Outriders: The First 4 Hours

 

 Outriders is a futuristic sci-fi looter shooter. If that description sounds confusing, imagine Destiny, Gears of War, and The Division all rolled into one. Within the first 30 minutes of gameplay, your customized character gets to experience not one, but two apocalypses. The beginning of the story leans heavily on the themes of man's insatiable appetite for resources and power even at the cost of his own survival. 

The character creator is pretty standard, offering enough options to customize your look but not enough to really wow you. The skill trees however are massive. There are 4 classes each with 3 different skill trees that are very long and offer a lot of options to really define your play style. Each class is slightly different but all seem to focus on DPS more than anything else. This game is co-op, so if you play with friends who are different classes it’ll be entertaining to watch for sure, but if you are one of those players who really like being the healer you may be out of luck. 

A key component to any looter shooter is of course, the loot. The weapons and armor are a pretty standard mix of rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, jackets, pants and shoes. The variety is still there though, but it happens in the abilities attached to the gear. Things like a buff for a specific ability or even a new ability all together, like a shield generated on every kill. Between health buffs, bonus damage, and reduced ability timers, I often found myself choosing gear based on these bonuses instead of their levels, rarity or damage output. 

 The combat is brutal and satisfying. Grunts move a lot and require just enough strategy to keep you engaged without being stupidly difficult. Bosses and leaders require a little more, but aren’t going to make you rage quit. It's a gratifying challenge even on a replay with a new class. The ability timers are excellent, offering a regular dose of mayhem from your fingertips, without allowing you to just wipe the floor with your enemies. Combined with the gory way the enemies end up after a fight, you get a clear picture of the destructive force your character wields and boy does it feel good. 

The world of Outriders seems rich and well developed. Side quests can actually affect the world, though we don’t know yet if those effects play any part in the story or are just minor world adjustments. There are copious amounts of dialogue options, and the NPCs are full of personality, earning your affections or disdain even when they are clearly standard archetypes. I quickly found myself choosing the order I accomplished different quests, based on the character who gave them to me and how much I liked them. 

Outriders seems like a fun, fast paced addition to the looter shooter genre. Between the high octane combat, beautiful world, and intriguing cast of characters, it entertains without revolutionizing the formula. And with multiple classes and expansive skill trees, it offers a ton of replayability. This will definitely be a game I play well past the first 4 hours. 

Outriders is out now for Playstation, Xbox, and PC