Some time ago, when Fresh3D were trying and miserably failing their Kickstarter attempt at making the Outcast remake, I had some heated discussions with fans of the game in this very same forum. My opinions on the game haven't changed.

I thought of making this post on the Steam community, because there are a lot more people that don't like the game over there, but it's also true that their community is much more juvenile and immature than the one here on GOG, and I'd like to keep this discussion as civil and respectful as possible.

To the point, then: I really -- and I mean *really* tried to get into and enjoy this game. God knows how hard I tried. I'm not a young gamer by any means, and I can enjoy old graphics and shoddy controls, so that's not an issue for me. What I can't stand is poor game design, which Outcast boasts in spades. I still can't understand why this game is so highly reviewed by its cult niche community, and all I read and hear about it are the same vague descriptions and sentences: "best game ever, I still have great memories of it". This isn't the best game ever. Not by a long shot. I understand it did a whole lot of revolutionary stuff for its time, but that hardly cuts it. It's just way too confusing, the art direction its terrible, the voice acting is appalling, the script is adolescent and makes me cringe, with its "post colonial Tintin/Stargate/poor-man's-Planet of the Apes" approach. The talan all look and sound exactly the same (and, geez, do they sound *bad*!), they start the game immediately by dumping a bunch of uninteresting load of information on you, and, to me, it just makes the player feel detached from and overwhelmed by it. Exploration alone doesn't get me into a game, there has to be more, and the story simply isn't that compelling, nor the characters. I don't feel any connection or empathy towards the aliens, I don't feel like I should help them in the least.

Someone said that I should stick to the game at least until I find the first Mon, because there is a twist when you first find one. I played this game for more than ten hours, exploring and basically being confused as hell regarding what I needed to do, because the hints and directions the talan give you are just bad and not that helpful to begin with. I eventually uninstalled the game for good (I don't plan on playing this ever again) and finally found a walkthrough of the game on YouTube, now that the 1.1 version is out and a few walkthroughs finally surfaced there (for a game so great, you wonder why the fan community didn't keep it more alive by showing some "awesome" let's plays on YouTube, but that's beside the point... I mean, even games like Harvester had fans keeping them alive by playing them on video hosting websites), and I managed to watch the twist when you get the first Mon. I had high hopes for this. I truly had. It was the one thing to make it or break it, for me. But, alas, it was not to be... Cutter just grabs the Mon from a box, no cinematic whatsoever, just an as-per-usual badly voice acted "it's a computer card", with no sense of interest or mystery, nothing. The Ulukai states he found a computer card with the most bland delivery possible, then stashes it away. Some time after, a lost crew member contacts him, indicating she is near some sand region. That's when I stopped watching. Finding the Mon is a computer card isn't enough of a twist to keep me interested in the already convoluted and loose story of the game.

I can give credit to all the things this game does great, and I admire the whole voxel engine and tech that makes the game look unique, like a lost artifact of video gaming technology, a paradox, a conundrum; but despite all it does good (the open world, the exploration, the NPC's AI,...), it does a whole lot more in a very mediocre way, and some of the things are downright appalling. Outcast is a testament to the creative freedom studios had in the 1990s, and I admire that, but the game itself just isn't that good. I'm not trying to start a flame war and I'm not trying to convince the fans that the game is bad -- I also understand nostalgia, and if you played the game when it came out, I imagine the impact it had on you back in the day --, this is just my personal opinion, and I think I'm also entitled to it.

You can argue all you want that I should just "let this go". The thing is, I tend to trust the GOG community's recommendations, and I blindly bought this game because it's "so great". It isn't. It's a mediocre action-adventure with way too much fetch questing, a face-palming badly written script bursting with failed attempts at humor, terrible art direction (even the game's cover looks lame, and that's by 90s' standards), uninspired characters that I couldn't care less about, a great musical score that unfortunately gets old really fast, sounding like nothing more than music straight out of Stargate by the first half-hour you've been playing... I just feel... wronged. Tricked. I actually paid for this, and it's nothing special. I keep trying to convince myself that at least I now own a part of an odd and interesting possibility of "what if?" video game history, a landmark of the video gaming industry, but it would be so much better if I actually liked the game.

With all of this being said, bring on the hate. And sorry, in advance.

[EDIT] ongoing typo hunt!

You did not actually reach the twist... that comes when Cutter finds the lost crew member, which ideally happens very soon after where you stopped.

Having said that, however, I doubt the twist would convince you if you are really not liking the game. And that's OK! Not every game is for everyone. I am sorry if you feel cheated by all the recommendations, but I assure you that no one intended to cheat you. I (and others I am sure) genuinely love the game, and even love parts of it that you hate. For example, I actually like the voice acting in the game, and I don't mind having exposition and lots of conversations in there to balance out the exploring and combat. Yes, it means that conversations are necessary to figure out what's going on and what I need to do, but that's just the type of game it is; in that way it's similar to an RPG. And I actually think Cutter's voice acting is better than most modern game protagonists, while the Talan sound pleasinglyh alien but still intelligible.

