Outscape

About

Outscape is a multiplayer strategy game. It was developed by IDA Games and was released on October 21, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Outscape is a persistent, online strategy game set in a vast galaxy. Players build their empire by exploring, colonizing, and resource management, with the option to specialize in military might, diplomacy, or trade. Technological research and development allows players to upgrade and customize their fleets and buildings, with a variety of structures and structures to choose from.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+12

Skip User Reviews

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 622 reviews

gameplay22 positive mentions

grinding14 negative mentions

The game has a unique concept of a persistent MMO 4X strategy, allowing players to build and manage their empires over a long period.
There is no pay-to-win element, making it fair for all players and encouraging strategic gameplay.
The developers are responsive to community feedback and actively work on improving the game, showing potential for future growth.

The game has been abandoned by the developers, leading to server shutdowns and making it unplayable.
Many players report excessive micromanagement and slow pacing, which can lead to frustration and boredom.
There are significant balance issues, particularly with certain races being overpowered, and a lack of meaningful player interactions.

gameplay
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
67%
9%
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with players noting its potential but criticizing various mechanics such as the slow pace, cumbersome building and upgrading systems, and the frustrating happiness and corruption mechanics that encourage min/maxing. While some appreciate the blend of 4X and real-time strategy elements, many feel that the game lacks depth and engaging emergent gameplay, often leading to boredom due to repetitive tasks and limited player interaction. Overall, despite its promising visuals and a dedicated development team, the gameplay experience is marred by design flaws and a lack of meaningful mechanics.
- “It's a good mix between mechanics of browser games I enjoyed and active play (guess this part gets bigger over time).”
- “For an early access, pre-beta game, it is beautiful to look at, has a good balanced gameplay so far, and showcases a lot of promise; I am glad to support it.”
- “It offers a pretty good gameplay experience that I'd recommend to others looking for something in the sci-fi strategy/empire expansion and conquest realm.”
- “Its a 'watch grass grow' gameplay with probably sudden death once you log back in to see your empire being nuked while you were offline.”
- “The 'happiness' mechanic that organic races have to deal with is horrible; another feature that rewards min/maxing by being online as much as possible.”
- “You will pick it up, throw a few hundred hours at it, and then get bored because the basic mechanics are too slow, too manual, and there is just not enough of a player base to get a real feel for the universe.”
grinding
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious due to the lack of automation, requiring extensive micromanagement of fleets and resources. The late-game experience is particularly burdensome, as managing hundreds of fleets involves repetitive and time-consuming tasks. Many users express frustration over the lengthy grind needed to progress, especially in the tutorial phase, which can feel like a chore rather than an engaging experience.
- “The problem is that you have to micro every single ship into a fleet and move them into the right position and assign them the role you want. This is not an issue if you do it only a handful of times, but in the late game, you will have created hundreds of fleets and several fleets per day, and all of this requires a massive amount of tedious micromanagement to put together.”
- “Unfortunately, that is where the similarities end, and the game plays out like an incredibly slow and tedious RTS.”
- “Very little automation means lots of micromanagement, which can be tedious.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game's story is criticized for its lack of depth and engagement, with players feeling it misses opportunities for meaningful interactions, diplomacy, and customization. Many believe that the narrative of struggle and conflict could have been a strong foundation for gameplay, but instead, it feels repetitive and empty, lacking dynamic events and challenges. Overall, while the developers' vision shows potential, the execution leaves much to be desired, prompting calls for improvements in storytelling and gameplay mechanics.
- “Most players with half a brain would have thought this epic story of struggle and conflict, with players having to band together to stop a massive threat, is precisely what would give this game appeal by making it fun with naturally emergent gameplay and a real challenge/story to tell afterwards.”
- “Reading the story from the dev, I feel like this game deserves more attention than it currently is.”
- “This epic story of struggle and conflict, with players having to band together to stop a massive threat, is precisely what gives this game its appeal.”
- “The game lacks a viable story, diplomacy, trade, and real interaction. Instead of building buildings and hauling resources, it feels empty because the species cannot be customized. There are no galactic events, just more of the same: lots of barren planets and a few planets with a second population that do not add buffs to the empire.”
- “Reading the story from the dev, I feel like this game deserves more attention than it currently gets.”
- “There aren't any random missions to complete or anything.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
58%
25%
The graphics of the game are generally considered decent, with some users praising the 3D visuals and overall aesthetic, while others feel that improvements are necessary, especially given the game's price point. There is a call for enhanced performance and visuals to better align with contemporary standards, as well as suggestions for community involvement in creating skins and factions to alleviate some development pressure. Overall, while the graphics are appreciated, there is a consensus that they could be significantly upgraded.
- “This is an excellent game with the deliberate pace of a browser game, but with 3D visuals and the depth of a full-blown 4X game.”
- “Highly recommend Outscape, absolutely amazing and fun game, great graphics and an awesome community.”
- “For $30, I at least thought the game panel would look a lot better. Come on, we're in 2019; upgrade your graphics.”
- “The performance and visuals need to be improved, but it is already quite good.”
- “But gameplay is smooth and graphics are decent.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game features a commendable monetization model with no microtransactions or in-game purchases, ensuring a level playing field for all players regardless of their financial investment. This approach has been positively received, especially for an early access title.
- “Especially since there aren't microtransactions, the player with the biggest wallet doesn't matter here.”
- “No microtransactions!”
- “There are no in-game purchases, and for an early access game, it feels solid.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game's stability is mixed, with some players reporting it as surprisingly bug-free and well-balanced, while others highlight significant issues with bugs and slow pacing, particularly in ship movement and overall gameplay. Overall, the experience varies widely among users, with some enjoying the mechanics despite the stability concerns.
- “Conquering and diplomacy with hundreds of player empires in the same galaxy feels very satisfying, and I have to say the game so far is pretty bug-free and surprisingly well balanced.”
- “The game is not only time demanding (takes an hour to move ships even to closest systems), it's still very incomplete and buggy.”
- “Buggy and very slow-paced.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Overall, while users acknowledge that the game's performance and visuals are already quite good, they express a desire for further improvements in optimization.
- “The performance and visuals need to be improved, but it is already quite good.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Users consistently express a desire for improved music in the game, indicating that the current soundtrack does not meet their expectations.
- “The only thing I am missing is better music.”