When it released back in 2019, the original Outward impressed many fans with its unforgiving open world that delivers a true challenge. Now, at long last, Nine Dots Studio is getting ready to let gamers experience the sequel. The team is bringing its philosophy of a harsh world where you play as an ordinary person, not a superhero or chosen one, to Outward 2. But even if the game itself will challenge you, the new Early Access launch trailer wants to show that it doesn’t have to challenge your PC.
On May 19th, Outward 2 gave the honor of revealing its Early Access launch date to… an actual potato. As a fun nod to potato PCs, the trailer shows off the game’s world of Aurai on a less-than-top-of-the-line gaming rig. This humorous approach nevertheless does give us a few important bits of information about the upcoming adventure RPG. First and foremost, it confirms that Outward 2 will launch into Early Access on July 7th. But the trailer also includes actual PC specs for running the game across a variety of graphics settings.
Like its predecessor, Outward 2 aims to deliver a “challenging action RPG with survival elements.” The game doesn’t offer scaled encounters or chosen one-style powers to aid you along. Instead, you’re tasked with surviving and slowly becoming a little bit better as you embark on an adventure in the open world of Aurai. You’ll be pitted against not only deadly creatures, but also the risks of a real adventure in the elements: hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and bad weather.
In this long-awaited sequel, Nine Dots hopes to deliver everything that made the first game a hit, but with some key improvements. Specifically, Outward 2 will improve in four key areas: better character creation and progression; a more engaging, well-delivered narrative; a more immersive world; and smoother combat. And as this new trailer confirms, new and returning players will soon get a chance to see what the studio has been up to when Outward 2 releases in Early Access this summer. But don’t take it from me. Take it from Mr. Potato himself in the Outward 2 trailer below:
After showing off the game at max settings, Mr. Potato gives us a look at the game running on lower graphics settings. While the potato heads are (probably) a joke, the point is clear… when it arrives in Early Access on July 7th, Outward 2 will be optimized to offer playability across a wide variety of PC rigs. Along with the release date, the new Outward 2 trailer also gives us a sense of the PC specs required to run the game at various settings. Players will be able to choose from 5 settings, from Potato (yes, really) to Ultra, with varying requirements as outlined in the trailer.
When it arrives this summer, Outward 2 will be available on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and GOG.com. Ahead of the Early Access release, gamers can apply to experience Outward 2 even sooner via the Closed Beta test that begins on May 26th.
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