Outriders: Demo Review

Over 15 Hours

That's how long I've spent in this demo, and that's with probably 14 of it in one class. Outriders is a game that has a lot of potential. What we get to learn about the story shows we're in for a brutal world that really shows the worst of humanity, in a desperate situation. Throw in super-powered Altered who don't seem to care about anyone but themselves, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

Perfect. Typical.

The Good

Satisfying powers, smooth gunplay, and loot loot loot.

Powers

I'll be real honest that of the four powers available, only one of them really gave me the feeling I was looking for.

• Devastator- Stone Tank
• Pyromancer - Fire Conjurer
• Technomancer - Technology Support
• Trickster - Spacetime Wizard

That last one has been some of the most fun I've experienced in quite a long while. There are four abilities you get to sample between a Temporal Blade, a dome that slows bullets and enemies, teleporting behind enemies at a distance, and a powerful buff for your bullets. Zipping around the battlefield, slowing everyone around you and walking between bullets as you decimate enemies with a shotgun in bloody gibs is as satisfying as it sounds.

Which brings us to Gunplay:

Weapons are diverse enough, have good kick, and feel responsive. The cover system on PC could be a little bit tighter, but is more responsive with a controller or on console. The aiming is fluid and smooth, and the dodge quick enough and far enough to keep the pace of combat tight and quick. I would like the cover mechanics to be a little bit tighter, as a long time Gears of War fan, but the powers and abilities are more geared towards temporary cover rather than peaking out. Thankfully, the loot for armor and weapons cover your weaknesses.

Loot

I tend to get very excited about getting a good piece of loot, and I think that Outriders does it fantastically. 2 Primary guns, a sidearm, and the 5 loot slots start basic with white and the slightly better green colored options, that are typical of many looter shooters. By the time you unlock your 3 power and start finding blue colored items, your build really begins to take off. The shops offering an upgraded weapon or piece of gear at a slight discount once an hour is also an attractive game to keep people playing, looking for the next piece. But be careful, the demo is not without it's bugs.

The Bad

I've never played a game or demo of any kind that crashed so often and so consistently. I've figured out the most effective way to prevent any hard earned progress from being erased, i.e. newly purchased armor, guns, and earned credits is simply to quit to the lobby after doing literally, anything. Opening the inventory, accepting a mission, exiting a location; the game crashes. The load times and transitions in between really aren't an issue when the game crashes if I so much as look the wrong way.

The Verdict

I want more. The game crashes, I send the error and restart, and wait for it to crash again. It's still a solid game when it runs, with rewarding gameplay, exciting loot, and a world I'm eager to see more of. I'm planning to buy the full release of the game, though more than likely I'll pick it up for my Xbox so that hardware limitations and mismatches don't provide a sub par experience. It reminds me a lot of Mass Effect with a little bit of Borderlands mixed in for good effect. Of course it's approach is uniquely it's own, and good enough for me to fight through a horde of bugs and crashes to continue playing.