Outcast (video game)
An acclaimed action-adventure set on the alien world of Adelpha.
Outcast is a 1999 action-adventure game for Windows, created by developer Appeal and published by Infogrames. Players take on the role of protagonist Cutter Slade, exploring the alien world of Adelpha from either a third-person or first-person perspective, using only two mouse buttons—one to aim and the other for context-sensitive actions like talking or jumping. The game earned critical praise and was named Adventure Game of the Year by GameSpot in 1999.
A sequel, Outcast II: The Lost Paradise, was started by Appeal in 2001 but abandoned when the company went bankrupt. The original game returned in 2010 via digital distribution on GOG, and in 2014 it was remastered as Outcast 1.1 after the original developers regained the franchise’s intellectual property. A remake, Outcast: Second Contact, came out in 2017 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A proper sequel, Outcast: A New Beginning, launched in 2024 for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
**Gameplay**
Cutter can walk, run, jump, crawl, and climb onto any ledge he can reach. After a tutorial area, players are free to travel between Adelpha’s regions using portals called daokas. A gadget called the F-LINK lets them drop teleport beacons for quick movement within a region, but not between regions. Players can also acquire a twon-ha, a rideable beast of burden, by buying one or completing certain quests.
Much of the game involves talking to the friendly Talan aliens to learn the story and advance Cutter’s mission to find a damaged probe. Conversations can be skipped, but the Talan react differently based on a reputation system: helping them makes them more cooperative, while harming them makes them hostile. Dialogue variations are chosen randomly or based on reputation.
Weapons fire slow-moving projectiles, so players must constantly dodge enemy attacks and aim carefully. Alternatively, they can sneak using cover, lying in mud, or invisibility gadgets. Cutter starts with a pistol and fists; more weapons and upgrades can be bought, and ammunition is found or crafted by bringing materials to a Talan Recreator. Enemy soldiers use horn-like alarms to coordinate, flank the player, and search or regroup when they lose sight of them. Hostile wildlife also attacks if approached.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Outcast
- Developer
- Appeal
- Publisher
- Infogrames / Bigben Interactive (remake)
- Producer
- Olivier Masclef / Sébastien Brison / Jean-Yves Patay / Olivier Goulay
- Director
- Franck Sauer / Yves Grolet / Yann Robert
- Designer
- Renaud Dauchel / Douglas Freese / Catherine Marechal
- Composer
- Lennie Moore / Sean Hickey / William Stromberg
- Engine
- Unity / (Second Contact)
- Released
- EU · June 25, 1999 · NA · August 19, 1999Outcast 1.1 / December 18, 2014 / Second Contact / NA · November 7, 2017 / (XONE) · WW · November 14, 2017
- Genre
- Action-adventure
- Modes
- Single player
- Platforms
- Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Outcast follows former U.S. Navy SEAL Cutter Slade, who is tasked with escorting three scientists to the alien world of Adelpha to repair a damaged probe and close a black hole threatening Earth. Upon arrival, Cutter is separated from the scientists and hailed by the native Talan as their messiah, the Ulukai. The Talan are a bipedal species with psychic abilities tied to elemental essences, and their society has recently been taken over by a violent warrior caste led by the scientist Xue, who arrived decades earlier. Cutter must weaken the warrior Talan, unite the other castes, and retrieve computer cards to repair the probe, ultimately using it as a vehicle to return to Earth.
Reader's Guide
Outcast is notable for its open-world design, allowing the player to freely travel between regions via daokas and use teleport beacons for fast travel within areas. The game features a reputation system that affects how the Talan interact with the player, with multiple dialogue variations based on reputation and random selection. Combat involves slow-moving projectiles and encourages maneuvering or stealth, with options to weaken enemy soldiers by disrupting their resource production. The game uses a unique save system integrated into the world: the Gaamsaav device, which emits a sound that enemies can investigate. Outcast's graphics engine combines ray casting for landscapes and texture-mapped polygons for objects, with effects such as shadows, depth of field, bump mapping, and reflections. The engine is purely software-based and does not rely on hardware acceleration.
Did You Know?
- The game uses a Gaamsaav device to save, which emits a sound that enemies can investigate.
- A sequel, Outcast II: The Lost Paradise, was developed but never finished due to bankruptcy.
- Outcast was remastered as Outcast 1.1 in 2014 after the original developers reacquired the franchise IP.
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