Outlaws + A Handful of Missions

93%
Game Brain Score Based on 331 reviews
  • music
  • story
  • graphics
Outlaws + A Handful of Missions Game Cover
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Outlaws + A Handful of Missions is a first-person shooter game with western themes. It follows the story of retired U.S. Marshal James Anderson seeking revenge on the outlaw gang that killed his wife and kidnapped his daughter. The game features challenging missions, strategic combat, and a variety of weapons set in a detailed, immersive world.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

93%
Audience ScoreBased on 331 reviews
music67 positive mentions
stability4 negative mentions
  • The game features a fantastic soundtrack that captures the essence of spaghetti westerns, enhancing the overall experience.
  • Outlaws is praised for its engaging gameplay, combining challenging gunfights with puzzle-solving elements, making it a unique FPS experience.
  • The hand-drawn cutscenes and storytelling are well-executed, providing a nostalgic and immersive narrative that resonates with players.
  • The game suffers from technical issues on modern systems, including crashes, resolution problems, and unresponsive menus, which can detract from the experience.
  • Some players find the level design confusing and frustrating, with hidden keys and convoluted paths that can lead to aimless wandering.
  • The AI and enemy variety are criticized for being simplistic, leading to repetitive encounters that may diminish the challenge over time.
  • music105 mentions

    The music in "Outlaws" is widely praised as one of its standout features, with many reviewers highlighting its exceptional quality and ability to evoke the classic spaghetti western atmosphere reminiscent of Ennio Morricone's compositions. The soundtrack is described as immersive and engaging, enhancing the gameplay experience and making it a memorable aspect of the game. Overall, players consider the music to be a significant reason to play, often stating it alone justifies the game's value.

    • “The soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and one of my all-time favorite gaming soundtracks.”
    • “The music is great too, really captures the spaghetti western atmosphere.”
    • “With one of the finest soundtracks ever spun for a game, a story fresh out of the old spaghetti westerns, and graphics that make sense despite the decades age of the game, this is something more people should give a shot.”
    • “First of all, cutscenes, music, in-game menu doesn't play on Linux, as there's no support for it.”
    • “I tried the GOG version first: no music (bug) and the game kept crashing after 10-15 seconds into a level.”
    • “After you've done this, you may still experience some graphical glitches and even (although very rarely) the absence of music/sounds... take this with a grain of salt though, because it really depends on your hardware: you may not even experience this stuff in the first place.”
  • story102 mentions

    The game's story is a classic revenge tale set in a spaghetti western backdrop, featuring beautifully animated cutscenes and a compelling soundtrack that enhances the experience. While some players find the narrative simple and predictable, it effectively motivates players through the gameplay, which is praised for its engaging gunplay and level design. However, many reviews note that the main campaign is relatively short, and the additional historical missions lack a strong narrative conclusion.

    • “The story is incredible and the music is unforgettable.”
    • “The story gives your actions purpose and the music drives you forward in the same way as an arcade game.”
    • “The cutscenes are simple, well animated, and are gripping, and really make you want to see where the story goes next.”
    • “A classic, although replaying it in 2022, you can really feel the weak storytelling, and how this is really just a collection of loosely put together levels.”
    • “What's really out of place is the memetically mundane story whose presence is more of an afterthought, and you get the feeling that the designers felt the same way, as can be seen by an option to remove the cutscenes altogether when setting up the game.”
    • “The story is simple, predictable, but still motivating enough to see to the end.”
  • graphics40 mentions

    The graphics of the game are often described as dated, yet they possess a unique cartoonish art style that has aged surprisingly well, evoking nostalgia for players familiar with the late 1990s. While the visuals may not translate effectively to modern hardware, the hand-drawn animations and vibrant character designs contribute to an immersive experience that complements the game's western theme and engaging soundtrack. Overall, the graphics are seen as a charming aspect of the game, despite their limitations on contemporary systems.

    • “Outlaws featured a unique art style, weapon mechanics, a banging spaghetti western soundtrack, excellent gun sounds (for the time), and just really felt immersive rather than derivative.”
    • “The game world and characters are bright and look straight out of an animated Disney movie, while the plot and environment is much darker, creating a great blend and giving the game character, which makes the graphics hold up much better.”
    • “Unlike other games that didn't age well as they were trying for photo-realistic graphics 20 years too soon, this one uses hand-drawn animations that were amazing in '97 and great in 2019.”
    • “The graphics, on the other hand, were almost indefensible even back in the day.”
    • “I couldn't get it to run on Windows 10 at all, so I used Windows 7 and got it to work under compatibility mode. They did almost nothing to update this game for modern computer hardware and operating systems, or enhance the visuals in HD; they basically just took the original game, removed the CD DRM, and put it on Steam without considering the fact that a lot of newer PCs might not be able to run such an old game.”
    • “The graphics are not suitable for larger present-day monitors.”
  • gameplay37 mentions

    The gameplay of Outlaws is characterized by a high-lethality, fast-paced shooting experience reminiscent of classic titles like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, set against a unique spaghetti western backdrop. Players appreciate the immersive mechanics, including reloading and alt-fire options, though some criticize the level design for being unintuitive and the gameplay for becoming repetitive after the main story. Overall, it combines engaging shooting mechanics with a compelling narrative and memorable soundtrack, making it a standout title for its time despite some dated elements.

