Outlanders
- March 7, 2023
- Pomelo Games
- 16h median play time
Outlanders is a single-player strategy game with exceptional gameplay and sensational visuals. As a town-builder, you'll guide charming folk in search of a simpler life, managing resources and jobs while respecting their individual desires and personal goals. The game features a unique system where you cannot control characters directly, but instead, create an environment that guides them towards success. The campaign provides a rich and immersive experience, making Outlanders a must-try for strategy enthusiasts.
Reviews
- The game features charming graphics and a relaxing atmosphere, making it enjoyable for casual gamers.
- The campaign mode offers a variety of levels with unique challenges, keeping the gameplay engaging and rewarding.
- Outlanders provides a smooth learning curve and is accessible for newcomers to the city-building genre, while still offering depth for veterans.
- The game suffers from a high number of bugs, particularly in later DLCs, which can disrupt gameplay.
- Food production and consumption balance is problematic, often leading to resource shortages that hinder progress.
- The mechanics can feel repetitive over time, with limited new features introduced in later levels, leading to a lack of variety in gameplay.
- graphics31 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of Outlanders are widely praised for their unique, cute, and charming art style, which enhances the overall gameplay experience. Many players find the visuals to be relaxing and engaging, contributing to the game's appeal as a cozy city-builder. Overall, the graphics are described as beautiful and well-suited to the game's atmosphere, making it visually enjoyable for players.
“The art style is unique and comfortable.”
“Outlanders stands out with its original graphics that create a pleasant visual experience.”
“Superb graphics, loads of little details, all go to making this very compulsive indeed... highly recommended!”
“Because it's not my type of game, a little too 'cute' and cartoon-artistic art style and no real conflicts/enemy.”
“- plain and clean graphic style (totally fits with the character of the game)”
“I enjoyed playing the demo very much - I was delighted to see how much the quality of the graphics has improved in the final release!”
- gameplay26 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a well-designed city-building experience that balances simplicity with strategic depth, offering a relaxing yet engaging atmosphere. While the mechanics are easy to learn and visually appealing, some players find the lack of new challenges and complexity as the campaign progresses to be a drawback. Overall, the game provides a charming and enjoyable experience, though minor bugs and limited depth may affect long-term engagement.
“The best strategy game I’ve played, incredibly peaceful and just the right amount of difficulty, amazing graphics and gameplay.”
“Adorable aesthetics, fun gameplay, a lengthy campaign that can get pretty challenging, great game to either chill with for a bit or get sucked into for hours.”
“The gameplay is easy to learn and the graphics are beautiful.”
“No real changes in mechanics and the approach I take is the same each time.”
“So the game for me is at a difficult point where I can't really just chill out but not actually challenged much and the next stage in the campaign does not really introduce any new mechanics.”
“But there's currently a few minor gameplay issues which disproportionately undermine the fun.”
- story22 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by unique and engaging missions that provide a mix of challenge and charm, though some players find the overarching narrative unclear and lacking cohesion. While the main game features episodic missions without a strong central storyline, the DLCs introduce more structured narratives that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the blend of resource management and storytelling, with optional quests adding depth and replayability to the gameplay.
“The story for each level is unique and engaging.”
“Set in the picturesque outlands, this charming town-building game offers a unique blend of compelling storytelling, intricate strategy, and a refreshing sense of harmony.”
“I highly recommend the DLCs; the 'Heir of the Roads' and 'Flood and Fire' storylines are fun and different from the main game.”
“Got lucky on a couple missions, I think, but don't know why or how I accomplished certain goals because the mechanisms are sometimes unclear.”
“There isn't a cohesive story per se in the base game, but that is simply due to the nature of the game's design.”
“It is a fun resource management type game with lots of charm and cute storytelling, but the overall narrative feels disjointed.”
- music15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its soothing and calming qualities, enhancing the therapeutic experience of gameplay. While many players appreciate the uplifting soundtrack and its integration with the visuals, some note that the music can be repetitive and occasionally jarring due to abrupt transitions between day and night. Overall, the sound design contributes positively to the immersive atmosphere, though opinions on its uniqueness vary.
“Animation and art is incredible, and I can't get over the music and sound design.”
“The game's rich sound design and uplifting soundtrack perfectly complement its stunning visuals, making for an immersive and memorable gaming experience.”
“The design is beautiful, and the soundtrack and sound effects blend very well to create a relaxing environment.”
“The music also rather jarringly ends at night, restarting at dawn, so if you're playing on high speed you get about 30 seconds of music, 30 seconds of silence, repeated ad nauseum.”
“Music and ambient sounds are very repetitive.”
“Sound and music is unremarkable but no complaints there (I tend to turn off music anyways).”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "Outlanders" is widely praised for its soothing color palette and vibrant landscapes, creating an immersive and charming experience. Players appreciate the game's engaging gameplay and unique graphics, which contribute to a relaxing and visually appealing environment. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, enhancing the enjoyment of the casual city-building gameplay.
“The soft colors used in the game are soothing to the eyes, adding to the immersion and charming atmosphere of the adventure.”
“Visually, Outlanders is a feast for the eyes, with vibrant, atmospheric landscapes that draw you in and leave a lasting impression.”
“If you're looking for a casual city-building game with a relaxing atmosphere and creative challenges, you'll like Outlanders.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the slow pace of resource gathering and the lack of urgency in managing supplies. While it appeals to fans of settlement builders and farming simulations, the repetitive nature of the tasks can detract from the overall experience.
“Except this is incredibly tedious to wait for as they don't necessarily have any sort of urgency even when you are out of food and wood.”
“But there's a few cases where it's tedious to implement the changes you want.”
“There's no combat, no scares, and mostly just farming and eating so far.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent freezing that disrupts gameplay after 30-60 minutes, requiring players to restart the game to continue.
“The only problem is the game constantly freezes and never unfreezes.”
“I can play for 30-60 minutes until the game freezes again and I have to close out of the game and reopen it.”
“Buggy”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
While the game offers a structured level design that provides new challenges and a sense of progression, some players experience redundancy over time, which may affect long-term replayability. The digestible levels contribute positively to the game's playability, making it easier to engage with repeatedly.
“The fact that the game is broken up into digestible levels makes it a lot more playable for me, because you are always faced with a new challenge. Once you accomplish the task, you move on to the next level instead of trying to figure out what you want to do next.”
“However, in terms of replayability, I found that after playing for a while, some redundancy sets in.”
“The fact that the game is broken up into digestible levels ends up making it a lot more playable for me, because you are always faced with a new challenge, and once you accomplish the task, you move on to the next level instead of trying to figure out what you want to do next.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be heartwarming and wholesome, particularly enjoying the ability to connect with others and share daily experiences. This sense of community and positivity makes it a recommended choice for those seeking a feel-good gaming experience.
“I love following some of my followers to see what they're doing throughout their day, which is incredibly wholesome.”
“I recommend this game for anyone wanting to get into the civilization sims, try something new, or just need some wholesomeness.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers appreciate the unique character design and the soothing music, which contribute to an engaging atmosphere, though specific insights into character development are limited.
“I fell in love with the unique character design and the calming music.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a delightful blend of humor, showcased through various creative methods that enhance the overall experience.
“It also has a nice touch of humor, presented in several creative ways.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a straightforward monetization model with no microtransactions or ads, offering a consistent experience on Steam that closely mirrors the original version.
“No microtransactions, no ads - and the game on Steam is almost exactly the same.”
“The monetization model is fair and doesn't disrupt the gameplay experience.”
“I appreciate that the game offers optional purchases without pressuring players.”