Why the mixed reviews?

[Kankaku]

This game looks super rad and I've seen a lot of people comparing it to dark souls combat with better co-op. I'm thinking about getting it but now I'm skeptical.

[jawwadbr]

Some players consider Outward a bad game because it's very hard at the beginning, the game just throw you out in the wild for you to die and learn by yourself on how to play the game. The combat is a love or hate situation.

You can read a bit more about this topic in this threads.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/794260/discussions/0/3842179871520103279/
https://steamcommunity.com/app/794260/discussions/0/3842179871521425210/
https://steamcommunity.com/app/794260/discussions/0/3788128182683684677/

[[GRVTS]Fat Bastard]

People probably don't like how much prep goes into combat encounters. Early game is really easy, but later you have to chug several different potions for the later enemies. I used an elemental immunity potion to clear Vigil Pylon. Was it necessary? Perhaps not, but was it useful? Absolutely.

That or it's the backpacks. It's miserable even with Mefino's pack. I saw in a reddit post some maniac was carrying 5 different backpacks in their pack. It's insane.

[Memento Mori]

combat can seem a bit clunky at first, and the graphics and bad. some people are just salty because they cant get better and there is a lack of tutorial. but once you get into it this game is a hidden gem. DE is so worth it imo, i love this game and put almost 300 hours into it. i think if you make sure to utilize all your beginning skills you will love this game, its just a big learning curb from AAA titles, and stuff will be different than what you are used 2, it will be frustrating at times, you may not like some stuff, but overall its a really fun game and after your first play thru there are always other builds to try.

[[GRVTS]Fat Bastard]

Originally posted by Zombwich:

Originally posted by Memento Mori:

combat can seem a bit clunky at first, and the graphics and bad. some people are just salty because they cant get better and there is a lack of tutorial. but once you get into it this game is a hidden gem. DE is so worth it imo, i love this game and put almost 300 hours into it. i think if you make sure to utilize all your beginning skills you will love this game, its just a big learning curb from AAA titles, and stuff will be different than what you are used 2, it will be frustrating at times, you may not like some stuff, but overall its a really fun game and after your first play thru there are always other builds to try.

Nothing can be as clunky as Gloria Victis and Mount and blade combat lol and I was able to handle that. I'm gonna be firing it up here in a bit. Wish me luck!

Good luck!

[[GRVTS]Fat Bastard]

Originally posted by Zombwich:

Originally posted by GRVTSFat Bastard:

Good luck!

I get the hate now lol. No shared progress and no achievements as the secondary player. Combat is fine and everything else I really like but gonna be a nope from me.

Huh. I don't play the co-op, but I don't really understand how that is a dealbreaker. You guys still get loot, still get to explore and basically do everything in the game together.

[[GRVTS]Fat Bastard]

Originally posted by Zombwich:

Originally posted by GRVTSFat Bastard:

Huh. I don't play the co-op, but I don't really understand how that is a dealbreaker. You guys still get loot, still get to explore and basically do everything in the game together.

Because I really enjoy collecting achievements for the dopamine hit lol. If I'm not getting them alongside not getting any story rewards then I'm getting no dopamine hit.

I'm guessing that's probably a big reason why people hate this game. I don't hate it I actually am loving the game but that aspect will probably make me not play it.

I can't relate to that. To me they're just annoying popups while I'm playing the game.

[Donovan]

Originally posted by Zombwich:

Originally posted by GRVTSFat Bastard:

I can't relate to that. To me they're just annoying popups while I'm playing the game.

Yeah, to each their own for sure. I have ADHD so the more something tickles the scatterbrain the better.

I mean.. unless your friend is big on hunting achievements, then why don't you play as host so that you get them all?

[ArchaicReaper]

Just trade off host. You can only join 1 faction anyway, and with 4 factions you'll need to make 4 characters. If you join Holy Mission and your buddy joins Blue Chamber you can swap host back and forth as you help each other through your own questlines. Questlines are short anyway once you know how to get them done so when you make a character for Blue Chamber and your buddy makes one for Holy Mission you can bang it out quick for those last few achievements.

Edit.
Alternatively, there are mods that let you share rewards. No idea if it affects achievements but might be worth looking into.

[ArchaicReaper]

Originally posted by Zombwich:

The mod unfortunately does not affect achievements.

Ah, then you're down to switching up the host from time to time. If that's too much to ask then I hope you find one that fits.

[Red Purger]

Few reasons. Firstly, the combat system sucks. It's not fun, exciting, or engaging in any way. Combat is simply a means to an end in this game. You fight because you have to, not because you want to. Combat is also almost always a net loss since you can't exactly carry everything around like a hoarder. You have to manage your weight carefully, which is another thing people don't like. The world is also really empty. even the locations like bandit forts don't really have anything in them except empty buildings (and bandits of course)

[[GRVTS]Fat Bastard]

Originally posted by Red Purger:

Few reasons. Firstly, the combat system sucks. It's not fun, exciting, or engaging in any way. Combat is simply a means to an end in this game. You fight because you have to, not because you want to. Combat is also almost always a net loss since you can't exactly carry everything around like a hoarder. You have to manage your weight carefully, which is another thing people don't like. The world is also really empty. even the locations like bandit forts don't really have anything in them except empty buildings (and bandits of course)

As a murderhobo enthusiast I have to disagree. The combat is enjoyable, and every fight you take should be with the intention of getting something out of the fight. If you get a net loss with every fight then you aren't picking the right fights.

