Outcast: Second Contact review for Xbox One, PS4

Platform: Xbox One
Also On: PS4, PC
Publisher: Bigben Games
Developer: Bigben Games
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: T

Last week, I suggested that, more often than not, remastered games do more to show the flaws of the original than they do to introduce said game to a hidden gem from a previous generation. This week, I can provide a perfect example: Outcast: Second Contact.

See, when Outcast originally came out in 1999, it was seen as groundbreaking. It wasnโ€™t just a 3D action-adventure game, it had an open world (a novelty at the time), branching dialogue trees, a soundtrack one contemporary reviewer described as โ€œmovie-qualityโ€, and graphics and voice-acting that were considered way ahead of their time.

Nearly two decades later, of course, all those innovations are now considered standard. For that, I guess, Outcast deserves kudos for giving gamers of 1999 a glimpse at what the future held for their hobby.

At the same time, however, everything about the game feels so dated, itโ€™s hard to appreciate any of it. The graphics that once seemed miles beyond what most people could imagine now look hideous; the aliens look like talking prunes (while the human main character doesnโ€™t fare much better), and the environments are eyesores. Likewise, the voice-acting that seemed way ahead of its time 19 years ago now sounds contrived and painful.

In fact, the same could be said about literally every aspect of Outcast: Second Contact. The controls are awkward, and shooting your weapon is a massive chore. The dialogue adheres to the โ€œtell, donโ€™t showโ€ school of storytelling, as every interaction turns into a reason for the planetโ€™s inhabitants to tell you their life stories. The AI is incredibly stupid. The sound effects sound like they were recorded in 1999, and left to degrade ever since.

Donโ€™t get me wrong: as someone who was gaming in 1999, I totally see how this would have seemed groundbreaking at the time. However, just because it was good then doesnโ€™t mean itโ€™s still good today. Outcast: Second Contact feels like a product of its time, and like many other products of their times, itโ€™s hard not to look at this game and think it probably should have stayed in the past.

Bigben Games provided us with an Outcast: Second Contact Xbox One code for review purposes.

Grade: C-
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