Heading Out, by developer Serious Sim and publisher Saber Interactive, is a narrative RPG with elements of choose your adventure and racing. I enjoyed playing this game so much that I decided to finish all four acts before concluding with my final score. While I don’t think there is as much replayability as we might expect, players can walk away with a meaningful experience.
The game starts in the middle of our story, waking up with memories of the last race we had. We died but the circumstances are vague and mysterious. We are only equipped with the knowledge that the world’s greatest racer is waiting for us in a far-off city. Beyond that, we need to head out as soon as possible. Fear is coming for us. Fear is following us across the country and is spreading across the country.
The game asks you questions before starting your run across the states, and they can be very personal: from first love to personal politics to family tragedy. The functional use for this feature tailors what you may hear on the radio. We can relate with the personalities from these various stations. When Fear taunts us, it taunts us with these personal attacks to evoke despair in us.
The radio host personalities are diverse and colorful. You may hear from a depressed mom’s cooking channel, a hardcore conservative, an anarchist progressive, a washed-up celebrity, among some others. You never know who is going to pop up on the radio next. I looked forward to it for the most part.
The main gameplay is when we are driving on the major US highways and exploring cities. The exciting bits occur when we are in a racing scenario where we are dodging traffic and other obstacles. Each city offers opportunities to make money, make choices, and help (or hurt) other people. One should take care to make extra cash to avoid stealing gasoline when burning fumes. There are consequences to this, as your reputation shapes how the world sees you. The law will also take an interest in you and will try to stop you.
Actual racing is engaging. You can race for cash rewards wherever you can find potential challengers. Each scenario earns you reputation and fame as the Interstate Jackelope. There are multiple types of scenarios, such as police evasion, racing, traffic jams, and nonevent (calm) drives. Players will take note of the signs that will prepare for what is next on the track. Generally, a race will last less than three minutes, or until the end of a song on the radio.
Everything you do matters! You will make the best of a procedurally generated trail to a city on the opposite side of the country. There are some stories that come in parts and offer collectable rewards. Your route is entirely up to you so long as you stay ahead of your fears. You may even act in contradiction to your principles just to keep going. After confronting the final boss, you will begin to understand why our story seems to loop. The game has four entire acts, and you are allowed to choose which car you want to use in all of them.
My biggest turn offs so far have been repeating events in cities, repetitive radio broadcasts, and trigger-happy highway police. I would prefer that the game accounts for already completing one such scenario. You may find yourself encountering the same event twice within the same act. I also had the impression that the radio hosts will always have the same opinions of you as you build your reputation as the Interstate Jackelope.
Overall, I think Heading Out was fun to play through and offered me about six hours of entertainment. The radio song tracks are good to listen to, and the radio personalities can be hit or miss. Driving can be a challenge given the cost of gas, and racing can get crazy if you fall off the road or need to respawn. I would give this title a rating of 8.5 out of 10.
Heading Out is available for PC via Steam.
Related: Reviews by John Pruitt
I like to think of myself as the average Joe who grew up alongside video games. I have fun playing strategy games, RPGs, shooters, sandboxes, the whole shebang! Every game provides an experience whether it strikes you as profound, mundane, or someplace in between. I'd like to weigh in my two cents before you spend a single penny.
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