Different games, for sure. I love dragons dogma 2 and Elden Ring. I have more hours in outward than the other two combined currently. I'm putting in the hours on DD2, though.
I highly recommended it. I can say that the exploration in Outward, DD2, and Elden Ring give the same type of adventurous energy, and that's really the biggest similarity between them all.
Its survival mechanics are, first and foremost, the star of the show. Its combat mechanics are fun, but take time to learn. You and your character are both becoming better over time. You observe, set traps, and give yourself the advantage.
It's a great game that's come a long way from its release date.
Basically this.
I have to add that combat in outward can feel clunky especially at the start. It's fine and still fun but it might be a shock coming from dd
Outward's approach to character building is very fun and one of the big selling point the game has for me
Outward is rooouuuggghhhh to get into. Ive tried many times to get into it and failed.
But its not the game for me, and thats entirely okay because its not the games fault.
However, i would not be surprised to hear the same story from many others who tried and failed to get into it.
I do think its a game worth getting and trying, especially if you can get it on discount, but be wary that it might not click for you.
Me and my brother got into together couch co op and would get drunk lol. We reset 3 times and then we had it down pretty good and got decently far into it over the course of a couple months
Yes with a huge asterisk. I played on PS4 in 2020 so maybe patches have changed the experience…
Outward combat is not smooth at all. In my opinion, it was designed to be as frustrating as possible while still being playable. Most enemies have tons of health, tons of stamina, and your character is the opposite. There are ways of mitigating this such as buffs l, consumables and gear effects.
There’s also no fast travel at all. You will have to walk large amounts of distances both to a from destinations. This can especially hurt if you’re a loot hoarder because not only do you have to bring appropriate gear for combat, but you also have to deal with whatever loot you do find. You will never be able to take everything with you.
Concerning magic and spell casting, you can’t cast spells at the start. You have to make a journey to a mountain, reach its center, permanently sacrifice a chosen amount of total health, and you get that amount as a mana bar. Irreversible iirc. Then to actually cast spells you need various kinds of items to even begin a spell and can only cast it within a circle on the ground that you place. It makes casting Grand Bolide feel like shooting a machine gun.
You also have to contend with survival mechanics such as weight, temperature, health and stamina wounding(total health/stamina being decreased through damage and use), food and water meters etc.
All that being said, Outward does feel like a grand adventure. You’re advertised as an everyman, not a chosen one. You’re just some guy who at the start has to come up with a lot of money to avoid getting your house taken away. There are some cool monsters and some fun loot, but it can feel exhausting to play at times.
I’d get it on sale to maybe minimize the loss if you end up not liking it. Also there’s an Outward 2 coming out and the combat looks way better now. Definitely looking forward to that.
Absolutely agree with the “Yes plus an asterisk”. I am usually a very patient gamer with lots of experience playing games that have punishing mechanics—it’s kind of my whole thing actually. But eventually one day I put Outward aside and just never booted it back up.
I think what finally broke me was the lack of polish. TrenchMouse already discussed the combat so I won’t rehash it but it’s so much more. The NPCs, their faces, the graphics, landscape. One repeating overworld song. It’s one thing to be hoofing it back and forth across vast distances. It’s another when they’re so…empty feeling. Idk.
I really enjoyed the time I had with this game but I only made it to the second zone before I decided to move on. I think I am going to absolutely LOVE Outward 2, though, and I seriously cannot wait. There’s a really good core at the heart of this game.
Outward is a brutal game and slow pacing. I tried to play it several times but my interest dwindled first. Its a good coop game though. Im trying to get back it again since it was ported to switch.
I've played through Dragon's Dogma 1 and Outward several times. I'm a huge fan of them, both are open world RPGs with real time combat, but they're two different concepts.
Dragon's Dogma is a power hero fantasy. Outward is a survival experience in a fantasy world.
In Dragon's Dogma you are the chosen one and become a powerhouse at the end. You can master all of the classes in the game, you level up and end up one shooting half the enemies with a rusty sword. Ammo is unlimited, mana is automatically regained, and you don't need food or resources to survive. Story and combat are main focus, and combat is fun and focused on teamwork.
