Outer Terror Review | TheXboxHub

Vampire Survivors has a lot to answer for. The seemingly simple recipe of waves and hordes of creatures coming to attack you, while all you need to do is move about has spawned a number of copycats; none of which have been as good as the source material. 

The latest game to throw its hat into the ring is Outer Terror, and comes from a team up of Ratalaika Games and Salt & Pixel / VoxPop Games. So, the question that we have to ask is this – can this out survive Vampire Survivors, or it just another also ran? Well, with a pleasing comic book vibe, it might just stand a chance…

In terms of story and Outer Terror is a bit of an odd one – as there are in effect five different stories, one for each of the game’s chapters. These are set-up nicely using a comic book style, each being different from the next. There is no overarching narrative, but nevertheless the stories on display are pretty good. 

And so we get onto the presentation and here the news is somewhat mixed. The way that each of the levels is introduced is really good, with that comic book intro showcasing who the people are that are involved, and that also sets up the story of the level; these are really well done. The inspiration for the game apparently comes from the Golden Age of horror comics, which took place in the 80’s and 90’s (according to this, anyway). However, once you get into the actual levels and start playing, the news is not quite so good – the sprites are large and very blocky, as are the enemies that you face. In fact, the larger the enemy, the weirder the effect is and it appears that the foes are 2D in a sort of 3D world. The whole effect looks a bit like Paper Mario – wafer thin sprites wandering about the place; while it is bearable, it isn’t great. 

The camera is also very easily confused, especially if a building or a large foe blocks your view, as you really cannot see what is going on. The camera is also deadly when playing in two player mode, as it doesn’t zoom out when the two players get a distance apart, both left at the edge of the screen, unable to see what is coming their way. Worse still, if one player has to put the controller down for a moment whilst the other player keeps running, the second character is kind of dragged along – into out of bounds areas sometimes. When this happens, the screen starts to vibrate wildly, which is disconcerting to say the least. Polish? Not included it seems. 

The sound and audio aspects are very much okay though, with nice tunes and the obligatory sounds of gunfire and screams when someone gets hurt or dies. 

Onto the gameplay itself, and if you have played Vampire Survivors then you will be right at home here. Outer Terror plays as an auto shooter, where the closest enemy gets hit by your weapons. There is however the ability to direct the fire in a certain direction, which is great for fighting the boss characters that appear at the end of each chapter. Each enemy that is defeated provides EXP points, and when you have collected enough, your character will level up. When this happens, you have the choice of choosing one of three possible upgrades – these can be new weapons, enhancements to your existing weapons, or perks that will help you stay alive, such as body armour or a health pack that will heal you for a certain amount. This system works quite well, and it isn’t afraid of borrowing ideas. The “Aura of Pain” is remarkably similar to the Garlic from Vampire Survivors, for instance. 

As you go through the story of the level, you will occasionally meet survivors who need your help, in effect giving you side missions to take on. These can be anything, from talking to a certain person, through to killing a giant mutated bunny rabbit – and yes, these are as crazy as they sound. Wandering around also has the side effect of filling in the mini map as you go, and there are usually points of interest marked on the map too, so it is worth exploring. 

From there, it is very much a case of rinse and repeat – wander about, kill stuff, level up, kill more stuff and so on and so forth. However, one nice roguelike part is that of the upgrade shop, where for a certain amount of gold (dropped by monsters as they are defeated) come unlockable perks that will help you to survive longer next time. These can be anything from extra health, through adding fire effects to your main weapon, to allowing you to have an extra arm and wield a third weapon – these can make a big difference to the game. 

I must say, I’m not totally convinced that the balance is right between the cost of the upgrades and the amount of gold you can collect – after finishing the first level in co-op, we had a massive 684 coins. The cheapest good upgrade is 1250, so a lot of grinding is needed to ensure you turn into a killing machine. 

For the most part, Outer Terror is a pretty good game with a hook that keeps you coming back. There is a lot to do, various different characters to choose from, each with a different loadout, and the gameplay, while basic, is fun. Two player mode needs more work, especially in terms of the camera, but it is worth taking in. 

With a little more polish Outer Terror could have been a contender. As things stand, it is short of the utter addiction found in Vampire Survivors. It does a job, but is nowhere near as life consuming. 

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