Review: Outriders - One of the best looter shooters out there - Gaming Boulevard

Gaming Boulevard wrote a review of Outriders, explaining why it's one of the best looter shooters out there.

[Hellcat2020]

I'm not done with campaign yet but it's definitely up there with BL2 for me as being the best

[RaidenBlack]

The shift to the new release date from the crowded one, is definitely helping this game.

[Gaming4Life1981]

All Borderlands games are great so if that is the comparison ill love this game.

[Orpheo]

I have yet to find a looter shooter better than "Anthem." Is "Outriders" really that good?

[Hellcat2020]

Yes it's good and the loot actually makes a difference and really makes you interested in what you have in your load out

[IamTylerDurden1]

I can't disagree more. After putting 7-10 hours over multiple accounts playing the beta/demo and sinking numerous hours into scouting pre-release and watching launch day streams, the game is a low quality copycat of every service based, Destiny/Anthem/Avengers style title.

The visuals - are subpar. I expected this to be a standout feature considering the massive next gen delay, but on Playstation 5/next gen it looks like an early PS4 game. It's not pretty. At all. Textures are disappointing even on PS5, animations are extremely rough, particularly melee and supers.

Character models/lip syncing - are both terrible. Voice acting is absolutely atrocious. It gives a budget AA feel to a supposed next gen, AAA.

Combat - is a mixed bag. Shooting is solid, no doubt. It's not groundbreaking, but it feels good. But melee and supers are laughable. You spam the same pathetic melee move over and over and what should be a highlight, the superpowers, are not. The look and feel of the powers were arguably the most disappointing thing in game. Powers are horribly animated/rendered, spammed, and without impact. The fire welding character in particular feels awful when he should feel incredible. Fire looks ridiculous and the moves feel/look horrible. I expected to feel powerful and slick, but instead, I felt spammy and cardboard.

Copycat - I saw a review say it's the most innovative shooter "since Gears of War". On what bases? The original Gears changed the way cover based shooting is done, Outriders does nothing of the sort. It's a conglomerate of every service based, mmo shooter and sci fi universe out there. Nothing is original or best in class.

Story - is your cliche, dystopian sci fi future with standard "altered" x-men mutations. For all intensive purposes your player is a Guardian from Destiny. The origin story is different but story aside, characters play out roughly the same. Comparisons to Defiance are even stronger. This isn't new, but I will say that though the narrative isn't particularly original, it is there, and that's more than I can say for some games in this genre.

Missions/loot - while missions are repetitive and largely unimpressive, loot, imo, is pretty decent. Gear plays similarly to Destiny, to the point that the inventory screens appear ripped straight from Bungie's seminal shooter. This copycat feature does bode well for the title considering Destiny has some of the best loot in the business. It's nice to see stats, compare, and watch your gear on-character. More than I can say for Avengers.

Overall, my opinion from the extensive time playing pre-release and the hours spent watching gameplay and story post launch is that the game is mediocre at best. It doesn't bring a wealth of new ideas to the table and it doesn't execute the ones at hand very well. It is neither innovative nor best in class in any one area.

I see ppl mention this in the same breath as Borderlands 2. And while BL2 is certainly not a technical powerhouse or the epitome of quality, it does innovate with it's truly spectacular and arguably best in class loot and it memorizes with incredible humor, fabulous characters, and a purely unique and engrossing world that begs to be explored. The game is style incarnate. Characters like Handsome Handsome Jack and Tiny Tina are legendary figures. And it's just a satisfying and overwhelmingly fun gameplay loop supported with addictive loot and a compelling structure that includes some of the best post/ongoing support in the business. Dragon Keep was a game in on of itself and endgame in BL2 was mandatory. Legendary hunting became a meta game itself and the co op was often imitated but rarely replicated. For it's time BL2 was original and a pure blast of fresh air.

[Father__Merrin]

I'm almost certain the game wasn't supposed to be that good but because it's on gamepass it will somehow be praised so more people jump on. This is almost cult like npw

[MadLad]

The game got a good amount of praise after the release of the demo. Long before the game was announced for gamepass.
The game is selling well on PC, meaning both there's interest in the game outside of PC, as well as from a demographic that will likely also have access to it down the road via gamepass.

Continue with the conspiracy theory though.

[enkiduxiv]

All I remember was everyone talking about how terrible the demo was. The guys on Giant bomb roasted it.