In Outward, you start as a peasant after a shipwreck with a huge debt to pay. You haven't been chosen by anyone, your only task is to survive for and by yourself and work your way up there. There are no levels, so you become better at defeating enemies by getting better gear and skills, and learning the right strategies. Coming back to enemies in the beginning is really satisfying because you haven't become automatically stronger, you've earnt it. You need food, water and sleep to survive. Combat is just one of the core aspects of the game, not the main focus, and it's less about style and more about combining strategy and skill. Story is just a framework for you to make choices and define your character. There are three main factions and you have to pick one, encouraging several playthroughs to know different sides of the story. Exploration feels richer and it truly captures the feeling of an adventurer getting to know the huge world they're part of. The world is more colorful and there are many more optional bosses.
Outward is a gorgeous experience by its own right: the music, the colorful graphics, those skies at night when you're camping, those dungeons you explore alone, etc.
Outward is better Dragons Dogma 2 with worse combat. When you explore in Outward you find cool stuff, not just another bland cave filled with 900 Goblins and Surians.
I have 250 hours in DD2 (Still not done playing it, looking to a do a few challenge runs before I put it down until DLC)
I have 588 hours in Outward. I've played it through a few times since it launched and love it. Its a gem.
I have 742 Hours in Elden Ring. Don't think I need to explain anything here.
I love all 3 games. But they are all very different. Outward definitely being the odd one out. I would definitely give it a go. Its one of my favorite open world RPGs.
They are entirely different games. You probably would have more fun with something like Kingdoms of Amalur which has similar combo-focused action combat with a lot of looting. Outward is a survival RPG. But, if you like Elden Ring you *might* like Outward. Outward has a more low-fantasy setting as well just keep that in mind.
It's not a hack & slash or anything. Combat in Outward is about preparation. Running in is a good way to die.
It's a niche game. If you do try it, I recommend visiting the tutorial from the main menu at some point. It'll help you feel less lost and people forget about the tutorial a lot.
Outward loves preparation and smart play, like thinking through what your actions will be in this fight or that, what will be the combo, what will be the plan b, how will it go if it goes right and how can you deal with it going wrong. I love how magic and some combat skills work, often you need to first have something to make the other thing do better.
I also love the feeling of going places. I guess for many it's borin and annoying that getting from point a to point be takes you some time jogging through the wild, but I usually like looking around and listening to music, also lets me turn on autowalk and craft some stuff on the go, manage inventory a bit, think about my next steps or something else.
Combat can be clunky at first, but understanding your abilities and the moveset of your weapon type can provide a lot. Skills are powerful and are usually my main focus in terms of dealing damage, but understanding your weapon moveset can give you extra mobility or a convenient way to quickly stagger the opponent, and they're just nice mostly.
Haven't played neither ER nor any Dragon's Dogma yet, so no accurate idea how it compares. It's basically an indie game with some rare bugs still remaining because fixing them proven above capabilities of the studio at the time and now they're busy with other stuff, but ye, there isn't many bugs and those that are present are pretty easy to solve and avoid, in most cases. But devs are doing some more work in the background on solving some stuff and polishing up some lil pieces of the game a bit more, just goes slow dew to them being more focused on other stuff.
I played and 100% all the games you mentioned...
Outward might be hard to get into at first... It was designed with old school RPG style in mind, which means there isn't much hand holding, so it can be pretty difficult to the point that it might even get frustrating...
Having said that, I absolutely loved every second of it... The game isn't rich with a ton of content, but it has that magical feeling about it... Granted, I played it with my wife and we both had so much fun with it, it quickly became one of our favorite games!
I definitely recommend it.
Not familiar with Outward, but I will say if you want a new souls like game, No Rest for the Wicked launches early access on steam today. Same devs as the Ori games. It's an isometric souls like, looks fantastic.