[Red Purger]

Originally posted by GRVTSFat Bastard:

As a murderhobo enthusiast I have to disagree. The combat is enjoyable, and every fight you take should be with the intention of getting something out of the fight. If you get a net loss with every fight then you aren't picking the right fights.

I just like to fight but I've never felt like combat was enjoyable in this game. I keep trying to play but every time I just get bored with how clunky the combat system is. You need to eat, drink, and buff prior to your engagements, your max health and stamina decrease after every engagement, you need to constantly rest. I suppose it's just a difference in preference, but to me this game has an extremely boring combat system and I've yet to get more than 8 hours into a playthrough without quitting.

Nothing worse than fighting and winning a combat situation, only to then have to rest to replenish your stats, and getting ambushed on an 8% chance.

[jawwadbr]

Originally posted by Red Purger:

Originally posted by GRVTSFat Bastard:

As a murderhobo enthusiast I have to disagree. The combat is enjoyable, and every fight you take should be with the intention of getting something out of the fight. If you get a net loss with every fight then you aren't picking the right fights.

I just like to fight but I've never felt like combat was enjoyable in this game. I keep trying to play but every time I just get bored with how clunky the combat system is. You need to eat, drink, and buff prior to your engagements, your max health and stamina decrease after every engagement, you need to constantly rest. I suppose it's just a difference in preference, but to me this game has an extremely boring combat system and I've yet to get more than 8 hours into a playthrough without quitting.

Nothing worse than fighting and winning a combat situation, only to then have to rest to replenish your stats, and getting ambushed on an 8% chance.

Play as a hex mage, you will never need to rest. My char only need to sleep 1 hour and its done. I'll sleep like 10 days later again. Health and stamina max is restored after each kill too.

[[GRVTS]Fat Bastard]

Originally posted by Red Purger:

Originally posted by GRVTSFat Bastard:

As a murderhobo enthusiast I have to disagree. The combat is enjoyable, and every fight you take should be with the intention of getting something out of the fight. If you get a net loss with every fight then you aren't picking the right fights.

I just like to fight but I've never felt like combat was enjoyable in this game. I keep trying to play but every time I just get bored with how clunky the combat system is. You need to eat, drink, and buff prior to your engagements, your max health and stamina decrease after every engagement, you need to constantly rest. I suppose it's just a difference in preference, but to me this game has an extremely boring combat system and I've yet to get more than 8 hours into a playthrough without quitting.

Nothing worse than fighting and winning a combat situation, only to then have to rest to replenish your stats, and getting ambushed on an 8% chance.

You don't need to constantly rest. Drink tea and eat Pungent Paste to restore burnt stamina, mana and health.

[Erei]

1/It's janky. For some people it doesn't matter, for some it may matter a lot more
2/The story is kinda there. I mean the original theme/idea is cool IMO, the way it's made, not so much. Not to mention the poor quality voiceover (both in acting and scripting). You'll roll your eyes when all the merchant say "You better have some money" (punk) when they meet you.
3/Some design decision are.... special. For example, the dev don't want you to store your stuff anywhere but your home. Thing is, you only have one home for the major part of the game and since you get no teleport/fast travel to it, it can take ingame days to get back there. And in this game you need to eat and drink and sleep, so it can be annoying.
4/the "definitive" edition is basically the original with slightly more DLC integration. But now you have to deal with corruption (one of the DLC feature) in the main game, with limited access to anti corruption tool (most of the ingredient for example are only in the DLC, leaving you to buy expensive potions)
5/The last DLC unlock lots of stuff for your character, that you can't use because the game won't see new content. You only get to fight a bunch of hard boss for loot that hardly matters at this point.
6/it's janky. Yes, twice, because it really is. One of the biggest deal for me is the lack of animation cancel when you want to dodge. You simply can't cancel an attack and some have long animation time. Then you get hit and the animation is cancelled anyway because you are staggered.
7/balance is bad. Some stuff is OP other is lame as hell. Some people like it (and play the OP stuff), other don't because they may want to play the lame stuff but have a hard time. Most notoriously is the dominance of magic. Magic, even little of it, will make everything a lot easier. Going "pure" no magic is a difficult challenge. Meanwhile a pure mage is easy.
8/it's a very linear game despite its open world nature. Also not that much dungeon to explore, especially if you consider part of them are locked behind quest you can't do (there is 4faction and their storyline in game, you can only join one per playthrough)
9/the dev have a very strong case of "we know better what's fun than our player". Nerfing stuff people did for convenience while not touching many of the issues the game had when DE launched
9/DE is pretty much "launch and done". Don't expect support on it. They just dumped it and moved on.
10/it's very easy to find yourself in a "death loop" when you start the first time. You die because you don't know how the game work. Then you lose your house. Then you die more because you lose stuff when you die. They it's winter (time pass when you die) and you don't have money or anything so you die even more. I found myself in that loop in my first playthrough and I had to restart
11/obfuscated and time limited quest. One quest for example start when you go in a specific tavern. There are no reason to visit a tavern ever in this game (they are more expensive than buying a disposable tent from a vendor). So you can miss that quest altogether and it will change the main story (for the worse). Also, pretty much every quest is time limited.

There is a lot of "frustration is difficulty" in the dev design choice. The game isn't hard once you figure out how it work. But it can very well be frustrating and the dev increased that in the DE by nerfing stuff people did for convenience, while not changing the overall difficulty.