People Can Fly set out to make a brutal, power-fantasy looter-shooter. They succeeded. It just took a few patches to get there.
Outriders showers you in guns. Blue, purple, and eventually legendary (gold) drops happen constantly. You will spend a significant portion of your playtime in the menus, comparing stats, dismantling duplicates, and applying mods. For loot gremlins, this is heaven. For everyone else, it’s exhausting.
But now, looking back with clear eyes and countless patched updates, I think we were too harsh. And at the same time, maybe not harsh enough. OUTRIDERS
In the tutorial, the game literally tells you that staying behind a wall for more than three seconds will get you killed. Enemies have grenades, flanking AI, and "Breacher" units that rush you with shotguns. The only way to survive is to be aggressive. Use your movement skill (Teleport, Leap, or Gravity Jump) to close the gap. Heal by killing enemies close-range. Chain your abilities like a fighting game combo.
The tone is aggressively early 2010s. Characters scream lines like, "I didn’t sign up for this!" and "That’s classified!" with absolute sincerity. The main antagonist, a dictator named Seth, monologues about "order" while wearing a leather trench coat. It’s ridiculous. People Can Fly set out to make a
To the developer’s credit, they fixed almost all of it. The 2022 "Worldslayer" expansion overhauled the endgame, removed timers from most expeditions, added a roguelite "Trial" mode, and introduced the PAX skill trees (which are bonkers powerful). Today, Outriders is a stable, complete experience. But first impressions matter, and that launch tainted the game’s reputation forever. Short answer: Yes, especially with friends.
This creates a rhythm I haven’t felt since Doom (2016) . As a Devastator (the tank class), you’re an immortal boulder rolling downhill. As a Trickster, you’re a teleporting reaper. As a Pyromancer, you’re an area-denial arsonist. And as a Technomancer—well, you get to break the rules with turrets and long-range artillery, but even then, you’re encouraged to stand your ground, not hide. Outriders showers you in guns
8/10 (7/10 at launch, 9/10 if you main Trickster) Have you revisited Enoch lately? Did the Worldslayer expansion win you over? Drop your thoughts in the comments—and for the love of the Anomaly, don’t forget to dismantle your blues.