The Good
Incredible controls with a wealth of useful abilities
Challenging and exciting boss fights
Tightly crafted levels with a smooth difficulty curve
Brilliant cooperative challenges
Gorgeous visuals and a stirring soundtrack.
Outland is an expertly crafted platformer. The delicate weave of artistic delights and remarkable craftsmanship on display is staggering, and the fine pace at which its many secrets are revealed give this intoxicating adventure impressive depth. The lure of Outland begins with its stunning artistic design, but beauty goes much deeper than the surface. Silky smooth controls provide a rock-solid foundation, and the satisfying impact of blade on beast gives even the smallest battles serious weight. Within the first hour, it's abundantly clear that Outland has fantastic mechanics and style to spare, but then, the true brilliance slowly bubbles to the surface. A clever duality system in which you must transform from light to dark coloring is much richer than its gimmicky nature would lead you to believe. Incredible level design forces you to use this trick in a variety of death-defying ways, and the smart difficulty curve continually layers new abilities and tougher challenges until it reaches a powerful climax. Outland is the rare game that makes you put down the controller, take a deep breath, and marvel at what just happened.
Subject: Outland Review 
Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:21 am
