The good, the bad, and the remastered
Nightdive Studios continues to resurrect my childhood with its remasters, and the latest one is a deep cut. Outlaws was a unique western-themed shooter from the late 90s developed by Lucasfilm Games. It was built using the Jedi engine, which was originally used for Dark Forces, and the fingerprints can be found all over it. While not as fondly remembered, this title was certainly unique in its theme and I remember playing it on my PC at the time. Now, thanks to Nightdive we get to revisit yet another classic shooter.
The game thrusts players into the role of U.S. Marshall James Anderson on his quest to hunt down the gang that killed his family. The game kicks off with a lengthy animated cut scene that I had forgotten just how good it was. Nightdive has remastered this as well, and it is shocking how good it looks now. The story might be typical, but the execution is anything but, I really loved revisiting this and it sets up a good catalyst for the shooter action.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
From a shooter perspective this is pretty much what you would expect. Being a western theme there are revolvers, shotguns, and rifles. The shooting is fast and fluid and feels very similar to the movement in Dark Forces. It is evident right from the start that this game is dated. The aiming is fine, but very forgiving when it comes to aiming. The guns feel good, but some of them lack impact.
The level design is classic with plenty of corridors and maze-like areas that can be confusing to navigate. The themes work well in this engine though. Dusty towns, canyons, and other time-relevant areas look and sound great. The levels do suffer from shooters of that time though where areas are large and mostly empty. Running from point A to point B can sometimes be tedious as there is nothing to do. Instead I just found myself holding the run button while having the map up so I could find that area that I had yet to explore.
As for what has been updated, this is a pretty standard Nightdive special. It may sound dismissive considering they have mastered the way to bring these games back, and Outlaws retains all of that. There are upgraded visuals, locked 120fps on the big boy consoles and PC, and a host of graphical and control options to fine tune the game to your liking. I really love having these games with all these options easily playable.
There are also extra missions, hence the name, and they are fun. The whole thing can be run through fairly quickly, but there is multiplayer to keep it going as well as a vault with a ton of history and behind the scenes inclusions. It might be expected with Nightdive, but this level of care for these games are what make them special.
Outlaws is not a household name, but that doesn’t mean you should skip it. If you enjoy the kind of games that Nightdive has been bringing back, then this one is a must. The extras are great and the theme is not something we get a lot of in shooters. Definitely worth checking out and I hope Nightdive continues to bring back the classics of my childhood.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
