He’s a partial amnesiac slowly rediscovering his past – making it perfect for new players; he receives visions of a daughter he can’t fully remember, providing fresh motivation to get back to Earth; but also messages for the Almayal leaders of the Talan, warning them to take steps to save themselves from extinction at the hands of new invaders. Invaders that appear to be the human military Cutter once worked for, who are now pursuing murderous colonial ambitions.

In a rare moment of disunity, the Almayal are split on their interpretation of the Yods’ warning. One seeks to destroy the invaders’ camps with the help of the surviving Dolotai Guardians, reclaiming the extracted White Helidium needed to shield their holy city with a barrier called the “The Spear”. The other believes that reuniting the disparate tribes, reconnecting the “Daoka” portal network, and re-establishing a traditional mating festival, “The Okastok”, is the best way to sustain the Talan population. There’s a lot introduced in the opening hours (supplemented by an in-game glossary and lore entries) as Cutter finds himself on a quest to save Adelpha again, hoping the Yods will finally grant him passage home. What should be obvious to those who’ve played a video game in the last 15 years, is that this narrative premise is the perfect set-up for a campaign built around clearing map icons and ticking off checklists.

And clear them you shall, often in the most predictable and repetitive way possible. As tedious as over-long open-world games have become, most now offer a decent diversity of mission types, with unique scripted sequences or mini-games to keep things fresh. In contrast, Outcast – A New Beginning relies on its vast, beautiful, and quirky setting coupled with fun jet pack-driven traversal to keep you entertained as you tackle run-of-mill activities. You’ll collect X of a thing, kill Y number of something, completing checkpoint style races or parkour challenges, endure a few dreaded escort missions, and you’ll destroy dozens of bases and giant drills by disabling shields, activating switches to expose a core, and shooting weak spots. For those interested in achievements or trophies, this means most of them are based on completing an activity once, then another for clearing all of them.

It’s as traditional as it comes, and that core gameplay loop is not helped by janky movement that often sees you stuck on scenery; clunky combat that never really evolves beyond functional; and upgrade mechanics for Cutter’s abilities and weapons that feel too limited to hold up in the long run. It’s also a game full of busywork beyond the questing. In addition to grinding materials for upgrades, crafting, and potions, you also need to collect basic green and red Helidium that serves as ammunition for your weapons – though at least the latter spews out of fallen foes in arcade-like fashion, harking back to classic shooter design. The issue is you can sometimes fail a boss fight and then have to hoover up more resources and craft more healing potions before attempting it again.

Now despite all that, I can’t help but appreciate the lack of pretension. Too many modern games have this perverse desire to dress up mechanical busywork as some narratively significant endeavour, often wasting your time with minutes’ worth of dialogue or cutscenes that do little to obscure the simplistic design. Outcast – A New Beginning has plenty of optional dialogue for those that want it, but it features a brash protagonist, concise quest-givers, and provides clear objectives so you can get back on track chasing map icons and completing checklists quickly. It gives the game better pacing than you might expect, and much of the engagement comes from constantly bouncing between tasks so swiftly you don’t have time to criticise them on an individual basis.

It also helps that the game offers a clear flow chart for each priority mission path, outlining your objectives, progress, and even the eventual outcome. Destroying invader outposts not only bolsters the strength of The Spear shield, but reveal more about Cutter’s past, the aftermath of the first game, he slowly rec laims his lost gear, and comes to realise the military is side-lining humans trying to establish peaceful negotiations. Helping the villages thrive and re-establish the Okastok ritual feels a little more fleshed out, with multi-stage quests that send you around Adelpha – albeit still based around busywork – culminating in some sort of organic weapon Cutter can summon to aid him in battle against the invader’s droids and machines.

Another unexpected highlight was Cutter Slade himself. I’ve no idea if it was intentional, but he does a decent job straddling the line between old-school action hero and the modern sad-dad template. He’s still snarky to authority figures, especially those obsessed with maintaining control or dated traditions, but he can channel endearing dad-vibes when supporting many younger Talan trying to make sense of a world in turmoil. That’s not to say he’s suddenly a complex character with sagely wisdom for those he helps, but its far more tolerable than endless sarcasm in the first game.

Despite ending on a positive note, Outcast – A New Beginning is still fundamentally a traditional open-world game that has arrived a decade too late. Thanks to a jet pack you can level up quickly to tear around Adelpha, it’s a lot of fun for the first dozen or so hours. The problem is even with a beautiful world and likeable cast, it does too little to differentiate itself, even though it’s a much shorter game than some of its peers at around 25 hours to complete the main story and a handful of side activities. That said, Outcast – A New Beginning reaffirms my belief that if you’re developing a game around busywork, you’re better off not wasting the player’s time pretending to be more than that. Given the cult status of the first game, I’ve no doubt it’ll have some admirers, but a generous score from me would be a fun-but-flawed 7/10.

Outcast – A New Beginning was reviewed on Xbox Series S|X using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC and PS5.