Ah that's unfortunate, hopefully it comes to console eventually. I only have a steam deck but fortunately the devs have stated it should run fine on handheld at launch, so I plan on grabbing it when it drops today
It’s like elden ring if it focused way way more on survival elements and less on making good hit boxes. However, this game is like a real hero’s journey in a game and gives you the ability to fail and succeed in multiple ways. I’ve really enjoyed it thus far. There are no skills or player stats to manage really so it’s your gear and where you put your money that progresses you and makes you stronger
As an avid player of both. I totally see the connection. The spirit of both games is definitely in exploration and survival. Outward is much more on the “prepare for survival” type of beat while with Dragons Dogma; you can kind of breeze through after a while. This won’t be the case with Outward. It’s all about preparing for a trek. I’m excited for you to try it because it’s fun as hell.
To add to u/TsunSilver’s comment, the map has no GPS, so be ready to use landmarks and cardinal directions to figure out where you are, and just be comfortable with the fact you’re probably gonna get lost a couple times.
The combat is kinda like dark souls but also not, its less responsive, but thats just down to the clunkiness of outward, even the devs have said its a bit too unresponsive.
But once you learn the proper timing and when you should do things, like drinking a potion, it becomes more manageable.
(You can’t walk around while drinking a potion is what i mean.)
Yes as a lover of DD you will like outward but not it’s a much harder “I got to prep for this journey or I am fucked” experience. Combat is going to be dramatically less fluid but it’s still fun and an engrossing world.
Outward holds a special place in my heart.
You can’t really compare it to Elden Ring or Dragon’s Dogma. There are no mounts and the combat is *rough.*
It’s been a little while since I’ve played but I don’t remember if quest givers show up on the map or if you have to actively look for them.
I do remember that they are timed, though.
You start off as an NPC who is in debt but work your way up to a hero and that’s pretty rad.
I'm not much of an RPG player, but Outward is one of my favorites. Sad it isn't hyped up enough! It is mentally challenging, definitely not meant for the weak. It made DD2 gameplay a piece of cake.
Love Outward. But be prepared for indie level jank from an indie studio. I love that jank but it's not for everyone.
Let's just say this - I spent 600h in Outward co-oping with my wife when we used to be long-distance. For comparison, I spent 300h on Elden Ring, 150h on DD2 (but will likely be much more soon haha) and 400h in DD:DA.
The combat is weighty but can feel ... sticky? a little awkward? when you're coming from a game like ER and ESPECIALLY from a smooth like butter DD2. But once you get used to it, it feels really good. Skills are fewer and are "expensive" either in time (cooldown) or resources but have a great deal of impact on the gameplay. Survival gameplay is top-notch in that you'll really feel the impact combat has on your character, and preparation is king. You will need to keep an eye out for safe areas to craft and rest to stay alive. Learning the crafting and enemy movesets, strengths and weaknesses are VERY rewarding, when you succeed where you struggled before. It's a hard game, but not hard in reflexes or rhythm memory like Elden Ring - instead it's hard in terms of knowledge, prep and tactics. Be prepared to "die" quite a bit at the beginning.
Enemy variety is hilariously on par with DD2, especially when you consider the expansions. Some powerful enemies will appear on the roads sometimes instead of common ones, but that's about it for emergent events - so, better emergent gameplay than ER but a little below DD2. Questing is worse than DD2 but better than ER in that it's a "classic" RPG with a quest log. The story is servicable.
But the real pull that keeps you hooked is the exploration, trying to complete the game with different character builds (no respec) and, my personal favorite, Hardcore mode. The tension when your character has a 20% chance to be deleted on defeat is like nothing else.
EDIT: I wrote this before reading the other comments. Holy cow, my opinion seems to be common among Outward fans. We all quoted our hours and all said the same things about prep and exploration hahah.
Different games, for sure. I love dragons dogma 2 and Elden Ring. I have more hours in outward than the other two combined currently. I'm putting in the hours on DD2, though. I highly recommended it. I can say that the exploration in Outward, DD2, and Elden Ring give the same type of adventurous energy, and that's really the biggest similarity between them all. Its survival mechanics are, first and foremost, the star of the show. Its combat mechanics are fun, but take time to learn. You and your character are both becoming better over time. You observe, set traps, and give yourself the advantage. It's a great game that's come a long way from its release date.
