Game 121 - Outland - Week X - Mar 24

utland. I feel like the first image here perfectly conveys what attracted me to this game all the way back in 2011 when I played the demo on my PS3. A man cursed by his dreams seeks out a shaman for answers. Revealed to him is a journey he must take into the Outlands to save his soul and a world being torn apart. Long ago a hero primosened two sisters, one of the light and sun, and her twin of darkness and the moon. You are his incarnation and must journey into the Outlands to save his soul and a world being torn apart. The backdrop demonstrates what our tribal marked hero will experience in the Outlands. A setting and theme that has appealed to me since I first saw the jungle's of Abe's Odyssey. 

The story from here is simple. Seek out the sisters and end their corruption of the world. A long the way you'll experience many ancient guardians of the Outlands that have been corrupted and tormented by the Sister's presence, either by their imprisonment or anguish thereafter. As you explore the metroidvania like levels you'll find new abilities such as heavy attacks, slams, slides, an energy absorb and shockwave and my favourite, a kamehameha wave. The enemies of the Outlands are wide and various from your tribal draugr to your average spide, jelly fish, bugs or snakes. As you slay these foes you gain coins and can use them to upgrade your health and energy, which you use on power moves. But the bread and butter of the game is of course the light and dark system. Using RB or LB you can switch between light and dark. In light mode you're immune to light energy and can damage dark, and vice versa. The brilliance is how the game weaves both enemies and platforming to create a satisfying puzzle experience whenever you pass a stage or level. Ducking, weaving and double-jumping between line and dark is always a smooth experience as you flick between RB and LB between jumps. This was the perfect game to play after Guacamelee 2, continuing to scratch that itch. A game which also had a light and dark system although with different puzzles.

None of this is more evident then the boss fights. A milestone even at the end of each of the five areas which will stretch the abilities you've attainted at that point to their limit. The perfect example of what a boss fight should do. The bosses will change between dark and light, requiring you to be fluid in both offense and defence. The Mother of Eyes is the highlight, requiring you to dodge her energy web and spawn, so you can line up cannon shots and fire away. The Sisters had a massive difficulty spike and took me a good while to get through, I was two hits away from defeating them when I died. I realised I was unnecessarily handicapping myself by only having one energy so I went back and farmed energy and used the energy absorb and shockwave ability to take out all her laser beams on the last stage and make quick work of her. All in all they were very enjoyable. I love the mix of tribal, geek and Norse you see throughout the stages. From the golem that remind me of the giants from Norse mythology, to the cities that feel like what you'd seen on Ancient Greek pottery to the northern lights of the sky bound mountains where inevitably fight the serpent of the sky Jormungandr. Although I initially fell in love with the jungle region of the outlands, the other areas had their own charm in this dying and dark world in which you're errant quest is to return light and balance. 

         

The five boss from left; Golem, High Priestess, The Mother of Eyes, The (de)Winged Serpent and The Sisters

Lastly the story while nothing to write home about was appealing in their own way. In the end you rise into the sky, and fight the stars themselves the Gemini constellation. You don't kill them however, you instead help them quench their fury by slapping them around a bit and making them realise there 30,000 year tantrum is a waste of everyone's time. So the alien's return to their world and everyone begins to rebuild the almost extinct world. I was glad to find out my original instincts were correct, and these tribal inspired game was a joy.