[Father__Merrin]

The demo was supposed to be boring but now it's on gamepass it's a world beating game. The fact is it didn't have universal praise but now does because its available to play

[jukins]

No one wants to admit it but the main reason this game is as popular is because gamepass. Especially on here with the console war. Its being praised as something more than what it is. Too me its a third person destiny wannabe. Its not saying thats its bad but come on. . . Everyones a bullet sponge rotate abilities through each wave shoot when theyre down. No jump clunky cover system. Idk msybebim missing something

[Shiken]

Why boast about Outriders when we can use MLB The Show instead?

But I guess that game is no big deal either now. /s

[neutralgamer1992]

Shiken

Maybe look it up sony has a playstation studios logo on the box itself. Everytime someone will start the game they will see sony studios logo

Ms paid big for gamepass sony took that money and said thank you. You do realize that's extra income for sony to invest back into playstation studios. You guys act like being on gamepass comes free. Sony got a heft check upfront and will get profits from everyone else who buys too. It's a sports title and a great title at that so I as a longtime playstation fan am actually happy more gamers will get to play and appreciate it. Only thing I don't like is when xbox side acts like sony were forced to do this with no actual backing of any legit source. End of the day sony funded the development so it's their call. I don't think Sony feels threatened by ms they are at peace with what they are doing themselves and still outselling xbox while doing it

Also how was it when mlb had given exclusive rights to EA than 2K sony were still making MLB the show games? This right here is a fact that xbox fanboys overlook in their theory that mlb forced sony to make this game available on other platforms or the license was gone. Sony's deal is under 1st party(or I should say was since now they have one on 3rd party basis too) so even if mlb went elsewhere with their license sony could still make MLB games like they did when 2k had exclusive rights and when EA had exclusive rights

Most likely scenario was mlb came to sony asking if this game could be made available to other platforms because 2k sucked at making MLB games. In return sony probably got a better deal from MLB and they will release on other platforms meaning more revenue/profits which will go towards investing in playstation

One thing I have noticed is xbox Fanboys are on edge so a lot of disagrees on any positive comments towards PlayStation (I guess many of them activated their accounts from xbox 360 days since that's when this was common and this site was pro xbox)

[Tedakin]

You're right. The gaming media definitely has a history of praising Xbox and their games and products...................... .................

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

This is a stupid conspiracy theory, but the American and UK gaming media is certainly more partial to Xbox than the rest of the world.

[Palitera]

“This is a stupid conspiracy theory, but you’re right”.
Facepalm.

[itsmebryan]

@Tedakin
Wait a minute. " The media definitely had a history of praising Xbox "? Xbox ridiculed the whole Xbox one generation. The PS4 domination of that cycle is well documented.
Now , please explain when did Sony become the underdog when some say the PS4 out sold Xbox at least 2 to 1.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

@Palitera

No. Even though I'm a PS guy, I recognised that saying that the idea that people are only praising this game because it's on GamePass is stupid (people already liked it before that announcement), but that the US and UK gaming media is more partial to Xbox than the rest of the world (particularly true during the PS3/360 era).

It's just a nuanced, fair take. Is there anything I said that you actually disagree with or what? "but you're right" doesn't even make sense - I didn't agree with the person I was responding to, or the person he was responding to. N4G can be so tribal sometimes.

[Tedakin]

This is obvious sarcasm.

[MadLad]

The fact people can't identify your sarcasm, then use it as a "gotcha" moment is hilarious.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Look around N4G and tell me the media isn't wildly praising Xbox.

How many glowing Gamepass articles can we have everyday?

How many times can we praise the Bethesda deal and just immediately assume it'll be the best case scenario for fans, as in virtually every game going exclusive?

How much Phil Spencer praise must we have?

It's honestly absurd, and u can say, well, all of these things deserve praise, but at the same time we aren't seeing equal quantities of criticism. If u think Xbox is without flaws, think again.