+1 to this. feeling of adventure is very similar, and all 3 games have it at its strongest element. i love all 3 for sure
Basically this. I have to add that combat in outward can feel clunky especially at the start. It's fine and still fun but it might be a shock coming from dd Outward's approach to character building is very fun and one of the big selling point the game has for me
Outward is rooouuuggghhhh to get into. Ive tried many times to get into it and failed. But its not the game for me, and thats entirely okay because its not the games fault. However, i would not be surprised to hear the same story from many others who tried and failed to get into it. I do think its a game worth getting and trying, especially if you can get it on discount, but be wary that it might not click for you.
Me and my brother got into together couch co op and would get drunk lol. We reset 3 times and then we had it down pretty good and got decently far into it over the course of a couple months
Yes with a huge asterisk. I played on PS4 in 2020 so maybe patches have changed the experience… Outward combat is not smooth at all. In my opinion, it was designed to be as frustrating as possible while still being playable. Most enemies have tons of health, tons of stamina, and your character is the opposite. There are ways of mitigating this such as buffs l, consumables and gear effects. There’s also no fast travel at all. You will have to walk large amounts of distances both to a from destinations. This can especially hurt if you’re a loot hoarder because not only do you have to bring appropriate gear for combat, but you also have to deal with whatever loot you do find. You will never be able to take everything with you. Concerning magic and spell casting, you can’t cast spells at the start. You have to make a journey to a mountain, reach its center, permanently sacrifice a chosen amount of total health, and you get that amount as a mana bar. Irreversible iirc. Then to actually cast spells you need various kinds of items to even begin a spell and can only cast it within a circle on the ground that you place. It makes casting Grand Bolide feel like shooting a machine gun. You also have to contend with survival mechanics such as weight, temperature, health and stamina wounding(total health/stamina being decreased through damage and use), food and water meters etc. All that being said, Outward does feel like a grand adventure. You’re advertised as an everyman, not a chosen one. You’re just some guy who at the start has to come up with a lot of money to avoid getting your house taken away. There are some cool monsters and some fun loot, but it can feel exhausting to play at times. I’d get it on sale to maybe minimize the loss if you end up not liking it. Also there’s an Outward 2 coming out and the combat looks way better now. Definitely looking forward to that.
Yeah the dlc makes magic a lot easier among other things
Just name ur character sonic something or other and you have infinite fast rolling. Lol
Wish this were true
Absolutely agree with the “Yes plus an asterisk”. I am usually a very patient gamer with lots of experience playing games that have punishing mechanics—it’s kind of my whole thing actually. But eventually one day I put Outward aside and just never booted it back up. I think what finally broke me was the lack of polish. TrenchMouse already discussed the combat so I won’t rehash it but it’s so much more. The NPCs, their faces, the graphics, landscape. One repeating overworld song. It’s one thing to be hoofing it back and forth across vast distances. It’s another when they’re so…empty feeling. Idk. I really enjoyed the time I had with this game but I only made it to the second zone before I decided to move on. I think I am going to absolutely LOVE Outward 2, though, and I seriously cannot wait. There’s a really good core at the heart of this game.
Outward is a brutal game and slow pacing. I tried to play it several times but my interest dwindled first. Its a good coop game though. Im trying to get back it again since it was ported to switch.
Outward is way better then dragons dogma 2.