I also loved the story, which I felt got way more interesting after the twist. But I also was not as bothered by the early parts of it as you are, so that may not convince you. Which, again, is OK.

I'm sorry you did not enjoy it, but you probably made the correct decision not to play it again. Hopefully other recommendations from GOG have been / will be more successful in introducing you to games you really like.

Did I understad this correct? You were searching for a forum where as many people as possible don't like the game so you can complain about it? Why on earth do you want to do this? If you really want to listen to pro and cons or you really try to understand why so many people love the game then you should talk to people who like it. What do you gain from speaking to people who don't like the game just as yourself? You may talk to the mirror as well I would say. If I really don't like a game I would uninstall it and never speak of it again - but that is just me.

Don't get me wrong: I can understand if someone don't like Outcast. I would say the dub is quite good, the world is big and you have much to explore, the atmosphere is fun and the soundtrack is magnificient but yes, the controls are usuable at best and the graphics are dated - even though I like them. So even if I can relate why someone would not like the game I really would never have the idea to talk to other people about the game and how bad my experience was.

And regarding reviews- since everybody has a subjective taste there will always be the possibility that you will not like a game many people love. Especially in case of an old game this could occur quite often because there is much nostalgia involved in the reviews (and the reviews from the year of the game are written from a tech perspective of that year so they don't really count. too).

No, you didn't get this right. I wasn't looking for a forum in which people dislike Outcast so we could all talk about it and live in our own little world of Outcast hate and frustration. That was never my intention. All I wanted to do was to vent a bit and let this all out due to the sad fact I feel somewhat tricked and mislead; I paid for this game and I downloaded it, it always worked on my machine, so I have no right at all to a refund. That's all there is. My feeling of entitlement regarding my complaints comes from that wronging from the usually awesome GOG community. There was no way for me to have tried the game before buying it, there were no videos online in which I could have understood how the game worked and played, so I followed the advice from this community, which tends to be trustworthy -- Outcast aside, I've yet to buy a game recommended by this nice bunch of people that I didn't like.

Like I said, I don't mean to make the fans of the game start disliking it -- it won't happen, obviously, and fortunately so --, all I wanted was to let some frustration out and tell other people that there might be a big chance that if they're coming into the Outcast experience today, they aren't going to enjoy it.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough. Happy gaming! :D

My (obvoulsly wrong) assumption came from this sentence of yours

" thought of making this post on the Steam community, because there are a lot more people that don't like the game over there, "

But anyway - Outcast still is regarded by many people as a gem and a true classic but it also is often critiziced because of its controls and somehow dated graphics. I don't think the story will ever change or the way the game mechanics itself but before you "curse" the whole community for painting a picture of this game which is so different from your own experience, keep in mind that the devs still have the goal to implement new features and controls. Maybe in time you will like the game a bit more.

I think that was a very fair description of potential non-starter issues that the game has. I have felt the same way with The Elder Scrolls series - every once in a while I get inspired to try one out (morrowind being my most attempted) and eventually just shrug it off. It's just a sight-seeing tour with very little meat. Replace your "knockoff stargate" quip with "every generic fantasy setting ever" and that's more or less my view of TES.

I'm also glad that the community here was not quick to swords at your OP.

For most of the games I'd agree with that, but Morrowind? That's hardly a generic fantasy setting. Although I always felt the appeal of TES games was not in the setting, but in the freedom of the design, both to make any type of character and to have that character do anything they like. With Morrowind, I got to do that AND have a very unusual world to explore.

They're not without their problems, though, and I understand those who don't take a shine to them.

It is certainly an interesting world but I feel that there's no substance to it - it's mostly just 'stuff' that's put in there. I want to care about what's in the world, not just see new things (morrowind does have some fabulous world design). Side quests advertised as the main portion of the game don't bring together a coherent piece but rather a collection of unremarkable ones. It's just one after another with no real benefit other than exploring the rich landscape.

I can certainly see the appeal in those kinds of games. Nothing against them, and I'm glad Morrowind exists. I guess I just tick towards a more tight package.

I've had the opposite experience with the game. From the screenshots it looked like some dumb 3rd person action/platformer, but the game actually sold me on its story and production values. Sometimes the dialogue is cringeworthy, but mostly because the Talan are unbelievably petty. Some dialogues I found hilarious. The game falls short in the action and exploration parts, mostly because combat is awkward and exploration yields nothing except additional ammo, but the world sure is beautiful. The story is grand in scope and it all comes together neatly in the end. The plot is meant to be confusing at the beginning because it's like that for the protagonist, who finds himself on a planet full of aliens who regard him either as their saviour or enemy. I'll definitely be returning to Outcast in the future; I've already completed it two times.

I for one find the fifteen minutes I spent with the game (priced at an average of $0.40 per minute) to be promising but targeted at a less jaded gaming population. I will be following up with a full length masters thesis dissecting my now patchy memory of the fifteen minutes I spent with the game. Actually kind of agree with this bro here. I had the same reaction. My conclusion is that the game holds a place in some gamers' hearts that 1998's Unreal holds in mine. A sense of wonder and adventure that the medium can offer you only a few times before you feel like you've seen it all.