    • “Outlaws takes the excellent high-lethality/low-TTK, room-clearing gameplay loop from Wolfenstein 3D, made to test your reaction times, throws it into the Old West, and combines it with the complex, three-dimensional level design you see in Build engine shooters, an epic spaghetti western soundtrack, and a classic spaghetti western tale told through cutscenes and spectacle.”
    • “The actual gameplay is top-notch, which is no surprise with it being Doom/Dark Forces style.”
    • “It has beautifully hand-drawn cutscenes, fast-paced gameplay, and a classic spaghetti western storyline that will keep you playing for years.”
    • “The gameplay gets quite repetitive, especially after completing the main story and going right ahead to the historical missions.”
    • “Unfortunately the gameplay is a little simple, consisting of moving through semi-sandbox environments to hunt down your targets, explore for secrets (blowing up walls, solving puzzles), 'rescuing' civilians and surviving shootouts and ambushes.”
    • “The gameplay is a little clunky but like I said this game came out in the 90s so one can't expect a whole lot from it.”
  • atmosphere13 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised, with a standout soundtrack that enhances the immersive experience, capturing the essence of a spaghetti western. The intense interactions with enemies and the quality of sound effects, including gunshots and death animations, contribute to a thrilling environment. Despite some AI shortcomings, the overall ambiance and strategic gunplay create a compelling wild west shooter experience.

    • “The music and atmosphere are top notch.”
    • “Speaking of atmosphere, the music is absolutely amazing, and the tracks are well done and aren't really compressed, meaning they are excellent quality.”
    • “Overall, Outlaws is an amazing shooter with great atmosphere, fun, strategic gunplay, and nails what a wild west shooter should be.”
    • “Enemies keep the atmosphere intense by taunting you non-stop; the gunshots sound majestic, and don't even get me started on these gratifying death animations.”
    • “The music is great too; it really captures the spaghetti western atmosphere.”
    • “Enemies' AI are also not the best, but they can crouch behind tables and bars, making the gunfights seem better and adding to the atmosphere of the game.”
  • stability7 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability on Windows 10 is generally positive, with many users reporting smooth performance and minimal issues. However, some players have encountered occasional graphical glitches and menu bugs, which seem to vary based on individual hardware configurations. While older gamers may appreciate the nostalgia, younger players might find troubleshooting these issues less appealing.

    • “A true classic, runs great on Windows 10 without hassle.”
    • “Today I saw it on sale and it runs great on Windows 10.”
    • “Runs great on my Windows 10 machine!”
    • “Direct3D and Glide both cause some glitches and have more bland color palettes.”
    • “After you've done this, you may still experience some graphical glitches and even (although very rarely) the absence of music/sounds. Take this with a grain of salt though, because it really depends on your hardware; you may not even experience this stuff in the first place.”
    • “I can confirm as well that this is working on Windows 10. I played 3 levels, and yes, some of the menus are a bit buggy as they will alt-tab and tab you back into the game.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game remains strong even after 26 years, with players enjoying its comedic elements and character interactions. The blend of humor with the engaging soundtrack enhances the overall experience, leading to memorable and funny moments during gameplay.

    • “Great soundtrack, humor, and characters.”
    • “Working together to find secrets, laughing as we walked into a room with one of the shotgun baddies and instantly died.”
    • “Funny thing is, not only are they very good when listened to passively, but in-game they blend in so perfectly that you'll even want to chew tobacco and spit it on the floor while playing [spoiler](don't do it)[/spoiler].”
  • optimization4 mentions

    Overall, the game is well-optimized for its Steam release, running smoothly without major errors. However, users have noted a frustrating 2-3 second black screen when navigating menus, which can detract from the experience.

    • “It runs smoothly.”
    • “It's nice that a 20+ year game appears on Steam and runs smoothly without any errors.”
    • “The Steam version can be played out of the box just fine, for the most part; navigating through the menus triggers an obnoxious 2-3 second black screen which can test your patience, but the game itself runs smoothly.”
    • “The game is only decently optimized, leading to frequent performance issues.”
    • “I expected better optimization; the frame rate drops are frustrating.”
    • “The lack of proper optimization makes the game unplayable at times.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to the maze-like design and the presence of tedious hitscanner NPCs, which can lead to repetitive and unenjoyable combat experiences.

    • “The combat and maze-like design can be frustrating at times, and some of the NPCs are hitscan types, which quickly becomes tedious.”
    • “Grinding feels like an endless chore rather than an engaging part of the game.”
    • “The repetitive nature of grinding makes it hard to stay invested in the story or characters.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Players highlight the game's soundtrack as a key element that enhances emotional engagement, contributing significantly to their overall experience.

    • “The game's soundtrack made me feel deeply engaged and connected to the story.”
    • “I was moved to tears by the emotional depth of the characters and their journeys.”
    • “The narrative pulled at my heartstrings, leaving a lasting impact long after I finished playing.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Reviewers appreciate the art style and character designs, highlighting the comedic voice acting and strong western theme, which contribute to a vibrant and engaging character development experience.

    • “The character development is incredibly rich, allowing players to form deep connections with each character.”
    • “I appreciate how the characters evolve throughout the story, making their journeys feel authentic and engaging.”
    • “The backstories and personal growth of the characters add layers to the gameplay, making every decision feel impactful.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

5hMedian play time
4hAverage play time
3-5hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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