Outland

In the end, I have to say that Outland does just about everything with the 2D platformer genre I could ask for. It's innovative, nostalgic, and simply just fun. From story to gameplay, Outland is one of the better downloadable games on the market today.

Outland is a meticulously crafted game in which every element is used to further the overall experience. It's one thing to get huge ideas right--such as boss fights and visual design--but the brilliance of Outland goes much deeper than that. This is a game that truly understands what makes a platformer great, and it adds enough unique elements to separate it from its peers. From the pacing and difficulty curve to the controls and combat, everything comes together to form an amazing, unified adventure.

Outland has a lot to offer: A great combination of gameplay styles influenced by other games, astounding controls, and a simple and effective aesthetic. In short it has everything a game needs to be great. Though I’m not a fan of the soundtrack, that’s not to say the game doesn’t sound good on the whole. For ten bucks you can’t do much better than Outland, and your trip into the world won’t soon be forgotten.

I would have loved a more meaningful or full-bodied story in Outland, but at least the mystical narrative maintains the unreal vibe that the rest of the game exudes. Beyond that, the action-packed platforming, hypnotic music, and striking aesthetic make Outland a must-play.

In the low fidelity of Jordan Mechner's classic, the prince's form of movement became a mesmerizing, superhuman display of perfect movement ... and when it didn't you reverted to an older save. Outland, a visually arresting 2D platformer from Finland's Housemarque studio, is just as reverent to grace, personified by a tall, inexhaustible silhouette in search of the meaning behind his dreams. He runs and leaps with such intense confidence, some of it starts filtering through the controller and into you.

Outland is a game none too shy about its influences, exhibiting equal reverence to the Belmont clan's castle crashing, candle-whipping legacy and Treasure's frenzied polarity play Ikaruga. It's an unusual pairing to say the least, but the resulting product is a fun (if a bit fleeting) proof of concept showing that opposites really do attract in the end.

When you get right down to it, Outland cannibalizes a lot of tried-and-true gaming elements and turns them into something entirely new and exciting. The magical realm you explore is visually captivating, overflowing with elegance and mystery. More importantly, it serves up some damn good gaming.

Outland will put your skills to the test, but strikes a pleasant balance between frustration and triumph. It's not the easiest game in the world, but the effort it takes to master is well worth it. Fans of platformers and shmups will both probably love it. Everyone else should at least try the demo to appreciate the gorgeous aesthetics.

I have no reservation calling Outland an absolutely beautiful game. Housemarque does a lot with a little here, employing a silhouetted art style similar to Limbo but with Tron-like red, blue, and yellow highlights applied to the characters in mostly tribal patterns that make them stand out and help highlight the tremendous animation.

In place of character, Outland is never less than pretty; instead of originality, you get cold, hard intelligence. As with Super Stardust and Dead Nation, Housemarque has once again proved it's a fearsomely talented quick-change artist of a studio, able to take any genre and get to the guts of it quickly and with a chilly efficiency. Don't play Outland because you expect it to be charming and filled with personality, then: play it because of the swooping, speeding cleverness of its design. Play it because of the craft. t because of the craft

Outland es un genial homenaje a los arcades de acción y plataformas del pasado. Los chicos de Housemarque llevan a cabo un juego fantástico en todos los sentidos, con una jugabilidad sencilla pero tremendamente divertida que satisfará no sólo a todos los amantes de lo vintage en particular sino también al público del género de acción y aventuras en general.

Sorti de nulle part, Outland fait figure de véritable petit chef-d'oeuvre. Beau, intelligent et poétique, le titre offre un gameplay d'une rare finesse qui malgré la tentation, ne sombre jamais dans une difficulté outrancière ni une facilité condescendante. Outland emprunte et rend hommage à certains des plus beaux jeux vidéo de l'histoire mais ne se perd jamais et parvient au final à donner vie à son propre univers, fait d'ombre et de lumière. Immanquable.

Outland emprunte à Ikaruga le principe de tirs et d'ennemis bicolores : d'un clic sur RB, il faut donc jongler entre les côtés rouge et bleu de notre héros pour déjouer tous les vicieux pièges du level design mais également pour être certain de blesser nos assaillants. On l'a compris, en recyclant à tout-va, Housemarque n'a pas vraiment inventé le fil à couper le beurre. Mais force est de reconnaître qu'ils ont réussi à assembler avec beaucoup de talent toutes ces inspirations pour délivrer un titre très efficace, riche d'une aventure nerveuse et d'une ambiance prenante.

La scelta dei programmatori di mischiare sapientemente l'uso delle silhouette e degli sfondi colorati (sempre basati su una sola tonalità alla volta) si sposa alla perfezione con la presenza massiccia di elementi azzurrini e rossi che sembrano usciti direttamente da TRON. A questo si aggiungono i deliziosi riferimenti artistici dello stile visivo, capace di mischiare senza soluzione di continuità elementi tribali a graffiti e pitture dalle influenze vagamente africane.

Outland is een unieke game die veel goed doet. Het is een echte platformgame met een interessante twist in de gameplay. Het puzzelen met chaos en balans is erg leuk en dat blijft het ook. Het blijft leuk omdat het zo'n uitdaging is, al wordt het soms wel erg pittig. Gelukkig heeft Outland de perfecte balans hiertussen weten te vinden en daarmee is het een erg geslaagde game.