Outcasters Review

Splash Damage is no stranger to crafting highly competitive shooters. It's the studio behind the multiplayer in Gears 5, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and even Gears Tactics. Outcasters is the latest game to come out of the studio and – while it looks nothing like those other titles – its core gameplay is just as intense. Despite a few hiccups, Outcasters manages to be a ridiculously fun multiplayer romp that deserves its time in the spotlight.

Outcasters is a multiplayer-only game and a Stadia exclusive. At launch, three different game modes are available – and, surprisingly, all three of them are loads of fun. The first I jumped into was Gold Rush. This sees you and your team of four collecting coins and depositing them in a bank that randomly spawns around the map. You'll need to capture and hold the bank while depositing coins, leading to chaotic shootouts every time it makes an appearance. This mode takes the most strategy and planning out of the three available and quickly became one of my favorites.

There's also a standard Team Battle – first to ten eliminations wins – and Last Caster Standing – an 8-person battle royale. Both modes are fun, chaotic, and fast, with matches only lasting a few minutes. None of them are anything new to the world of gaming, but the top-down view, adorable graphics, and unique gameplay features make them an experience unlike much else on the market.

In all three game modes, you'll find power-ups scattered across the battlefield. These enhance your casting abilities – one lets your shots ricochet off walls, while another causes your shots to split in two after striking an object.

The power-ups are fine on their own, but Splash Damage added a twist – their powers stack, and you can pick up multiple upgrades at once. This means you can have a shot that pierces enemies, ricochets off walls, and splits into multiple projectiles upon impact. It's a powerful system, and one that's always fun to mess around with in the heat of battle. By the end of a match, players are launching insane projectiles at each other and Outcasters quickly turns into a bullet hell-like shooter.

You can also bring one ability into each match, providing you with a way to change up your playstyle. At the beginning of your casting career, you'll only have access to one that lets you springboard into the air, jumping over obstacles and surprising enemies. More will be unlocked as you play – along with new cosmetic options for your character – giving you a tangible feeling of progression and a reason to keep launching into battles.

Outcasters' most intriguing aspect, however, is the ability to curve your shots – a skill that's critical to your success. Thankfully, the controls for curving projectiles are simple. All you need to do is left-click, hold, and move your mouse left or right to adjust the bullet's trajectory. You'll even see a curvy arrow appear on the battlefield, giving you an idea as to where the bullet will end up. Once you're happy with the path, just release the left mouse button to cast.

There's nothing quite like landing a curved shot on an unsuspecting enemy, hunkered down on the other side of a wall. Although, as time goes on, I'm sure people will realize how easy it is to get hit around corners, and gameplay will slowly evolve into a more strategic shootout than it currently is. During my brief time with the game, I only encountered a few other actual players – most of my review sessions were populated with bots. As a multiplayer-only game, I'm curious to see how things evolve in the coming months, as players slowly master the bullet-curving system and develop crazy methods for taking out the competition.

My only complaint about Outcasters? The servers. Too many matches suffered from unplayable lag, forcing me to hide in a corner and wait for the connection to stabilize. Your mileage may vary based on your internet provider and, when the game wasn't lagging, I was actually impressed with how smooth it all ran. Most actions and keystrokes were seamlessly translated into an in-game action, reminding me that Stadia really could be the future of gaming. Then, one match later, I'd be lagging around the map for 20 seconds straight, reminding me there's still a bit of work to be done with the infrastructure of Stadia.

Outcasters is truly a unique experience. For Stadia, it's no doubt a huge win. Splash Damage did an incredible job of homing in on the essence of what makes a great multiplayer experience – and the result is Outcasters. Curving bullets is a blast, every battlefield is blessed with adorable graphics, and the unlockable cosmetics and abilities give you plenty of reasons to keep coming back. I'm hopeful that Outcasters will eventually land on other platforms. Otherwise, it may not get the attention it truly deserves.

Until then, I'll sit in this room full of bots and work on my curves.