Xbox Studios game output has been dreadful during Spencer's entire tenure and more recently, especially in the face of a new console launch, it's been abhorrent. BC is Wonderful, but compelling new content is what makes a console launch. And Gamepass is a great service for gamers on a budget, but virtually everything offered can be played on XB1. This is a historically inept console launch in terms of new, launch/launch window games/exclusives. Ppl ripped Vita for lacking punch in terms of exclusives when it released yet it launched with exclusives like Uncharted GA, Wipeout 2048, Gravity Rush, AC Liberation, Resistance, and more. Sony published games like Super Stardust Delta, MLB, and Little big planet also came out within a 6 month or so launch window. Not to harp on the past, but to think that ppl criticized a pure handheld for exclusive offerings such as these, while the same media essentially lets Microsoft off the hook for a 6 month launch window that includes The Medium, The Falconeer, and Bright Memory as it's standout, new exclusives is just shocking. Ppl will point to Gears Tactics, which Microsoft published months prior on PC and old games with enhancements like Gears 5, but c'mon, that's a reach man. It's not like PS5 doesn't have a bevy of exclusives with free upgrades like Days Gone, FFVII, God of War, Tsushima, etc. Brass tax, the SX launch window is exceptionally weak and it deserves heavy criticism. We're six months in and there hasn't been one big, NEW, Xbox Studios release. There isn't even one major game with a release date.

Where are the receipts? The media is busy praising Phil as if Xbox is delivering flawlessly atm, but why are they holding him accountable? Much of the SX marketing campaign and many of the pre-release Series X pre-orders were sold on the bases that the 12 teraflop console was in another league (from PS5) in terms of power. All we saw were spec sheets and all we heard were buzzwords like power and teraflop. As we now know, SX and PS5 have performed nearly identically and if anything there are more instances where PS5 has outperformed SX. Microsoft made money off this lie. They pumped the brand based off the elite power myth. Where's the accountability? They heaved essentially the same controller plus a share button, still haven't included VR after Phil promised it was coming last gen, and they continue to promote Gamepass while turning GwG into a joke.

Ppl heap praise on Phil and Xbox in general yet the brand is no closer to being the market leader, nor selling anymore consoles since Phil was promoted. PlayStation continues to dominate them yet Xbox gets all the hype and goodwill. Yes, the media praises Xbox these days, more than they deserve.

[Highrevz]

I wouldn’t of brought this game but after a few hours playing it on gamepass I can safely say I wouldn’t of regretted buying it at full price.
Without gamepass I might never have experienced the game to know it was good or not.

The game itself is fun to play and I didn’t like Destiny or Boarderlands. I’ve also played more solo then online which doesn’t normally work well on these games.

[DJStotty]

It is definitely fun to play, online co-op is a bit hit and miss at the minute due to server stability issues (game should have been on dedi's) but other than that it is great fun with friends (albeit a bit challenging at times).

I have mainly played co-op, and i originally pre-ordered the game at full price (although i cancelled due to gamepass), but even if the game was not on gamepass, i would have just paid for it.

[Chexs1990]

Well, it's fun as hell and I'm playing on ps5... Enjoying it infinitely more than Destiny 1 and 2, and the Division

[King_Noctis]

“ This is almost cult like npw”

Kind of ironic to hear this sentence from you.

[jznrpg]

The game is horrible to me . Outdated , bad script , loads way too often and simple but a little difficult gameplay , the gameplay isn’t bad but nothing new and the cheesy acting and poor graphics really take away from it . It’s not very good at all but I expected GamePass hype and we got it .

[King_Noctis]

I expect to see the same comment as your after Sony’s MLB The Show 2021 releases on Gamepass.

[Sayai jin]

Or it might just be really good regardless of people's loyalty to their favorite piece of plastic.

[jukins]

Not saying its trash but 9.5/10? Thats a bit much especially when the game is just an amlagation of other 1st and 3rd person shooters. Theres nothing really unique here. But it works well. Imo an above average game.

[Notellin]

Yeah since the game isn't available on any other platforms and is only available on Gamepass your theory makes sense.

/s

[lodossrage]

@Father__Merrin

This had nothing to do with gamepass. But now because of your initial comment, look at the kind of comments that followed. And then you'll be one of the first people talking about fanboys and cults. Come on man.

[DJStotty]

Father_Merrin is the godfather of gamepass bashing, even in an article about the best washing powder to use, he will somehow drag poor little gamepass into the conversation.

[Obscure_Observer]

Wow! Outriders Day One on Xbox Gamepass is driving some people mad.

[DJStotty]

especially from a certain camp....

[georeo]

It has nothing to do with game pass. Gameplay pass just gave more people a chance to try it out. Just stop your trolling.

[TheOtherMoon]

Right...because a game can't be good AND be on Gamepass. GMAFB its a pretty good game and a portion of the gaming community gets it for free.

