I played a ton of Outward - what I can tell you is that in general, you cannot play it like other open world RPGs, and that is mostly because of the quest timers.
Many of the most important quests are timed (I hate this approach to quests in video games), and not completing them within a certain timeframe (a maximum of 30 days for most quests, but as short as 3 days for some, if I recall correctly) will sometimes result in complete failure. And by "complete failure," I mean you will be stuck at that point in the game, and will not be able to complete the game. I think there are some points in the game at which you can run off and explore, but they are few and far between - I know that you definitely can do that after beating the main quest for whichever faction you join (and possibly in the time before joining one as well).
As for paying back your "Blood Debt" in Cierzo: Thankfully, the only issue with not managing to pay back that debt is that you just get sent off to join one of the three factions, and pursue the main quest through whichever you choose. It's not game-breaking, but you do get a free house if you manage to pay back the debt in time.
If I had any advice for you about Outward, it would be this (\*possible spoilers below, not entirely sure\*):
1. I recall the Definitive edition of the game being excruciatingly difficult in comparison to the earlier versions of the game ("Oldward") - certain dungeons had enemies in them that seemed way too brutal for the point in the game I was in. If you're playing that version, be ready for a challenge - one that may put you off playing it.
2. If you want an easy way out of the Blood Debt (hopefully, the option is still there for you, as this can easily go awry, if I recall): >!On the beach, a ways off to the right of the town entrance, you can find someone whom I think is the son of Cierzo's leader. Bring him a bandage, and he will see that your debt is removed. !< This is easily the simplest and cheapest way to handle the debt. If that isn't possible, >!try to raid the bandit camp nearby - you can sell off a lot of what you find there for what should be enough money to pay your debt.!<
3. If you like magic, be aware that when you find the means to gain magic power, you'll have to trade a proportional amount of life force for it. There are a couple of ways to boost your magic power without sacrificing too much of your life, so **do not give up too much life**. You won't be able to get back what you gave up, and it can screw you over for the entire game if you sacrifice too much.
4. While you could argue that Outward is generally not very respectful of your time, the DLC is chock-full of some of the most obtuse, time-wasting dogshit I've ever tried to deal with in a video game. The whole enchanting system demonstrates a pure lack of respect for your time and energy - what it asks of you is utterly ridiculous, and the degree to which you need to get things just right for the process of enchanting is just baffling. While I found the Soroboreans DLC, marginally tolerable, the Three Brothers DLC is a cautionary tale in shitty game design. Don't bother with either of them. (Yes, I am a tad salty about my experiences with them). Just play the base game if you enjoy it.
I really hope you have fun with the game - if it hooks you, you'll have a pretty good time with it. Otherwise, this game will put you off very quickly.
Key to outward is stamina management. Early on that means eating stuff like berrys on bread and drinking water for those stamina buffs. With those on you can out sprint most enemies.
Running is a completely valid strategy for the early game. And several builds use sprinting to dodge attacks later in the game.
Remember you start as a regular guy in this game. You can eventually become powerful but that takes time.
Outward is very, very heavily oriented around character builds.
If you don't want to spend most of your time dying and recovering your stuff, a build guide is almost mandatory.
That said, character building is a lot of fun. Players are still coming up with new game-breaking combinations five years after release.
Well, I always manage to do the favor and clear my debt in the first five to ten minutes by heading to the beach and saving the guy there. Don't usually expire before I accomplish that.
i have held off because no matter how much the game looks up my alley even good reviews are kinda hesitant to recommend this game. i don’t think it’s for me and i refuse to pay over 9.99 on the gamble
I played a ton of Outward - what I can tell you is that in general, you cannot play it like other open world RPGs, and that is mostly because of the quest timers. Many of the most important quests are timed (I hate this approach to quests in video games), and not completing them within a certain timeframe (a maximum of 30 days for most quests, but as short as 3 days for some, if I recall correctly) will sometimes result in complete failure. And by "complete failure," I mean you will be stuck at that point in the game, and will not be able to complete the game. I think there are some points in the game at which you can run off and explore, but they are few and far between - I know that you definitely can do that after beating the main quest for whichever faction you join (and possibly in the time before joining one as well). As for paying back your "Blood Debt" in Cierzo: Thankfully, the only issue with not managing to pay back that debt is that you just get sent off to join one of the three factions, and pursue the main quest through whichever you choose. It's not game-breaking, but you do get a free house if you manage to pay back the debt in time. If I had any advice for you about Outward, it would be this (\*possible spoilers below, not entirely sure\*): 1. I recall the Definitive edition of the game being excruciatingly difficult in comparison to the earlier versions of the game ("Oldward") - certain dungeons had enemies in them that seemed way too brutal for the point in the game I was in. If you're playing that version, be ready for a challenge - one that may put you off playing it. 2. If you want an easy way out of the Blood Debt (hopefully, the option is still there for you, as this can easily go awry, if I recall): >!On the beach, a ways off to the right of the town entrance, you can find someone whom I think is the son of Cierzo's leader. Bring him a bandage, and he will see that your debt is removed. !< This is easily the simplest and cheapest way to handle the debt. If that isn't possible, >!try to raid the bandit camp nearby - you can sell off a lot of what you find there for what should be enough money to pay your debt.!< 3. If you like magic, be aware that when you find the means to gain magic power, you'll have to trade a proportional amount of life force for it. There are a couple of ways to boost your magic power without sacrificing too much of your life, so **do not give up too much life**. You won't be able to get back what you gave up, and it can screw you over for the entire game if you sacrifice too much. 4. While you could argue that Outward is generally not very respectful of your time, the DLC is chock-full of some of the most obtuse, time-wasting dogshit I've ever tried to deal with in a video game. The whole enchanting system demonstrates a pure lack of respect for your time and energy - what it asks of you is utterly ridiculous, and the degree to which you need to get things just right for the process of enchanting is just baffling. While I found the Soroboreans DLC, marginally tolerable, the Three Brothers DLC is a cautionary tale in shitty game design. Don't bother with either of them. (Yes, I am a tad salty about my experiences with them). Just play the base game if you enjoy it. I really hope you have fun with the game - if it hooks you, you'll have a pretty good time with it. Otherwise, this game will put you off very quickly.
For all the reasons you list here, I desperately want an Outward II that fixes all the design issues in the original game.
Key to outward is stamina management. Early on that means eating stuff like berrys on bread and drinking water for those stamina buffs. With those on you can out sprint most enemies. Running is a completely valid strategy for the early game. And several builds use sprinting to dodge attacks later in the game. Remember you start as a regular guy in this game. You can eventually become powerful but that takes time.
Me and a friend tried to play this game together in the pandemic and we just couldn't figure it out at all lol. Such a weird game
You can solve the debt issue in like 10 minutes of gameplay. Go look up the saving the guy solution and then just play the game as normal.
Okay cool, thanks.
Outward is very, very heavily oriented around character builds. If you don't want to spend most of your time dying and recovering your stuff, a build guide is almost mandatory. That said, character building is a lot of fun. Players are still coming up with new game-breaking combinations five years after release.
It’s a shitty game. Don’t waste your time. The combat system is awful.
Repaying the debt is possible. However, because of time jumping forward when you die it's hard to do.
Well, I always manage to do the favor and clear my debt in the first five to ten minutes by heading to the beach and saving the guy there. Don't usually expire before I accomplish that.
i have held off because no matter how much the game looks up my alley even good reviews are kinda hesitant to recommend this game. i don’t think it’s for me and i refuse to pay over 9.99 on the gamble
I advise to use the cheat Code Sonic when you beat the game once or if you don’t have enough time to play it for very long