I will definitely play Outriders – but that doesn’t mean anything
I have already had great fun with the demo of Outriders, and for me, it is clear that I will play it at release. However, I am also someone who can overlook many minor flaws and quirks. Graphics are not a big deal for me; gameplay matters more.
Even with Fallout 76, I was one of the players who were excited about the game from the start – regardless of the many problems and bugs. I am quite resilient in situations like this and can focus on the aspects that I enjoy.
The bugs have only mildly bothered me so far, and the story and classes have convinced me. Enough that the promised 35 hours are sufficient for me to want to invest my money.
This does not mean that I would give a purchase recommendation. For those who do not think like me, I would advise waiting. Especially problematic graphics and inconsistent cutscenes can quickly cause a game to end up in the corner and not be touched again, even if the issues have been fixed later.
I therefore recommend waiting until you are sure that Outriders has now reached your desired state. Since it is not a service game, you will always receive what you currently see – with only potentially future bug fixes and probably DLCs once they are available.
Benedict Grothaus
Freelance author at Mein-MMO
The demo runs indefinitely and can still be played after the release of Outriders. You always have the opportunity to convince yourself of the current state of the game and decide for yourself whether you want to give it a chance.
If you are still unsure and the demo has not yet convinced you, we recommend waiting to purchase. After release, many tests and reviews will appear about Outriders, with which you can get a better picture. Here on MeinMMO, we will continue to provide you with content and information about the game. You can find the first impression of the Outriders demo by MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus here: Everyone is complaining about Outriders, but I am having fun with it
What do you think of the current state of Outriders?
Also, you should definitely wait if the endgame grind in a loot shooter is important to you. Outriders is supposed to offer about 35 hours of story and then repeatable missions. However, none of that has been seen so far, and we do not know how good they will be.
I will definitely play Outriders – but that doesn’t mean anything
I have already had great fun with the demo of Outriders, and for me, it is clear that I will play it at release. However, I am also someone who can overlook many minor flaws and quirks. Graphics are not a big deal for me; gameplay matters more.
Even with Fallout 76, I was one of the players who were excited about the game from the start – regardless of the many problems and bugs. I am quite resilient in situations like this and can focus on the aspects that I enjoy.
The bugs have only mildly bothered me so far, and the story and classes have convinced me. Enough that the promised 35 hours are sufficient for me to want to invest my money.
This does not mean that I would give a purchase recommendation. For those who do not think like me, I would advise waiting. Especially problematic graphics and inconsistent cutscenes can quickly cause a game to end up in the corner and not be touched again, even if the issues have been fixed later.
I therefore recommend waiting until you are sure that Outriders has now reached your desired state. Since it is not a service game, you will always receive what you currently see – with only potentially future bug fixes and probably DLCs once they are available.
Benedict Grothaus
Freelance author at Mein-MMO
The demo runs indefinitely and can still be played after the release of Outriders. You always have the opportunity to convince yourself of the current state of the game and decide for yourself whether you want to give it a chance.
If you are still unsure and the demo has not yet convinced you, we recommend waiting to purchase. After release, many tests and reviews will appear about Outriders, with which you can get a better picture. Here on MeinMMO, we will continue to provide you with content and information about the game. You can find the first impression of the Outriders demo by MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus here: Everyone is complaining about Outriders, but I am having fun with it
What do you think of the current state of Outriders?
The demo of the new loot shooter Outriders has been running for some time now and many players are wondering if the game is worth it at all. Theoretically, Outriders should be a finished game, and the demo should “demonstrate” that. However, that doesn’t quite work.
What is Outriders? The new shooter from developer People Can Fly and publisher Square Enix combines features from different genres. Outriders offers loot like in loot shooters and combat from cover shooters. The game is designed for solo players and groups of up to three players in co-op.
Roughly, it can be described as a mix of Gears of War, The Division 2, and Remnant: From the Ashes. It is played in third person with four different classes, all of which serve their own play style with unique abilities.
The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi scenario. After humanity has destroyed Earth, they search for a new home. But even here, a war breaks out, and after an incident and a long cryogenic sleep, the Outriders (players) awaken with new powers and are supposed to ensure order.