[Orbilator]

Really I wonder how much money microshaft loses with game pass, I can't believe they make any cash at all. They just absorb the loses I'm sure to say look at our great product called game pass

[DJStotty]

Your deluded if you think Microsoft are not making money off gamepass.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Last time I checked it was on PS5 and PC as well so stop the cap your fanboy is showing.

[iplay1up2]

I am playing solo, and this game gets very challenging. Playing on Series X, load times are almost instant. Graphics definitely look great and have current gen assets!

[Aussiesummer]

If it looks anything like the demo it looks like rank arse.

[headshotfrosty]

truth. looks like crap

[CantThinkOfAUsername]

It looks like any AAA game released in the last five years. It's good enough. The point isn't the graphics or visual quality. It's the Looting Shooting loop.

[frostypants]

@CantThinkOfAUsername "It looks like any AAA game released in the last five years"

Isn't this a problem though if you're playing it on a Series X or PS5?

[jukins]

The ai is definetly good or at least very aggressive. Havet o keep moving and strategically pick off enemies or youll get surrounded quick.

[DJStotty]

I have caught the AI quickly popping their head out of cover to force me to take a shot, and also flanking.

I have to admit, the AI is quite good.

[gold_drake]

wow ok, didnt expect this score ha.
i guess ima do some research and buy this baby

[InUrFoxHole]

If you have game pass ultimate you don't need to buy it. It's on the service.

[gold_drake]

naah i dont own xbox products xD

[InUrFoxHole]

Lol xbox is my favorite console but after the 360 days I don't blame anyone for passing on MS. Truth is, I have all consoles and a PC. I try to stay balanced. Enjoy

[Shiro173]

I'm loving it so far

[Elda]

I like the game but it's always online infrastructure is messed up. I was playing a side mission for the old man McKellen & every time I beat the boss & killed everyone in the area before I can move on to the next area I would get booted off saying the servers are down so I had to do the mission over again for at least 6 times where I was getting pissed off.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Same for me. They need to fix this asap before it becomes a serious issue and effect the games success.

[Viking_mo]

I had mixed thoughts with the game but the demo was fun as hell

[outsider1624]

I hope the demo is still available. 9.5? Gotta try it out myself.

[Eidolon]

Yeah, Game Pass is way too expensive, try to find that demo.

[outsider1624]

@Eidolon
I have a ps4.
Didn't know sony has gamepass too. Thanks for letting me know.

[AnotherGamer]

The ps4 version was very unplayable for me, maybe the ps5 version is the way to go.

[RaiderNation]

Lmao! This is no 9.5 game.

[VerminSC]

Oh, you’ve played through it?

[RaiderNation]

Yep

[InUrFoxHole]

His name is RaiderNation. He knows disappointment when he sees it.

[jukins]

Come on 9.5? This is goty material? It has sloppy design in parts. Like the first mission you go to far down the bridge in the middle of a firefight it will go to a cutscene for a heavy enemy so annoying. Its a solid 7 nothing innovative about this game hell not even uinique. Worse cover system and gunplay than gears powers very similar to other looter shooter games. Again good game but no where near a 10

[Kaii]

It's not 2012 & seeing login to server errors (preventing you, the consumer playing said Item you've purchased) isn't cool.
Hiccups can occur, but launch the game Tuesday and have the staff on standby gauging the infrastructure.
Had a blast playing Thursday, not so much Friday lol

[jukins]

What makes this worse is they had a demo for about a month that somehow worked much better than this

[DJStotty]

That was before 18+ million people potentially tried it for free.

The server issues will rectify once they settle on a stable traffic load.

[CaptainHenry916]

Wow

[CrimsonWing69]

I am legit loving the game so far!

[Wrex369]

Great game. You figure out the cover system and that you need.. HAVE to find a balance between attack and defense it will be awkward for a lot of people.

You have to learn to time your abilities and what to bring to each fight and whether you're at the start or end of a wave/s. It's addicting and when you get to THAT boss. You just won't get it.

[Kran]

9.5 it is not.

I'm enjoying my time with it but it's a lot of the same sort of missions. Go down a long environmental hallway, kill enemies, pickup a key/unlock a door, repeat.

I'd say it's more a 7 or 8/10 game.

[jukins]

Solid 7 imo nothing innovative or even unique presentation is sloppy but gameplay works well.

