Out There: Oceans of Time
- May 26, 2022
- Mi-Clos Studio
- 14h median play time
Travel the cosmos trying to stop, potentially, the end of the universe.
Get on Steam"Out There: Oceans of Time" is a space survival game where you explore a procedurally generated galaxy as Commander Nyx. The game features a new oxygen management system, class skills, consumable items, and various ways to explore maps. Your mission is to find the Archon, a powerful villain threatening the galaxy, while encountering and interacting with alien lifeforms and building a coalition to defeat them. The Redshift Update brings new expedition types, overall difficulty balancing, and more.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a fun and engaging space exploration experience with improved graphics and gameplay mechanics compared to the original.
- Resource management and ship upgrades provide a satisfying gameplay loop, allowing players to feel a sense of progression.
- The addition of save points in certain star systems helps mitigate the frustration of losing progress due to game crashes.
- The game is plagued by frequent crashes and bugs, including corrupted save files, which significantly detracts from the overall experience.
- Many players find the gameplay repetitive and tedious, with a lack of meaningful exploration and engaging narrative elements.
- The writing and character development are criticized for being bland and uninteresting, failing to capture the charm of the original game.
- story76 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it shallow, poorly executed, and lacking depth. While some appreciate the interesting concepts and potential for a grand narrative, others criticize the dialogue, character development, and overall coherence of the plot. Additionally, the gameplay mechanics, particularly the away missions, detract from the storytelling experience, leading to a sense of repetitiveness and frustration.
“Quite a neat story/narrative on a grand, epic scale.”
“The game got quite an update regarding the visuals and story animations.”
“I enjoyed the storyline of this game.”
“The story makes no sense at all, and frankly I don't even get it.”
“This sequel, unfortunately, not only lost all the charm of the first, but added clunky unnecessary unappealing 3D characters and a story that failed to capture my attention.”
“Things I don't like: dropping the original's comic book style, the morale system is an unnecessary chore because the characters are void of personality, the character writing is really bad (apparently this game's dialog was written by a professional screenwriter, but you wouldn't know it), the character models are ugly, the planet models don't look near as cool or varied as they did in the original, planetary exploration is repetitive, the labyrinthine star path you have to follow feels arbitrary, the story is generic space opera stuff... but the core of this is still a resource grinding game so there's little narrative depth (not with these characters, anyway) or a conflict (since combat isn't a feature).”
- gameplay54 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
Gameplay in this title has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the new ship management and expedition mechanics, while others criticize the repetitive and monotonous nature of core gameplay elements. Many noted issues with bugs, clunky UI, and a lack of challenge, leading to a feeling of frustration rather than engagement. Overall, while some aspects are streamlined and enjoyable, the gameplay experience is marred by limitations and inconsistencies that detract from its potential.
“The expedition mechanic is a really fun addition to the game.”
“It is simple and relaxing with gameplay being straightforward.”
“All in all, a decent game with a few flaws that don't get in the way of enjoying the campaign and the mechanics.”
“The game is riddled with bugs, is incomplete, is poorly developed (major last minute changes leaving incomplete/broken core game mechanics in place) and frankly it's both a) totally unchallenging and b) a boring slog of highly repetitive, pointless endeavors as you go back and forth through the same game loop chasing the plot.”
“Character progression is nonexistent as you complete the game with characters at level 2, with none of their skills or classes adding anything to gameplay.”
“The gameplay is slow, what I've seen of the writing is bland, and the UI is clunky.”
- graphics29 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the detailed planets and vibrant animations, while others criticize the overall quality as mediocre and not meeting modern standards. Many appreciate the game's ability to run smoothly on lower-end systems, but there are reports of graphical bugs and performance issues, suggesting that while the visuals have improved, they still require further optimization. Overall, the graphics are seen as functional but lacking the evocative charm of previous titles in the series.
“I really tried to like this game, so let's go with the positives: the graphics are great.”
“The graphics are great and it all works very well on my Steam Deck!”
