[Review] Out There: Ω The Alliance - Nintendo Switch

Out There: Ω The Alliance

Nintendo Switch

Reviewed by: Senpavo

Developed by: Mis-Clos Studio

Published by: Raw Fury

Category: Adventure, Strategy

Release Date: April 8, 2019

Right off the bat, I have a soft spot for games about space exploration, but I didn’t think that I would become hooked by Out There: Ω The Alliance as quickly as I did. This game offers a similar experience to FTL: Faster Than Light, mixed with the exploration mechanics for Starlink: Battle for Atlas and No Man’s Sky.

Out There: Ω The Alliance offers endless space exploration across any kind of world. Wait, is that you, Samus?

Out There: Ω The Alliance is an exploration game that blends together roguelikes, resource management and interactive fiction. The plot is fairly simple: you are an astronaut sent to Ganymede, one of the moons of Jupiter, in order to find resources for planet Earth. When you awaken from your cryogenic sleep, you are nowhere near Ganymede, nor the Solar System: you are…Out There. Now, your objective is surviving in outer space, trying to reach your home planet.

The game relies heavily on resource management: in order to keep your ship running (and yourself alive), you need three things: fuel, oxygen and materials to repair your ship. Those three things can be found in various planets across space. You may run into Garden Planets, where you can meet alien species and recharge your oxygen, Rocky planets, rich in ores used to repair your ship and last but not least, Gas Giants, loaded with gasses used as fuel.

To keep the game fresh, it’s filled with random events that can lead to various outcomes: you might encounter weird aliens that want to hop on board with you, your ship could be magically repaired with some weird substance or you may face a near-death experience, all because of your choices. You can also find other ships in your journey, that you can use to get back to Planet Earth faster…or slower if you wish.

Well, this might actually be good for my ship!

Right off the bat, this kind of gameplay might seem a bit too frustrating: the game is never the same, as each playthrough is randomized. You will never find the same event twice in a row and there’s a possibility that you may find just a row of black holes waiting in line for you. But, in my opinion, this made me lust for more. I wanted to get back home, even if my ship was almost completely destroyed.

It’s always fun to explore the various planets, seeing what they look like, interacting with the various alien species to see if they would give me more omega, or just reading the logs of our lost astronaut, who’s trying to find a hot alien chick. To add to that, the graphical style is stunning: it looks like you are reading a sci-fi comic book, and the soundtrack, composed by the award-winning Siddhartha Barnhoorn, makes you really feel like you are lost in space.

Hello, alien! I have absolutely no idea of what you are saying, but…thank you, I guess?

Buuut it’s not all fun and games: as I said, the game is entirely random: you might face a few “game over” screens because of one single mistake you made. That makes the game very punitive at times, as your only hope is…luck. In addition to that, I found various bugs while playing, such as maps mixing up and getting multiple resources from aliens by spamming the A button (well, that was most helpful, but nevertheless, a bug).

But not all hope is lost! It’s still a great experience, and the Nintendo Switch edition adds tons of new contents, such as new ships (including one inspired from the Metroid series, a new ending, and new tech! There’s ton of contents for everyone, it just takes a bit of luck and persistence.

Enjoying a nice alien evening, three thousand light years away from home.

In conclusion, Out There: Ω The Alliance is a neat experience, once you get the hang of it. The art style is truly iconic, and the randomness of the events is mostly enjoyable until they get too bad. It’s a rewarding experience and all it takes is time. But hey, it’s time well spent! If you are not yet convinced, there’s a demo on the eShop, so feel free to try that!

3.5/5