It was all over for me when I forgot to pack up my tent. I didn’t realize my mistake until the next night, when it got too dark to see more than a few feet in front of my face and I found a nice out-of-the-way corner that I’d planned to sleep until morning in. Instead, I ended up having to stumble my way through the dark toward town — until I slipped off a cliff, lost my backpack and everything in it, and woke up with a sprained ankle surrounded by hungry wild animals.
In Outward 2, it’s the most mundane items that matter the most. A good weapon and a healing potion will help you out in combat, but without a backpack, a full waterskin, and a meal to eat, you’ll be out of the fight before swords are even drawn. Developed by Nine Dots Studio, the hardcore survival RPG is gearing up for its first playtest from December 9 to 15, ahead of a planned release next year. Based on the few hours I’ve spent with it, it’s one of the biggest RPGs to keep your eye on next year if you’re looking for a game that puts a heavy emphasis on the ‘adventure’ part of action-adventure.