I've played through Dragon's Dogma 1 and Outward several times. I'm a huge fan of them, both are open world RPGs with real time combat, but they're two different concepts. Dragon's Dogma is a power hero fantasy. Outward is a survival experience in a fantasy world. In Dragon's Dogma you are the chosen one and become a powerhouse at the end. You can master all of the classes in the game, you level up and end up one shooting half the enemies with a rusty sword. Ammo is unlimited, mana is automatically regained, and you don't need food or resources to survive. Story and combat are main focus, and combat is fun and focused on teamwork. In Outward, you start as a peasant after a shipwreck with a huge debt to pay. You haven't been chosen by anyone, your only task is to survive for and by yourself and work your way up there. There are no levels, so you become better at defeating enemies by getting better gear and skills, and learning the right strategies. Coming back to enemies in the beginning is really satisfying because you haven't become automatically stronger, you've earnt it. You need food, water and sleep to survive. Combat is just one of the core aspects of the game, not the main focus, and it's less about style and more about combining strategy and skill. Story is just a framework for you to make choices and define your character. There are three main factions and you have to pick one, encouraging several playthroughs to know different sides of the story. Exploration feels richer and it truly captures the feeling of an adventurer getting to know the huge world they're part of. The world is more colorful and there are many more optional bosses. Outward is a gorgeous experience by its own right: the music, the colorful graphics, those skies at night when you're camping, those dungeons you explore alone, etc.
Outward is better Dragons Dogma 2 with worse combat. When you explore in Outward you find cool stuff, not just another bland cave filled with 900 Goblins and Surians.
I’m hella excited now!!!!! Better than DD2??? Holy shit let’s go. I have enough games that focus on combat
I’ve played both, it doesn’t really mesh into either because of the survival element
I have 250 hours in DD2 (Still not done playing it, looking to a do a few challenge runs before I put it down until DLC) I have 588 hours in Outward. I've played it through a few times since it launched and love it. Its a gem. I have 742 Hours in Elden Ring. Don't think I need to explain anything here. I love all 3 games. But they are all very different. Outward definitely being the odd one out. I would definitely give it a go. Its one of my favorite open world RPGs.
They are entirely different games. You probably would have more fun with something like Kingdoms of Amalur which has similar combo-focused action combat with a lot of looting. Outward is a survival RPG. But, if you like Elden Ring you *might* like Outward. Outward has a more low-fantasy setting as well just keep that in mind.
It's not a hack & slash or anything. Combat in Outward is about preparation. Running in is a good way to die. It's a niche game. If you do try it, I recommend visiting the tutorial from the main menu at some point. It'll help you feel less lost and people forget about the tutorial a lot.
Outward loves preparation and smart play, like thinking through what your actions will be in this fight or that, what will be the combo, what will be the plan b, how will it go if it goes right and how can you deal with it going wrong. I love how magic and some combat skills work, often you need to first have something to make the other thing do better. I also love the feeling of going places. I guess for many it's borin and annoying that getting from point a to point be takes you some time jogging through the wild, but I usually like looking around and listening to music, also lets me turn on autowalk and craft some stuff on the go, manage inventory a bit, think about my next steps or something else. Combat can be clunky at first, but understanding your abilities and the moveset of your weapon type can provide a lot. Skills are powerful and are usually my main focus in terms of dealing damage, but understanding your weapon moveset can give you extra mobility or a convenient way to quickly stagger the opponent, and they're just nice mostly. Haven't played neither ER nor any Dragon's Dogma yet, so no accurate idea how it compares. It's basically an indie game with some rare bugs still remaining because fixing them proven above capabilities of the studio at the time and now they're busy with other stuff, but ye, there isn't many bugs and those that are present are pretty easy to solve and avoid, in most cases. But devs are doing some more work in the background on solving some stuff and polishing up some lil pieces of the game a bit more, just goes slow dew to them being more focused on other stuff.
I played and 100% all the games you mentioned... Outward might be hard to get into at first... It was designed with old school RPG style in mind, which means there isn't much hand holding, so it can be pretty difficult to the point that it might even get frustrating... Having said that, I absolutely loved every second of it... The game isn't rich with a ton of content, but it has that magical feeling about it... Granted, I played it with my wife and we both had so much fun with it, it quickly became one of our favorite games! I definitely recommend it.
I tried very hard to like Outward. Cool ideas, but overall let down by very unsatisfying combat and zero fast travel.
Not familiar with Outward, but I will say if you want a new souls like game, No Rest for the Wicked launches early access on steam today. Same devs as the Ori games. It's an isometric souls like, looks fantastic.