Outriders will be released on April 1 for PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
What kind of demo is this? On February 25, the demo of Outriders started, allowing players to play the first chapter of the demo, all classes, and some side missions. It can be played for free on all platforms.
The demo introduces players to some basic systems. For instance, there are already 10 legendary weapons, group play, and the so-called world tiers, which represent difficulty. However, endgame content is lacking. The demo runs indefinitely and can even be played after the release.
Technical flaws spoil the gaming experience
Here are the problems: The demo of Outriders launched with several issues. On PlayStation, it couldn’t even be downloaded at launch and has struggled with various technical problems since:
- Graphical glitches like clipping capes permeate the game
- the frequently found cutscenes are often out of sync with the sound. In particular, the lip synchronization, especially in German, does not work well yet
- Cutscenes in the demo are locked at 30 FPS, which is said to change at release – so not everything is complete yet
- camera work in cutscenes varies – some players complain about motion sickness
- graphics and visuals are not particularly contemporary compared to other modern loot shooters like The Division 2. Outriders resembles a production from around five to ten years ago
- standard customization options like disabling motion blur are lacking on PC
Although the majority of respondents on MeinMMO are satisfied with the demo, these problems are repeatedly mentioned, even by supporters. Even if the gameplay and story are consistent, the technical state is not yet.
What’s wrong with that? Such problems are not unusual for a test. However, Outriders explicitly offers a demo and not a beta test. The game should therefore be presented in its final state.
This, along with the fact that the demo was released just before launch, makes players doubt whether Outriders will actually be ready by April 1 and can resolve all issues.
Another point is that players apparently expected more from the production. With Square Enix behind the developers, some of the issues seem more like ailments that a smaller developer would struggle with.
Seemingly not a AAA title despite Square Enix
Players may have expected more from Outriders than it can currently deliver. Instead of a full-price title with a million-dollar budget, they receive more of an AA title. While this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad, it’s just not quite what was expected. MeinMMO reader Phoesia summarizes this in his comment:
The game design simply seems antiquated and outdated, the implementation is awkward and unrefined. This runs through every single aspect of the game.
It’s not a flop, but overall far too little to make an impact in 2021. If it were an indie game on Steam for 29 €, one could overlook many corners – but it isn’t.
Maybe it’s worth picking up in a sale, but at full price, I can get significantly better options today, even in this genre.
Not all works published by Square Enix are large productions and successes. Marvel’s Avengers disappointed the publisher even with its revenues. Moreover, Square Enix more frequently acts as a publisher for smaller productions, such as Murdered: Soul Suspect or Wakfu.
Outriders seems to fall more into the latter category, although this does not say anything about its quality. However, some demo players expected more. The technology is not the only problem – the demo itself could have been planned much better.
It is particularly problematic that expectations due to Square Enix as a publisher might be set too high. Square has made a name for itself with high-quality productions like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest. These are some of the most successful franchises of all time.
Square Enix is even known for having coined the term AAA titles. Final Fantasy VII is said to have cost between 40 and 45 million dollars during its development, setting a milestone at the time. The game is considered one of the video games with the highest production costs and was presented with elaborate CGI cutscenes and orchestral music.
At least part of the players has perhaps set themselves up to play a polished AAA title with Outriders, as Square Enix is primarily associated with major titles. However, Square Enix’s major successes are mostly productions from its own house, created by Square itself. Outriders comes from the studio People Can Fly (Bulletstorm, Gears of War: Judgement).
The demo is more of a beta and not ideal for a preview
This is why the demo is not ideal: In its current state, the demo is more of the beta test that the developers did not want to have. In an interview, the developers emphasized that they wanted to introduce players to the game with the demo:
We try to help players from the very beginning in the game and have tutorials for everything. We guide them slowly through the stages of the game. We don’t throw anyone into the deep end. […]
We also want to teach those who have no experience with this type of game how to play at the beginning, so that no one gets lost in the game. But the more you play, the more you understand what we are doing. We hope that you start experimenting, change builds and play the game properly […]
However, the demo does not go far beyond the tutorial, and important content such as expeditions (endgame), crafting, or talents are missing or very minimally included. Additionally, there has already been a first update that fixes bugs – just like in a beta. So, it seems like Outriders is still not completely finished.
