What The Critics Are Saying About Outriders Worldslayer
Released in the early spring of 2021, the People Can Fly-developed looter shooter "Outriders" was subject to a mixed reception from critics. From a combat perspective, "Outriders" was exceptional, if not innovative, and the game's character classes were distinct enough from each other in order to provide varying experiences dependent upon which one the player was using. Where the game fell flat, however, was its cliched story as well as a multitude of bugs on the PC version, according to critics.
Imperfections and all, "Outriders" has trucked along and released "Worldslayer," an expansion that brings about a whole new campaign, progression-based tweaks to the original game, and even an entirely new endgame. "Worldslayer" itself was a bit of an unexpected addition to the base "Outriders" game due to People Can Fly going on record as saying that the original product was the company's full and complete vision, and that the game would only be expanded should fans demand more content.
If People Can Fly is expanding upon "Outriders," it's safe to say that the company believes in it, but do the critics share that same faith that "Worldslayer" is worth the $39.99 price point? Here's is what the critics are saying about "Outriders: Worldslayer."
The combat in Worldslayer is still good
Without question, combat was the premier gameplay element in "Outriders." Therefore, it's only natural that "Worldslayer" be held to a high standard when compared to its base game in this regard. Luckily, it seems that most critics agree that "Worldslayer" does offer a satisfying experience in ravaging foes with unique special abilities and a profusion of bullets.
Writing for Dexerto, Lloyd Coombes called the combat "good, chaotic fun" and also noted that boss fights were particularly enjoyable, saying, "Boss fights are the best showcase of the game's combat yet, with explosions, effects, bullets, and exploding corpses all over the place." Travis Northup of IGN also praised the game's combat, stating that it was both "undeniably awesome" and "satisfying," especially in a multiplayer co-op setting. In his review for MMORPG.com, Aaron Couture said that the "stellar combat is turned up a hundred notches in 'Worldslayer,'" when compared to the vanilla "Outriders" experience. Eurogamer Italy took it even a step further, calling the expansion "a visceral and adrenaline-pumping shooter that perhaps suffers a bit of repetitiveness in terms of the situations proposed to the player but which, in any case, manages to entertain thanks to a well-calibrated [...] combat system," as translated from Italian.
But the story is still lacking
While the combat in "Outriders" has been, more or less, universally praised for its mechanics and high-octane presentation, the game's story was subject to equally universal ridicule. Even if "Worldslayer" was an opportunity for People Can Fly to further improve upon the original game's weakness, it doesn't seem like the Polish developer was able to pull that off completely, according to critics.
"'Worldslayer' improves upon a lot of what was already great about the original," Travis Northup said in his review for IGN. "[B]ut it also doubles down on many of its shortcomings. That includes another weak story, annoying boss fights, and an overall lack of stuff to do." Paul Tassi of Forbes explained that while he personally didn't mind the story in "Worldslayer," it's incredibly short. "The campaign is fine," Tassi said. "It's substantive, but if you play straight through, you'll probably be done in two hours, if not less." Aaron Couture of MMORPG said that while it's not bad, per se, the style of game "Outriders" is prevents "Worldslayer" from being truly lasting. "The story has its moments, then it flounders in trying to keep relevant without being a live service game," Couture said.