Playback: Outland

thesixthaxis.com:

Nearly 10 years on, the Playback series returns to revisit games from years past.

In 2011, Housemarque released Outland, its unique and only 2D platformer. It tends to be overlooked within the company’s impressive catalogue of games, overshadowed by hits like Resogun, Super Stardust Delta, and Returnal. Nevertheless, Outland emerged during a phase of experimentation for Housemarque, and its impact is noticeable in many later titles, from the particle-like graphics that distinguished Resogun to the varied enemy styles that may have inspired those in Returnal.

Outland has also been in my Steam library for years, languishing with zero minutes of play, so I decided to finally sit down and give it a go. You play as a nameless Hero who has visions of a battle from 30,000 years ago which sees another nameless hero fight the Sisters of Light & Dark, before imprisoning them. The Sisters are nearing their escape, and your character, a descendant of the original Hero, is charged with the task of preventing their escape and thwarting their plans to destroy the world. To be honest, while it’s narrated well enough, Outland’s story is not particularly engrossing or interesting, playing into all-too-familiar story beats.

What Outland did do when it released was play on the dual identity of the Hero, who can switch between red and blue forms. These forms correspond to the light and dark forms of the Sisters and plays into the gameplay too. The different zones have enemies and puzzles that are colour-coded red and blue, so your character’s colour matters. In Outland, the red form can combat blue enemies and navigate through red traps with minimal damage, and the blue form has the same capabilities. The game gradually introduces this mechanic, increasing the difficulty level as you progress. Initially, you get accustomed to the basic controls, but soon you will be leaping across colour-coded platforms, needing to switch between red and blue forms swiftly. While the combat is relatively