A demo should present a product and excite potential customers to purchase it. However, the Outriders demo only shows a game that is not fully polished and only the beginning.
Players can indeed play the beginning and dive into the story, but hardly experience what Outriders is supposed to be all about. Most of the planned endgame content for Outriders is missing.
You can distribute the first skill points, but talent trees are so large that the two points do not nearly illustrate what the system will look like later. It lacks the feeling of what Outriders is supposed to become later on. This does not come across.
Why is it called a demo at all? The developers wanted to distance themselves from the idea of a “game as a service”; Outriders was meant to be presented as a finished game. The premise is that Outriders wants to be complete from the beginning.
In an interview with MeinMMO, the developers revealed why they do not want to present Outriders as a service game. The distance from this model might be related to the fact that no connection should be made with two well-known games: Fallout 76 and Anthem.
Fallout 76 also started with high player expectations for the franchise, which were disappointed during the first beta tests. Fans did not receive a beloved single-player title from a major publisher, but rather an unfinished service game that still needed to be developed.
Anthem also had the problem that high-profile teams from BioWare and EA were working on it. Expectations for the game were high, the first trailers looked good, but the first gameplay tests did not. In both cases, a service approach was chosen, where players deliberately did not get to see the full range of content until later.
Fallout 76 managed to recover after the failed beta and the rough start, and is doing really well for many players in 2021. Conversely, not enough support was provided for Anthem, leading the game to begin to die just half a year after its release.
Outriders does not want to go down these paths and not take the risk of ending up like Anthem. Therefore, the game is supposed to be complete from the very beginning – only the demo does not show this yet.
Should you buy Outriders before its release?
You might consider a purchase if you are already having fun with the demo. Not much of the game is shown yet, but you can expect more content to come – including an endgame grind that is somewhat comparable to Diablo.
Additionally, players will enjoy themselves who can overlook the technical flaws. While it is possible that all bugs will be fixed by release, it is not guaranteed.
You should wait for more information about the release if you easily get frustrated by many cutscenes, graphical errors, and glitches. It is still uncertain whether Outriders can resolve all issues, and until that happens, you should stay away from the release.
Also, you should definitely wait if the endgame grind in a loot shooter is important to you. Outriders is supposed to offer about 35 hours of story and then repeatable missions. However, none of that has been seen so far, and we do not know how good they will be.
I will definitely play Outriders – but that doesn’t mean anything
I have already had great fun with the demo of Outriders, and for me, it is clear that I will play it at release. However, I am also someone who can overlook many minor flaws and quirks. Graphics are not a big deal for me; gameplay matters more.
Even with Fallout 76, I was one of the players who were excited about the game from the start – regardless of the many problems and bugs. I am quite resilient in situations like this and can focus on the aspects that I enjoy.
The bugs have only mildly bothered me so far, and the story and classes have convinced me. Enough that the promised 35 hours are sufficient for me to want to invest my money.
This does not mean that I would give a purchase recommendation. For those who do not think like me, I would advise waiting. Especially problematic graphics and inconsistent cutscenes can quickly cause a game to end up in the corner and not be touched again, even if the issues have been fixed later.
I therefore recommend waiting until you are sure that Outriders has now reached your desired state. Since it is not a service game, you will always receive what you currently see – with only potentially future bug fixes and probably DLCs once they are available.
Benedict Grothaus
Freelance author at Mein-MMO
The demo runs indefinitely and can still be played after the release of Outriders. You always have the opportunity to convince yourself of the current state of the game and decide for yourself whether you want to give it a chance.
If you are still unsure and the demo has not yet convinced you, we recommend waiting to purchase. After release, many tests and reviews will appear about Outriders, with which you can get a better picture. Here on MeinMMO, we will continue to provide you with content and information about the game. You can find the first impression of the Outriders demo by MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus here: Everyone is complaining about Outriders, but I am having fun with it
What do you think of the current state of Outriders?