[RaiderNation]

Yep. Solid 7 for sure. This reminds me of the first year of last generation when Dragon Age won GOTY. I was like, in no other year does that game even sniff GOTY. But because there was hardly anything worth playing, it won basically by default.

[dkeat]

Agree, reminds me of division or gears gameplay and destiny mouse style menu navigation. Probably better with friends.

[dolfa]

Paid review for sure. No one would give this generic trash 9/10 fo sure. I hate these sellout "journalists"

[Jericho1337]

Who paid for it? Square Enix? Are we to believe that Final Fantasy VII reviews were also ‘paid’ then?

Have a day off mate. It’s someone’s opinion. I’m sure plenty of ‘real’ reviews will come in slating it to cheer you up.

[iplay1up2]

I like it a lot. Playing on Series X. Most people who have been complaining are not playing current gen. Not all, but quite a few. Online only is my biggest complaint.

[DJStotty]

I would agree, the only issue i have had with the game, is kicking to dashboard when returning to lobby (fixed by just loading the game again), or random disconnects/crashes/rubber banding during co-op play.

Albeit nothing game breaking, and the game is really enjoyable.

Edit : playing on Series X, with one partner on Xbox One X, and the other also on Series X.

[Viryu]

Is there a public matchmaking?

[Hellcat2020]

Yes you can join randoms or invite

[DragonWarrior19]

I don't feel it's a 9.5 the story is super generic and uninteresting but they gameplay is certainly fantastic. Matchmaking either has some major issues or the player count despite gamepass is very low. Spent hours in match making having it constantly unable to find matches.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

The game is very fun to me but it has some issues besides servers. The map sucks trying to navigate. Finding where to turn in quest can sometimes be hard to do because of the map system. The cover system sucks it knocks u out of cover when u use a power. The sensitivity is way to high on Series X and feels off. Not being able (at least to my knowledge) to examine other players sucks. No trading sucks. These are the issues I would like to see fixed asap.

[Thundercat77]

Apart of all the controversy and negativity of the demo, I played it and was not convinced. It doesn't mean it is a bad game but is definitely not a 9.5.

[barom]

People trying hard to sell Game Pass

[IamTylerDurden1]

I am absolutely shocked to see the early critical reception. After hours of beta/demo play and an equal stretch watching post release streams, it is my belief that Outriders lacks quality and originality judging from the wide range of content ingested. Nothing is new, nothing is close to best in class, and imo it looks more like a budget game than a huge service based AAA. As if Spiders made a co op shooter. It's a budget version of Destiny, Anthem, and Defiance. Unless the game completely switches it up and changes the rendering engine and the melee/ supers as well as the scale, technical quality, and overall mission structure halfway through the game I've seen enough to at least basically know what it is. Obviously this is not a review as I have not completed the entire post launch version, but with everything I've experienced, to me, it appears to be the generic shooter that most people expected.

I truly do not understand what is going on with the media but the user scores seem to be more in line with how the game should be received. I believe it's in the six out of 10 range user score on Metacritic and clearly nobody has any motivation to review bomb this game so I would assume most of those are legitimate. I'm not sure what kind of crack the critics are smoking but I'd love some. If it can make them believe that outriders is a truly innovative masterpiece shooter then my goodness it must be some good stuff.

This is where it starts to confuse me. Games like days gone and even the wildly impressive ghost of tsushima were heavily criticized for displaying elements seen in other games. Both had major deductions and suffered critically because of it. And as we speak Tsushima and outriders both seem to have a nearly identical meta/open score which just boggles my mind. The quality on hand between both titles is not in the same league imo. Fanboy or not, we can go down the list and deduce that this is so. Visuals, art style, combat, lip syncing, voice acting, cutscene quality, polish, narrative, scale, and technical prowess all favor Tsushima considerably. It's wild to me that Outriders isn't being trashed by critics. I'm not sure what the incentive is here, I haven't figured out the motive, but it just doesn't make sense. Outriders is not a bastion of quality, it's not original, and to me, it wasn't even dumb fun. Imo the public is being frauded and I'm making it a point to go through the entire full release in order to know every aspect of this turd, definitively. God help us.

[_LarZen_]

It's Diablo but with guns and alien gore getting blown up. Absolutely love it! This will keep me busy for many months until Diablo 2 : Resurrected is out :)