Sail across galaxies or flounder on dead engines in the latest spaceship-building roguelike, Out There: Ω The Alliance, a new title in the award-winning series from developers Mi-Clos Studio and publisher Raw Fury.
The expectations for the newest installment of the Out There series were high, and to be forthcoming, I was relatively disappointed. The core tenant of the game, replayability, is hampered in a structural way, detracting slightly from an otherwise excellent game.
Despite some shortcomings, there are space cowboys detailed in pulp comic art, near infinitely customizable spaceships, and an ever-present sense of desperate resource management in Out There: Ω The Alliance.
Gameplay
You play as a pilot lost in space, surviving for millions of years in cryonics, and your mission is to traverse galaxies in search of civilizations both human and alien. Choosing from an inventory of unlocked ships at the beginning, your mission complicates at every step with necessary supplies of fuel, oxygen, and metal required to repair and upgrade your ship.
Comparable to any other functioning roguelike, beating the game on normal difficulty is a challenge suited only for those with keen resource operation, experience with inevitable roadblocks, and an inordinate amount of luck. On good runs, you’ll feel like Samwise Gamgee leaving the Shire for the time, and on bad runs, you’ll learn valuable lessons, which harden your future resolve. Out There: Ω The Alliance is properly cruel; it giveth and taketh away.
Similarly, obtaining new ships floating adrift at space with random cargoes or upgrading your ships with rare metals found on alien planets is satisfying. Eventually, you’ll design a ship that allows you to float through space as a joyous honeybee, exploring and pollinating every solar system while extracting all the nectar for your hive.
Although an engaging difficulty level and an integrated customization loop may spur addictive gameplay, the only real drawbacks are the ending destinations. Different endings are unlocked according to who/what you come in contact with throughout your journey, but what is required and what is rewarded for each end is unclear. I’ve gotten to endings only to find a closed door with no clues towards obtaining a key. Design a kickass ship, explore the whole galaxy, and be rewarded with closed doors? Frustrating and un-intuitive for an otherwise straightforward game.
Art
Regardless of Out There: Ω The Alliance’s gameplay deficiencies, the visual and sonic production at work is impressive.
For a game that has a limited amount of screens (your ships loadout, solar systems, 3 types of planets, and text bubble journal entries) the aesthetic tone of pulp-art space-pioneer makes these few spaces punch above their weight.
And as cosmic reds, blues, and purples shade in the visual expanse of the gameworld, catchy electronic songs fill in the lightyears between traveled galaxies. The music isn’t quite on the level of ‘download to Spotify’, but it’s surely approaching.
Narrative
Another strength of Out There: Ω The Alliance is the tone set by its premise along with its storytelling executed through journal entries. There’s a whimsical, humorous aspect to the journals that keeps the game lighthearted in a world themed about desolation and destruction.
Again, a small emphasis on the endings lacking and being unclear should be noted. Of the few endings I reached, I was left with more questions than answers.
Overall
Within the roguelike and spaceship builder genres, Out There: Ω The Alliance occupies an intermediate space. It has the shipbuilding potential of FTL: Faster Than Light, the out-there, pioneering aesthetic of Mass Effect, and the desperation fueled decision-making instilled by classics like The Oregon Trail. But it never quite reaches that eureka moment for which it seemed destined. Held back by its endings and player reward systems, Out There: Ω The Alliance is still a game worth giving a shot.
Score: 8/10
Check Out the Out There: Ω The Alliance Trailer:
Out There: Ω The Alliance is available for $14.99 via the Nintendo eShop and Humble Store.
Nintendo Switch Review
Recent Michigan State University grad and current Game Studies researcher who plays fantasy RPG's to escape, Smash to compete, and Stardew to chill. Also have a +1 to rage/toxicity resistance due to the many hours sunk into WoW, R6, and LoL.
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