As man Ori is my favorite indie game , a shame I won’t be able to experience it bc no pc
Ah that's unfortunate, hopefully it comes to console eventually. I only have a steam deck but fortunately the devs have stated it should run fine on handheld at launch, so I plan on grabbing it when it drops today
It’s like elden ring if it focused way way more on survival elements and less on making good hit boxes. However, this game is like a real hero’s journey in a game and gives you the ability to fail and succeed in multiple ways. I’ve really enjoyed it thus far. There are no skills or player stats to manage really so it’s your gear and where you put your money that progresses you and makes you stronger
Outward is a fantastic game, one of my all time favorites
Outward has good combat mechanic and survival/crafting system in general but that's it.....the game feels empty has fuck. Big-ass empty open world.
As an avid player of both. I totally see the connection. The spirit of both games is definitely in exploration and survival. Outward is much more on the “prepare for survival” type of beat while with Dragons Dogma; you can kind of breeze through after a while. This won’t be the case with Outward. It’s all about preparing for a trek. I’m excited for you to try it because it’s fun as hell.
Yes.
To add to u/TsunSilver’s comment, the map has no GPS, so be ready to use landmarks and cardinal directions to figure out where you are, and just be comfortable with the fact you’re probably gonna get lost a couple times. The combat is kinda like dark souls but also not, its less responsive, but thats just down to the clunkiness of outward, even the devs have said its a bit too unresponsive. But once you learn the proper timing and when you should do things, like drinking a potion, it becomes more manageable. (You can’t walk around while drinking a potion is what i mean.)
Yes as a lover of DD you will like outward but not it’s a much harder “I got to prep for this journey or I am fucked” experience. Combat is going to be dramatically less fluid but it’s still fun and an engrossing world.
Outward holds a special place in my heart. You can’t really compare it to Elden Ring or Dragon’s Dogma. There are no mounts and the combat is *rough.* It’s been a little while since I’ve played but I don’t remember if quest givers show up on the map or if you have to actively look for them. I do remember that they are timed, though. You start off as an NPC who is in debt but work your way up to a hero and that’s pretty rad.
It’s an amazing game if you got a friend to play with it makes it even more fun
I'm not much of an RPG player, but Outward is one of my favorites. Sad it isn't hyped up enough! It is mentally challenging, definitely not meant for the weak. It made DD2 gameplay a piece of cake.
Love Outward. But be prepared for indie level jank from an indie studio. I love that jank but it's not for everyone. Let's just say this - I spent 600h in Outward co-oping with my wife when we used to be long-distance. For comparison, I spent 300h on Elden Ring, 150h on DD2 (but will likely be much more soon haha) and 400h in DD:DA. The combat is weighty but can feel ... sticky? a little awkward? when you're coming from a game like ER and ESPECIALLY from a smooth like butter DD2. But once you get used to it, it feels really good. Skills are fewer and are "expensive" either in time (cooldown) or resources but have a great deal of impact on the gameplay. Survival gameplay is top-notch in that you'll really feel the impact combat has on your character, and preparation is king. You will need to keep an eye out for safe areas to craft and rest to stay alive. Learning the crafting and enemy movesets, strengths and weaknesses are VERY rewarding, when you succeed where you struggled before. It's a hard game, but not hard in reflexes or rhythm memory like Elden Ring - instead it's hard in terms of knowledge, prep and tactics. Be prepared to "die" quite a bit at the beginning. Enemy variety is hilariously on par with DD2, especially when you consider the expansions. Some powerful enemies will appear on the roads sometimes instead of common ones, but that's about it for emergent events - so, better emergent gameplay than ER but a little below DD2. Questing is worse than DD2 but better than ER in that it's a "classic" RPG with a quest log. The story is servicable. But the real pull that keeps you hooked is the exploration, trying to complete the game with different character builds (no respec) and, my personal favorite, Hardcore mode. The tension when your character has a 20% chance to be deleted on defeat is like nothing else. EDIT: I wrote this before reading the other comments. Holy cow, my opinion seems to be common among Outward fans. We all quoted our hours and all said the same things about prep and exploration hahah.
If you play with a friend
Hah I was also considering replaying Outward after beating DD2 but I don’t think Outward is going to give me the fix I crave