It was a pleasant surprise to get another hands-on experience with Outward 2 so soon. Typically, there’s a significant period between initial previews and more critical evaluations, making it feel like being part of the development process. This second hands-on session was more comprehensive than the first. We explored a brand-new region with a different starting scenario and had the opportunity to discuss the game’s design philosophy with Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, CEO and co-founder of Nine Dots.
“We believed that, like us, there would be players who prefer immersion over being handed overpowered abilities to exploit the game world,” Boucher-Vidal explained. “We want to live in a fantasy world, but through the realistic lens of an ordinary person. We understood this approach would be divisive.”
He’s not wrong about the polarizing nature of these games. My initial experience with the original Outward on PlayStation 4 was jarring due to its unforgiving world, challenging combat, and unique approach to death. While my early criticisms were valid, I admit I didn’t fully grasp the game’s core concept at the time. However, with a new perspective, witnessing the world Nine Dots is crafting is truly inspiring.
This preview segment placed us in Simeon’s Bastion, a grand city situated in the harsh plains and cliffs of La Rescapée. The game begins with the player being robbed by two mysterious individuals. The immediate goal is to recover an ancient tablet and potentially family heirlooms, with dialogue choices influencing outcomes. This is a significant shift from the initial preview, which immediately thrust players into a brutal wilderness with survival as the sole objective.
The environment outside Simeon’s Bastion is indeed brutal. A deceptive encounter involves a person attacked by a monster who then turns on you after you rescue them. However, the city offers a crucial sanctuary for players to regroup, acquire supplies, and gain the necessary edge for survival.
“Many players have asked if Outward 2 will be more mainstream. That’s not our intention. We have a very specific vision for a niche audience – those who also desire to experience the struggles and hardships of being an ordinary human in a hostile world,” Boucher-Vidal elaborated. “We haven’t just increased scope for the sake of it; we’ve expanded our capabilities to create a version of Outward 2 with fewer execution compromises, while remaining true to our core vision.”
What I truly admired was Nine Dots’ unwavering dedication to the design of Outward 2. The starting area in Simeon’s Bastion, while still dangerous, offers more opportunities to learn survival skills compared to being thrown directly into the fire. It challenges players to think practically, finding advantages through actions like brewing potions and crafting traps to survive against both human and beast.
As Boucher-Vidal put it, you also learn that “your backpack is your best friend.” I hadn’t fully appreciated the importance of the backpack and its associated systems in my first playthrough. The seemingly odd dedicated button for dropping your backpack makes sense when you realize the best way to secure your items is sometimes to leave them behind in the wild.
“While it’s your best friend in the game, it’s your worst enemy in combat, as you can’t effectively dodge or roll with a large backpack,” Boucher-Vidal noted. Furthermore, certain loss states can result in bandits looting your backpack, or items being lost while fleeing from enemies. This mechanic forces players to think like an ordinary person, considering the value of their possessions to others and the impact of losing them.
Boucher-Vidal’s unwavering commitment to Outward 2‘s design was something I genuinely appreciated. “There was criticism about the game, its concept, and its vision,” he stated. “For instance, people disagree with the fun of tedious inventory management or navigation, and they wanted difficulty settings. These are not the criticisms we aim to address.”
However, Boucher-Vidal clarified that they are receptive to criticism regarding the *execution* of their vision. Much of this feedback centered on refining the rough edges of the first game and offering players more agency, not only in character customization but also in making meaningful choices.
This focus was evident in the second preview. Players have multiple paths to recover their stolen goods, from undertaking small quests for funds to acquire better gear, to discovering hidden advantages within Simeon’s Bastion. By exploring and thinking less like a hero and more like a person, players can find weapons and recipes that significantly boost their survivability.
“As gamers, we discussed what we felt was missing in the RPG genre. We all shared a vision for something that emphasized immersion over power,” Boucher-Vidal said. Playing this second demo of Outward 2 certainly reinforced this ideology. From their re-imagining of RPG systems to their encouragement for players to think differently, the game is shaping up to be something truly special.
Outward 2 is scheduled for release on PC on July 7th, 2026.