Quick Look: Outland

At first Outland seems like a simple game, built around classic platformer concepts with a little bit of combat thrown in for good measure, but playing for more than 15 minutes reveals a smart game with very well-implemented controls that incorporates some very innovative color mechanics.

The game has been developed by Housemarque, the studio that has also created the various incarnations of Super Stardust, and is published by France based Ubisoft.

Players control a figure that moves through a complex game world, overcoming obstacles, jumping around and attacking enemies, dodging attack from both static turrets and from characters that can move around.

The most important things is switching between the Dark and Light side of the world, which allows the character to absorb a certain kind of projectiles and hurt a number of enemies while becoming vulnerable to others.

Gamers need to be careful about which kind of attack dominates the screen and often the switches need to be done in the middle of demanding platforming or tough boss fights, which can make Outland quite a challenging experience.

Players need to be careful about the world they explore and make mental snapshots when they see something which appears to be just out of range.

As the game progresses and they acquire new skills, they will be able to come back and reach all those areas, often getting access to goodies that will make their life in Outland far easier.

The story of the game is a bit vague, with an unidentified narrator talking about various myths and about an eternal struggle that is linked to the main character, but no actual references are made to real world religious or myths, which might make some care less about the story.

This is not necessary a bad thing as the gameplay is captivating and manages to throw in a lot of interesting challenges.

Here's a look at Outland in action: