In survival games, the survivor struggles to gather food and water, find shelter, and survive animal attacks, scraping by in a world that wants to kill them. In fantasy games, the player wields power magic and massive weaponry, conquering the world one battle at a time. Outward: Definitive Edition is an unusual fusion of both genres.
Playing as an ordinary human being in a fantasy world full of bandits and monsters, scraping by replaces epic questing as the order of the day. The character may learn new weapon skills, upgrade their gear, and even master magic given time, but none of that changes the overall lethality of the world. Outward: Definitive Edition demands patience from its players. In exchange, it rewards them with an RPG experience like no other.
8 Pay Your Debt
Thanks to tribal law and one of the hero's relatives, the player begins the game with a debt of 150 silver.If the debt isn't paid within five days, the player's home will be repossessed by the tribe. As if that weren't enough, the player will be banished from the village of Cierzo forever. Because the player's home is a safe place to rest and craft, and Cierzo has several useful merchants within its walls, failing to pay one's debt is a massive problem.
Thankfully, earning the 150 silver isn't too difficult. There are several quests the player can complete to do so, the easiest being collecting a mushroom for Helen Turnbull. The player can also sell any loot they happen to scavenge, making the rest of the money in no time.
7 Beware Traps
In some games, traps are particularly dangerous. In Outward, just about everything is dangerous. Places of interest such as caves and sources of treasure are often guarded by traps. While the tell-tale switches and holes in the ground can be easy to spot, in the heat of battle or when wandering at night, it's not hard to take one wrong step and end up speared.
The primary defense against traps is awareness of one's surroundings. Knowing where traps are likely to be is the first step. The second is keeping that in mind when frantically trying to combat roll away from a monster. Keeping a torch or two on one's person at all times is helpful, as night in Outward is exceptionally dark, and wandering without a light source is a quick route to the grave.
6 Mind Your Defense
Combat in Outward is brutal. That's part of what makes it a great survival game. There is no shortage of weapons, armor, and combat skills with which the player can arm themselves, but in the early hours of the game wading carelessly into battle will result in almost certain death. Being encumbered slows your character's movement speed and dodge rolling, so it's important not to carry more than necessary.
Equally important, and a skill Outward players must eventually master, is the ability to drop one's backpack at a moment's notice in order to shed excess weight for a fight. When starting off, a sword and shield is arguably the best weapon pairing, as it grants a little added protection in a world where every bit counts.
5 Hoard Items
Outward is, among other things, a survival crafting game, and as any fan of the genre knows, that means that hoarding everything possible is all but mandatory for success. Crafting materials, potions, and ingredients for cooking all require their share of materials, and the player who drops or sells too many miscellaneous items will eventually find themselves wanting a needed ingredient.
The flip side of this need to hoard is the limited inventory space one actually has to carry everything. If the player really wants to commit to being a loot goblin and snatching up everything around them, they need to prepare for a lot of running back and forth, bringing items into town to sell or store. Outward is a balancing act between the need to gather and the need to be efficient with one's time and energy.
4 Prioritize Your Backpack
Items and crafting materials can either be stored in the character's pockets or their backpack. When given the choice, it is almost always better to store everything within the backpack. Why? Because while the character will return after dying, the items in their pockets will be lost. Things stored in the backpack are safe.
Exceptions can be made for things the character will unquestionably need in the short term, such as bandages and food for the day, but otherwise, it's better to go with the safer option. There's nothing more frustrating than finally getting the ingredient one needs only to lose it because it was in a pocket instead of the bag.
3 Carry The Essentials
With limited inventory space, a maximum carrying capacity, and survival needs like hunger and thirst competing for attention, it can be hard to know what to carry and how much of it. A waterskin can hold several days' worth of water, enough to tide the traveler over until they can find another clean source. Graberries are the perfect snack for traveling, curbing hunger, and regenerating stamina, all in a lightweight package.
Clothing to protect against the elements and a weapon to protect against enemies should go without saying, as should a bedroll to sleep on. The last essential items are bandages. Craftable for only two linen, they are needed to stop bleeding, a common occurrence in battle. Winning a tense fight only to bleed out for want of bandages is a frustrating experience, but it can easily be avoided with a bit of foresight.
2 Run Away
Bandits, hyenas, and monsters more foul all patrol the land. Given the chance, they will be more than happy to deprive the player of their valuables and life. For this reason, the optimal strategy in many cases is to run away.
This notion can seem counter-intuitive for players used to playing as bloodthirsty barbarians or storm-wielding mages, but in Outward that's not who they are, and the sooner that fact is accepted, the fewer deaths will occur. Combat, even against the game's earliest enemies, can be punishing for the inexperienced, and it rarely rewards the player enough to justify it. Unless forced into battle, simply flee.
1 Be Patient
Some games reward or at least accommodate rushing around, hurling oneself from place to place with little head for one's surroundings. Outward isn't one of those games. It is a fantasy, yes, but a survival fantasy. Gathering ingredients takes time. Resting takes time. Cooking takes time. Hauling a load of loot across the countryside and back into town takes time.
Outward is not a sprint towards a finish line of power and glory. It's a walk to the satisfaction and comfort of a hard day's work done and a life well-lived. Not only is rushing inefficient, but it's also against the spirit of the game. Be patient. Take in the sights. Cook a bite to eat. The world will be waiting.
Outward: Definitive Edition is available now for the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.