“Outer Terror,” developed by Salt & Pixel, LLC & VoxPop Games, Inc., is a New York Game Awards-nominated, grindhouse-inspired action-arcade roguelite—casting the player into a series of survival scenarios and B-Horror baddie-blitzing challenges right out of your favorite creepy 80s/90s media with some fresh spins on the genre.
The game is presented as a cosmic horror comic book anthology. Each book takes place in a new setting that throws it back passionately, lovingly to an iconic trope, from evil sentient AI in an apocalyptic New York to vampire cults in a snowy environment drawing from “The Thing.”
A lot of well-deserved praise is directed at the game artist Joe Roman‘s art direction and refined character design for being truly faithful to its referenced media. But it’s not all just homage – “Outer Terror” makes sure to expand on all the genres in its mesh, primarily by building out an impressively large, diverse roster, with 10 playable characters that don’t feel forced but, rather, radiate authenticity and fit perfectly at home in a world of genre mashups.
If you loved the approach to character work in games like “The House of the Dead: Overkill” or “Left 4 Dead,” or in action flicks from Robert Rodriguez, you’ll find some new favs here. Standout designs include an escaped inmate Samad rocking with experimental explosive superpowers, Kaja the clown whose specialty is, of course, knife-throwing, Ahnah the ax-wielding Inuit badass, and Allan the city sous-chef straight cooking his foe (who better to take on some evil AI microwaves).
Characters are rich in personality– self-aware in a way that doesn’t impotently try to self-indulge in gaunt meta-humor. “Outer Terror” keeps the tone fun – and fresh enough to open its IP up to a ton of storytelling potential, perfectly primed for expanding further in the transmedia space.
The game’s slogan, “Don’t Die,” is humorously a lot to live up to, given the sheer volume of ghoulish hordes standing in your way as you attempt to complete each chapter’s unique quest.
As for the core gameplay loop, you hop right into the thick of it and start blasting. It’s a great pick-up-and-go game to enjoy in bursts. Players have some accessibility/gameplay style options depending on how you like your games. You can enable auto-aim, which enhances the game’s flow, or choose if you want your inventory options to pause the action if you’re more into the “stacking” of items and lighter RPG-esque elements. On a side note, VoxPop as a developer has shown a meaningful commitment to accessibility in games – see their previous release, Weaponeer.
The arsenal is broad, and the “stacking” allows for varied play and fun experimental loadout combos to upgrade the firepower. My most satisfying tools of dismemberment and devastation were the “Uzi,” “Flamethrower,” and dropping mines on mines on mines.
The standout chapters were “Killswitch” (AI appliances take over New York), “Frostbite” (Search for life elixir unleashes a Vampire queen), and “Incident Report” (escaping an underground Nobu of man-meals). The main/canon characters for these stories are the most compelling, and these are the environments where the dev’s imagination truly shines – boasting more vibrant, enthralling spaces and quirky enemies. This is where the “Outer Terror” aesthetic really adds something fresh to the pulp genre lexicon.
“Killswitch” chapter gameplay
“Incident Report” chapter gameplay.
“Frostbite” chapter gameplay.
“Outer Terror” brings back the “figure it the fudge out” feeling I experienced playing games as a kid – sneaking spookier titles that were a little outside of my target demo and skill range to immerse myself in a more intense series of trial-and-error endeavors – enriching my developing brain’s desire for uncovering the map and unlocking secrets. “Outer Terror” rewards the player with special secret spooky bosses and moments of overwhelming tension/release dopamine hits as you’re backed into corners with a pile-on of other-planetary pests.
The tastiest treat is the Co-op mode, multiplying the game’s fun and memorable moments tenfold once a team member joins you in the horde-heavy hell – helping strategize each of your loadouts and coordinating your way through tasks.
“Outer Terror” is actively updating and building on top of some great starting foundations. The team is lean and highly responsive, identifying areas to grow and implementing fixes at a timely pace. So, as far as critique, where the project can elevate its already powerful presentation is with more satisfying player death animations, as crazy as the scenarios you’re in, and a more dynamic approach to the sound design. There are some decent tunes in the mix, but having the music respond and adapt to the carnage on-screen would be a nice touch especially in this genre– it would promote flow state, and vary each chapter’s emotional journey.
If you’re looking for a fun ride to scratch your old-school exploitation horror itch with plenty of expansion on the way, AAOG recommends “Outer Terror” with a solid 3.5/5.
Play “Outer Terror” here:
VoxPop Store
Steam
Itch.io
Epic Games Store
