Back in 1999 Belgian studio Appeal released Outcast, a spectacular open-world game set on the alien planet of Adelpha. For it's time it was hugely impressive, featuring an open, fully explorable, imaginative and lovely 3D world three years before GTA3 and Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. In October we're finally getting a full remake, and Appeal have a brand new video and comparison screenshots showing off Outcast: Second Contact.
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The video can be found here or is embedded below. It shows the various regions of Adelpha, different races, exploration, and the various ways main character Cutter can accomplish objectives. He can also open portals to fast travel around the world as he searches for his friends and a way to get home.
Appeal have also provided a comparison screenshot so you can see the different 18 years makes.
From the press release:
"To successfully complete your mission and the hundreds of side quests, you will need to gain the trust of the local inhabitants. Talk with the people, negotiate with rich merchants, save oppressed farmers, take on dangerous predators and even undergo a mystic ritual with the great Shamaz priests of Adelpha. Each Talan has a unique history and personality. In Outcast – Second Contact, you explore a wide variety of regions and landscapes that range from the arid plains of Motazaar to the snow-covered lands of Ranzaar. The world of Adelpha is your playground."
While Outcast was hugely impressive playing it these days, post Skyrim, Mass Effect, and GTA5, it's a hugely janky experience, with odd design decisions and cumbersome controls. In 2014 developer Appeal launched a Kickstarter to crowdfund a remake but it didn't make its funding goal, but fortunately that didn't stop them. Outcast: Second Contact is out in October, and hopefully if it does well we could be seeing a sequel too.