Outmode
- June 22, 2022
- Rockateer
Get on SteamOutmode is an arcade racer heavily inspired by the Outrun aesthetic movement of the early 2010s. Featuring a retro-futuristic neon setting of beaches, cities and highways; experience the '80s again like never before and take the wheel of a legendary pop culture inspired car, get up close and personal to your rivals and become the driver you always dreamed you could be.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Outmode captures the synthwave aesthetic beautifully with its neon-lit visuals and an incredible soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- The game offers a fun and immersive driving experience, especially with the manual gear shifting mechanic, which adds a unique touch to the gameplay.
- Despite its flaws, many players find the game enjoyable and recommend it for fans of arcade racing and synthwave music.
- The controls are often criticized for being unresponsive and unintuitive, particularly with the acceleration and steering mechanics.
- AI behavior is inconsistent and frustrating, with rubber-banding mechanics that disrupt the racing experience and make it feel unbalanced.
- The game lacks depth in gameplay and progression, with no clear objectives or reasons to engage beyond the initial races.
- music12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been widely praised for its high quality, particularly the synthwave soundtrack that captures the essence of the '80s, enhancing the overall aesthetic experience. Players appreciate the option to add custom tracks, which further enriches the gameplay. While the music is considered a standout feature, some users feel that the game's overall value may not justify its price.
“The music is god-tier.”
“Check out the soundtrack though, it's awesome.”
“It captures the essence of the '80s with its neon-lit world, synthwave music, and retro-futuristic cars; Outmode is a must-play for fans of arcade racing games.”
“Driving through an 80s neon synth-wave landscape in VR is fun at first, especially with some of the music tracks bundled with the game, but the price is too high for what's currently being offered, and it won't be able to keep your attention for long.”
“I like to enjoy the game by adding in my own custom synth music from other popular artists like Carpenter Brut, Perturbator, Lazerhawk, etc. Unfortunately, I'm a one-handed player, so things like drifting and manual shifting are kind of impossible for me, but it's been really enjoyable nonetheless. Once key binds are also fixed, I suspect I'll enjoy it even more.”
“Sound-wise, the music fits, and each car seems to have different sounding engines, though some things could use a little sound effect like the starting lights just to help give an audio cue that the race is starting.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are widely praised for their vibrant and stylish aesthetic, drawing comparisons to outrun and vaporwave styles, and are considered a standout feature. However, despite their impressive visual appeal, the graphics are noted to be resource-intensive for their simplicity, reminiscent of early indie titles. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's charm, earning high marks from players.
“The aesthetic is gorgeous.”
“This is a brilliant, impressive solo project. You've really made the game come to life through the vibrant and distinct art style, played along with the unique and fulfilling gameplay.”
“For fans of outrun aesthetic and to an extent vaporwave, this game is certainly worth checking out.”
“Performance-wise, it consumes a lot of resources for what simplistic graphics it actually has.”
“It is flawed and oftentimes reminds me of those early Unity games many indie devs made back in 2012, but the visuals and music (you can insert your own custom music as well) are both fantastic.”
“I'll be honest, I instantly wishlisted this purely for the aesthetics alone.”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Outmode has received mixed reviews, with some praising its vibrant art style and unique shifting mechanics, while others criticize the stiff controls, inconsistent physics, and unbalanced AI behavior. While the visuals are highly regarded, many players find the gameplay itself lacking in depth and excitement, often feeling more like casual cruising than a competitive racing experience. Overall, the game offers a visually impressive experience but struggles to deliver engaging gameplay.
“This is a brilliant, impressive solo project, William. You've really made the game come to life through the vibrant and distinct art style played along with the unique and fulfilling gameplay.”
“Control-wise, the game feels just fine; turning works, and the shifting mechanic is absolutely the best. If more racing games had something like that, I would play with manual transmission more often.”
“Outmode definitely nails the synthwave vibe, but it doesn't really nail the gameplay part of a video game.”
“As for the gameplay, I was never big on racers, but this one has really hit well for me.”
“This is a brilliant, impressive solo project, William. You've really made the game come to life through the vibrant and distinct art style, played along with the unique and fulfilling gameplay.”
- stability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is mixed; while some users report it as not buggy with acceptable controls, others experience significant bugs and limitations in customizing button configurations.
“The game runs smoothly without any major bugs.”
“The controls are responsive and reliable.”
“I haven't encountered any crashes or stability issues.”
“It is buggy and I am not able to choose my own buttons.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for its high resource consumption relative to its simplistic graphics, leading to an overall decent frame rate in VR but lacking a sense of speed.
“Most of the time, the frame rate and performance are okay now in VR, but there's no sense of speed.”
“Performance-wise, it consumes a lot of resources for how simplistic the graphics actually are.”
“Most of the time, the frame rate and performance are okay in VR, but there's no sense of speed.”
