Few would have expected -- when the iPhone was released almost eight years ago -- that our phones would become a major platform for gaming, but they did. One result of this phenomenon has been the odd movement of some games from mobile-first to the desktop. One of the most recent games to make this backwards leap is
Out There from French developer Mi-Clos Studio.
Out There is a
Rogue-like science fiction game, most often compared to the classic game
FTL, but without combat. You play as an astronaut who was supposed to be heading to Jupiter, but whose spacecraft is mysteriously warped "out there" and you are trying to make your way back home. You do this by jumping from one star system to another, gradually heading back home (there is an arrow to point you in the correct general direction), and collecting the resources you need to stay alive as you go.
A system with all three types of planets
There are three resources you need -- fuel for your spacecraft, oxygen to breath, and metal to keep your spacecraft fixed up. You'll find these resources by visiting the planets in the star systems you enter. There are three basic types of planets: gas giants, where you'll harvest hydrogen and helium for fuel; rocky planets, where you can land and drill for materials; and habitable planets, where you can land and interact with alien species, as well as drill for materials.

Along the way you'll meet aliens, collect alien artifacts, and begin to learn alien languages through your interactions with them. The artifacts and materials you drill allow you to upgrade your ship, or craft new technologies to help you make your way. You'll also come across derelict alien ships, which you can scavenge for their supplies, or even take over and use in your travels.

A nice, retro-looking alien
All of these activities serve the larger story -- because in addition to trying to get home, you're also trying to unravel the mystery of what happened to you, and what's going on in the universe. And while it may sound like there's a lot going on, it's all really very simple; this game takes almost no time to learn, though beating it is another story.
Out There has much to recommend it, as can be seen by the overwhelmingly positive reviews on the Mac App Store and Steam. The graphics have a beautiful, retro style, the animations are smooth, and the soundtrack is excellent (and available to purchase separately). The simplicity of the gameplay is also a positive, as it's easy to get into this game, and you can really focus on the strategy and the story without having to worry about the mechanics.
However, having worked at
Out There for many hours, I have to say that, for me, the gameplay balance is so severely out of whack as to ultimately make it more frustrating than fun. Now I appreciate a challenge as much as the next person; I didn't want to go in and complete the game in an hour or two, and I don't mind dying a few times as I figure out the proper strategy to complete a game. That said, the purpose of
Out There ultimately seems to be to make it unlikely that you will ever finish the game. This sadistic side is confirmed if you spend some time reading the reviews -- you'll find that even people who like the game generally have found it impossible to beat.
It's not just that it's hard; it's perverse. You can spend as much time as you want trying to make sure you maintain a good balance of resources to survive, but eventually you will, for example, jump to three or four star systems in a row that provide no oxygen (or fuel, or opportunity to mine iron for your hull) and you will die. Over and over again. Some people seem to like this, and I didn't mind for the first few hours, but eventually it becomes clear that this has little or nothing to do with your strategy, and everything to do with the game's design: the further you go, the more the game actively works to kill you. Eventually it becomes clear that this isn't random -- it's on purpose.
Keep an eye on your supplies
The frustration of this is enhanced by one of the game's features, which is that when you die, you start all over from the beginning. While the game will save automatically at certain points, this is only so that you can quit and come back to the same point. If you die, that's it, game literally over. In a more balanced game, this would be an excellent feature, forcing you to focus on survival strategies; but in a game this unbalanced, it's ultimately just frustrating. Worse, the universe is procedurally generated each time you start, so you can't just run through the beginning again -- the star systems are different every playthrough, although you will start seeing the same scenarios pop up at different times if you play enough.
Another problem that arises from this constant need to restart is related to
Out There's origin on mobile devices. The game requires lots of clicking; in fact, that's basically all you do in this game -- click on different features of the screen. There's nothing wrong with this as a gameplay mechanic, but after a few hours, you begin to realize that tapping on a screen is much easier on your body than clicking.
I would suggest that the developers look at ways to minimize this need, at least on the desktop version of
Out There, perhaps by adding an option to turn off the many confirmation dialogues you get when you make selections. Another useful option would be to have a "Collect All" option when you're mining minerals and collecting gas, as this would also cut down significantly on the number of clicks required. Again, this wouldn't be as big of an issue if you didn't have to restart the game so many times to try and make any progress.
The game requires 10.6 or later on Mac, and sells for $10 on
MacGameStore.com, or
Steam. The iOS version works with iPhone and iPad, and
costs $4.
Who is Out There for?
People who like dying. Seriously, you have to be willing to put up with lots of frustration and the apparent inability to craft a strategy that works consistently to enjoy this game beyond your first few run-throughs. This game is clearly aimed at more casual users, fans of strategy and rogue like games, and people who miss the old
FTL. Also if you like sci-fi strategy games with a retro look and a great soundtrack, you'll like
Out There.
Who is Out There not for?
Those who get frustrated easily, like to actually win at some point, or want a game you can pick up, run through, and finish in an afternoon or a day. If you like your games with combat, you'll likewise be disappointed, as there is none here.
-- Steven Marx (
@stevenmarx)
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