Out There Chronicles reviews - Galactic expansion

2014's Out There was a fascinating experience; an exercise in careful resource management and exploration that captured the sense of journeying into the unknown.

Besides the lovely planetscapes and otherworldly discoveries, it was the well-written text adventure aspect of Out There that brought its world to life.

Your lost traveler drifting past spaceborne leviathans, finding ancient technology in the void, and struggling to repair damage from debris, solar flares, and other space hazards.

Out There Chronicles expands the flavour text and choices of the initial game into full-blown interactive fiction, as you travel a far-future galaxy in search of your distant home.

Stranger in a strange universe

Set millions of years before the events of Out There, Chronicles expands the game's lore and offer answers to lingering mysteries, such as the origins of those life-saving blue cubes encountered throughout your travels.

Against gorgeous backdrops of idyllic cityscapes, crystalline vessels, and the starlit abyss, your text-driven adventure encompasses both untimely ends (thankfully checkpoints allow you to try a new approach) and tense situations.

Oxygen dwindling as you drift through the void and planning a one-man mutiny are a few examples of those varied scenarios. At times, Out There Chronicles plays out like a classic adventure game, as you gather tools and knowledge, then follow the correct steps to succeed.

Interestingly, Out There Chronicles's protagonist isn't a blank slate for you to mold, but an individual with a history and a goal that drives his journey across the stars. There are choices to be made, questions to ask, and an alien language to learn (so you can ask those questions), but Chronicles isn't your story.

It's the story of Darius, as he awakens from an eon-long slumber and ventures out to find his people and the Ark that was his home so long ago.

Well-written prose and detailed art brings characters and places encountered along that journey to life, but unfortunately you never quite reach the destination. Currently Out There Chronicles only includes the first episode of its story, and the ending might come across as abrupt and sudden to some.

Out There Chronicles reviews - Galactic expansion

An abrupt end doesn't diminish this sci-fi adventure's intriguing story and alien locales
Score
Christian Valentin
Christian Valentin
Christian always had a interest in indie games and loves to give the games that so easily go unnoticed the attention they deserve