“The graphics are gorgeous and the gameplay is familiar enough.”
“Graphics are mediocre but functional.”
“Graphics are less cartoonish and stylized, but can't cope with today's standards, feeling like a huge downgrade.”
“The 3D rendered characters don't do it for me - bring back the lush portraiture artwork we have previously seen in Out There Chronicles and Sigma Theory.”
- music11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find it atmospheric and pleasant, others feel it lacks the impact and flair of the original soundtrack. Many appreciate the music as a nice background element, but some express a desire for a return to the original compositions, suggesting that the current score feels dull in comparison. Overall, the music is generally seen as fitting but not particularly memorable.
“Music is atmospheric and fitting.”
“The game has nice graphics and music, and these issues are fixable.”
“Music is nice; I'm no connoisseur of game music, however, it's pleasant to listen to.”
“The music and sounds are just dull in comparison to the thumping swagger of the originals.”
“Seriously, could they not just release a modded version with all the original music and sound effects?”
“This game doesn't have the elegant simplicity of the original game, nor the artistic and musical flair.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often feeling unrewarding and detracting from the overall experience. While some elements, like finding a capital ship, can ease the grind, the core resource collection mechanics are criticized for being a poor fit in a longer roguelike format, leading to frustration and a lack of narrative depth. Overall, the grinding is seen as a major flaw that overshadows the game's potential for exploration and adventure.
“It can become quite grindy, but once you find the capital ship, it's rather breezy but repetitive though.”
“You quit the game - you lose all your grindy repetitive progress.”
“The original game is about getting home & grinding resources because you have to, this game is about saving humanity (or something) & exploring, but with no straightforward objective & expecting you to enjoy grinding resources & taking care of your unlikable crew for the fun of it.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including visual glitches, frequent bugs, and unresponsive mechanics, which can lead to lost progress if players need to restart. Many users recommend waiting for patches before playing, as the current state is described as frustratingly unstable.
“The game has visual glitches that require you to quit to the title screen to fix, but if you didn't save your game, you lose all your progress!”
“As you might expect, there are a metric ton of bugs, from freezes to non-working buttons.”
“It's buggy and has several mechanics that are just annoying rather than being fun.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has improved since the beta, but it still requires further enhancements, particularly in performance and graphics. Players report encountering numerous bugs and express dissatisfaction with gameplay, indicating that a performance update is urgently needed.
“It's better than it was before in the beta, but it could use a little more optimization.”
“The game really needs a performance update, ASAP.”
“Lots of bugs, boring gameplay, and poorly optimized graphics.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in Otoe is effectively crafted through random events that evoke feelings of dread, wonder, and helplessness, complemented by a fitting and atmospheric soundtrack. The game successfully balances themes of existential struggle and body horror, reminiscent of the moody ambiance found in its predecessor, Out There.
“In Otoe, the random events that happen when you jump to a new star do a great job of setting the atmosphere of the game — the dread in the face of the unknown, the wonder of the universe, the helplessness of flinging oneself into the void using utterly inexplicable alien technology, and the struggle to tread the fine line between functional and lunatic, mixed with a healthy dose of body horror.”
“The music is atmospheric and fitting.”
“I was a huge fan of the original Out There for its moody atmosphere and depressive protagonist.”
“I was a huge fan of the original for its moody atmosphere and depressive protagonist.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Users indicate that the game lacks significant replayability due to the accessibility of all content from the start, which diminishes the incentive to replay. However, there is a suggestion that assisting different races could potentially lead to varied endings, hinting at some room for exploration in replaying the game.
“And since you have access to it all, there really was no desire for replayability.”
“Perhaps helping the different races might lead to different endings and enhance replayability.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers find the humor in the game largely stems from its intentionally small ship inventory, which adds a comedic element to gameplay.
“The ship inventory is hilariously small.”
“The dialogue is packed with witty one-liners that had me laughing out loud.”
“The absurd situations the characters find themselves in are pure comedic gold.”
