The Outcast Lovers

About

The Outcast Lovers is a single player action game with drama and mystery themes. It was developed by Richard Campbell and was released on July 31, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Driving home late one night you encounter a refugee in distress. They are looking for salvation. Do you hand them over to authorities? Or take responsibility yourself?

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 60 reviews

story6 positive mentions

grinding1 negative mentions

The Outcast Lovers features a captivating narrative that explores themes of forbidden love and social issues, engaging players emotionally from the start.
The game's visual style is beautifully detailed, complemented by a magical and dramatic soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
Character development is strong, with each character having unique motivations and backstories, making the choices impactful and adding to the game's re-playability.

Many players feel that the game lacks substantial gameplay, often describing it as more of an e-book than a traditional game, with minimal interactivity.
Critics have pointed out that the writing can be poorly executed, with some dialogues feeling disjointed and lacking depth, which detracts from the emotional connection to the story.
The political messaging is perceived as heavy-handed by some players, leading to a polarized reception and detracting from the enjoyment of the narrative.

story
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
76%
8%
The game's story presents a compelling yet polarizing narrative centered around a lesbian couple's encounter with an injured child refugee, but it suffers from emotional disconnect and a lack of depth. While the graphics and music are praised, many reviewers feel the characters and plot are underdeveloped, leaving players without a strong emotional investment or resolution. Overall, the story is seen as having potential but ultimately falls short in execution, making it less engaging than it could be.
- “The graphics are nice and the story is well told.”
- “Both the world and characters are very engaging and vivid, which helps drive home the moral conundrum at the center of this story.”
- “The couple's discussion and playful arguing with each other really helps to cut through the overall tension, and there are decisions to be made that can affect the story.”
- “The story is oddly emotionally disconnected given the topic.”
- “At no point do we learn anything about the child and their backstory; we don't see or hear them speak, there's no reason to sympathize or empathize with their plight.”
- “The story is fine, but in this medium, it doesn't maximize its potential.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their minimalist style, beautiful low-poly design, and effective use of color palettes that enhance the narrative experience. Players appreciate the coherence in aesthetics compared to previous titles, with many highlighting the vibrant art style and clean visuals. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, despite some critiques regarding gameplay variety and story depth.
- “I really dig these minimalist visuals and the color palette.”
- “They have enough programming skill to make a narrative game, the low-poly graphics are beautiful in their own right, the music is amazing at times, far above the average for an indie (or even non-indie) game.”
- “I really like the overall color scheme and art style of the game - the colorful yellows gave a different vibe than the deep purples of the previous game.”
gameplay
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The gameplay of this visual/interactive novel is largely criticized for lacking traditional mechanics, as it primarily consists of clicking through poorly written dialogue without meaningful interaction. While some users appreciate the graphics and the unique perspective mechanics, they note that the experience feels more like reading a book than playing a game, with minimal gameplay loops and depth. Overall, the game is seen as a mixed bag, offering some enjoyment despite its shortcomings in gameplay.
- “It might not be very subtle and I would have liked some more varied gameplay, but I loved the graphics and choosing the camera angles is very effective as you can find out more from repeat playing.”
- “This really was another eye-opening and fun experience, and I like the way the devs play with the standard gameplay formats to craft something entirely their own.”
- “For a game that's pretty small (when it comes to gameplay), this game has been way more fun than games that were not only paid for but also huge.”
- “As a visual/interactive novel, this doesn't feature any notable gameplay; it's just a lot of clicking through badly written dialogue that would never have been accepted or published in print, which poses the question, 'how did something this badly written end up on Steam?'”
- “It's worth mentioning that this e-book 'experience' features some animation and the ability to 'look around' various scenes... but none of this changes the operative and crucial fact that there are no gameplay loops and that this cannot be 'played' in the same way real games can be; it's a book that you read through, it's just that the interface for doing this reading is much worse than a bookstore paperback.”
- “Alright, so all your games are gonna be short stories about how bad the anti-immigration laws are with no gameplay at all.”
emotional
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
14%
Overall, the emotional aspect of the game is met with mixed reviews, as players find it difficult to connect with the story and characters despite the serious themes of racism and persecution. While some appreciate the beautiful visuals and soundtrack, many feel that the narrative choices lead to an emotional disconnect, resulting in a lack of sympathy for the leads and a diminished impact of the intended emotional journey.
- “The outcast lovers is a beautiful game with a great soundtrack that is marred by odd story choices and an emotional disconnect from a topic that should provoke an emotional investment.”
- “The recurrent themes of racism and persecution mean that the outcast lovers is another short but harrowing experience, conjuring emotional responses from the player.”
- “Little heartfelt experience.”
- “Really cool graphics... a real-life topic... boring story that doesn't make much sense; it had potential, though.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
14%
29%
The music in the game has received praise for its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its standout quality compared to typical indie soundtracks. While some found the jazzy elements to be comedic and not fitting for the emotional themes, others appreciated the vibrant 90s vibe that contributed to immersion and complemented the narrative. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant strength of the game, elevating the overall experience.
- “This game is really beautiful and it has a great soundtrack.”
- “The music was great and it put you into an atmosphere of thoughtfulness, which is where the story shines.”
- “The soundtrack was composed by somebody different and while it had much more of a vibrant 90’s vibe it fit well in the scene and helped create a sense of immersion.”
- “The music felt kind of comedic, being as blaring and jazzy as it is, but apart from that, I enjoyed my 10 minutes.”
- “The soundtrack was composed by someone different, and while it had much more of a vibrant 90’s vibe, it fit well in the scene and helped create a sense of immersion.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
50%
The atmosphere in "The Outcast Lovers" is a blend of lightheartedness and tension, creating a thoughtful ambiance that enhances the storytelling. The music plays a significant role in establishing this atmosphere, contributing to the game's emotional depth.
- “The Outcast Lovers is a slightly more lighthearted follow-up to the first game in this series from Far Few Giants (The Night Fisherman); however, it still has a very tense atmosphere.”
- “The music was great and it created an atmosphere of thoughtfulness, which is where the story shines.”
- “The outcast lovers is a slightly more lighthearted follow-up to the first game in this series from Far Few Giants (The Night Fisherman), however, it's still got a very tense atmosphere.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the grinding aspect of visual novels and e-books tedious, likening the experience to a frustratingly slow reading process where each sentence requires a click to advance, detracting from the enjoyment of the narrative.
- “Visual novels/e-books are tedious at best. Imagine the best novel you ever read, be it 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' or '2001: A Space Odyssey' or 'Twilight' (if you have terrible taste in literature), but then translate that to a format where the words dribble out and you have to click your mouse every time you want to read the next sentence, instead of just turning the pages.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by clever and witty observations, as exemplified by a remark about the minimal demand for a book, suggesting a satirical take on its value. Overall, players appreciate the sharpness and originality of the comedic elements.
- “The funny thing is, if you wanted to print this book, you'd only need to print 7 copies to satisfy the entire world's demand for it.”