Release Date: 22/02/2016
Played On: Win
Available On: Win
Time Played: 24m
Progress: Multiple runs.
Developer: Denver Productions
Publisher: Siberian Digital
How much game is enough game for a game to be game? This might be a valid question rattling around in your head after playing OutDrive, but I'm trying to be too cynical about something that's essentially a fun little game. I just can't figure out if I prefer the product, or the potential.
There are loads of games like this available on Steam, as it's one of the most democratic platforms of video game distribution out there. Sure that means that there's a whole heap of trash made available, but that's the nature of opening up doors; eventually the flies get in.
At the same time, the open door policy of Steam manages to attract some small games that will never really belong anywhere else. I mean, there's not a lot of platforms out there that will let you sell a tiny game for fifty cents, no matter how excellent it might be. So we have to take the good with the bad on Steam and accept that without the deluge of terrible games, there would be no room for tiny little games that could potentially be fun.
To side step a little, I just want to add that I will never support the argument that something should be free. There's a certain type of gamer who thinks that anything small and low-budget should be given away for free, and they will always refuse to pay for anything that doesn't "look" a certain way. Of course I disagree with this, as anything that's made by someone has the right to be sold or traded with someone else as they see fit. Maybe there's more to be said about pricing your work correctly, but I fundamentally refuse to believe that anyone should expect the fruit of someone else's labour be given to them freely.
Anyway, I digress.
The point is that it's hard to evaluate a lot of smaller games, because they're caught in the waves of garbage that flow through Steam each and every day. A lot of the value will come from each gamer's own set of requirements for a fun and entertaining experience, as a lot of small games are naturally eclectic and diverse. After all, if any of these tiny experiences were mainstream enough to hit the majority of gamers, we'd be talking about something else entirely.
So I suppose I'm trying to say that a game like OutDrive is never going to top the charts and win awards, but I'm not sure it needs to. I'm not the kind of person that needs every single experience to be a perfect ten, so I'm happy to have enough fun to satisfy my interest. Thankfully that's pretty much what I got from OutDrive, as there's little else on offer.
It's basically an interpretation of the arcade hit Out Run, which basically mixes a racing game with an infinite runner. The premise is that your girl gets shot, so you keep her alive by hooking her up to your car's engine. You then have to drive fast enough to keep her alive, but not so fast that she overloads and explodes or something. The story isn't important, as it amounts to little more than a flimsy justification of the main gameplay loop.
Most of your time is spent driving along a track that twists and turns, avoiding barriers and obstacles as you go. There are no rules beyond the fact that you have to keep your speed up, so it's up to you to determine the best way to manage the course. Running into a barrier will slow you down, but sometimes you can get up to speed again before your passenger dies, but most of the time it's lights out.
This is where the infinite runner influence feels most apparent, as your entire goal is to read the track ahead and react accordingly to maintain your momentum. The longer you last, the more difficult the track becomes, so eventually you'll reach an impossible barrier that ends your run.
There's not a lot else to OutDrive, other than its striking presentation. I'm a fan of the whole synth-wave trend that's been happening recently, so all the neon graphics and 80s electro soundtrack are a great backdrop to the gameplay. Although, at times there's a lack of polish that seems to come from the tracks being procedurally generated, as different graphical layers will clip in and out of each other in ugly ways.
It really feels like OutDrive is more of a game built around its presentation than the other way around, which doesn't really work. My favourite thing about any game is often the presentation and design, but the lack of polish in this game lets it down a whole lot. So much so that it's not enough to forgive the simple and short gameplay loop of driving down the procedurally generated road.
I'm not about to complain about procedural generation again, as I've mentioned before how annoying and lazy it can feel. With that in mind though, OutDrive would have benefited greatly from a hand crafted track with purposely placed obstacles and a well-balanced difficulty curve. As it is, the difficulty spikes depending on the generated track, and it ramps too quickly to be super fun when the generation gets it right.
Difficulty is one of those things that will always be divisive among players, as we all have different skills. Although, I feel like if the curve was stretched out a little longer in OutDrive, I would be compelled to return and improve on my previous runs. Right now though, it feels like I've been knocked out just before my eyes manage to focus on the action in front of me. At worst, the procedural nature of the track will throw up annoyingly laid out obstacles right from the start. It feels hap-hazard and loosely thrown together, which only limits the amount of fun you can have with the game.
This is why I wonder if I enjoy the potential of OutDrive more than the actual execution. I can imagine what the game would be like if a little more time and care was taken to tighten up the presentation. In my head I can think of a really fun track layout that you could learn and slowly master over multiple runs. Unfortunately though, everything feels a little undercooked.
At the same time though, it's hard to ignore that I picked this game up for a few bucks, so I wasn't really expecting much in the first place.
Ultimately I think the price makes all the difference for a game like OutDrive, as my final feelings on the game are that it's fine. However, it's not brilliant and there's loads of room for improvement, but I enjoy what's there enough to feel like I got a few dollars' worth of entertainment.
This is not the kind of game to recommend or put on a list, but it's got a lot of charm and potential. I do think that there's a correlation between the cost of a game and how much entertainment you get out of it. Perhaps if I'd spent ten bucks on OutDrive, I'd be singing a different song, but I find it hard to say that anything competent enough isn't worth a few dollars.
So for anyone thinking this game looks cool and might be worth a quick spin on the playlist, take a closer look. After all, it's cheaper than a cup of coffee, but it's a lot more entertaining.
PS: The developers have added a note to their Steam page that describes the game as an "aesthetic concept", which kind of puts a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, if it's meant to be an aesthetic concept, then tighten up the layer clipping or something. It makes the lack of polish even less forgivable, but it's still a fine few dollars' worth of entertainment.