This game is a time capsule from 15 years ago. Back to when most games were challenging, expected you to discover things on your own, and did not hold your hand.

Old-school games have their pros and cons. Specifically with Outward:

Pros:
- It's incredibly immersive from the soundtrack and the lack of hand-holding from the game. The map does not show where you are, you have to refer to landmarks and navigate yourself. Wondering where the important places or events in a region are? The game will not tell you, but talking to townsfolk and paying attention to your surroundings will help you gather information. Crafting relies on experimentation or paying for recipes from shops. Everything makes you feel like you are actually on your own in this fantasy world and it captures the feeling of an adventure.
- The progression system is very unique in a good way. There is no grinding, no levels. Your strength comes from better equipment, better preparation, better knowledge of enemies, and better skills. The game makes you understand how far you've come back when you are back in the starting region destroying enemies that once gave you a run for your money despite your "stats" being exactly the same.
-Speaking of skills, the skill tree system in this game is very fun to make builds with. There are about 12 different skill trees of which you can pick 3 to fully spec into. Each skill tree also typically has two different paths up the tree, so there's tons of different possibilities for builds. Couple that with the four different factions you can join, it adds a lot of replayability.

Cons:
-The combat is clunky and slow, like a lot of old-school games. It takes a bit to get used to and you have to carefully plan when you are going to swing, as it leaves you very vulnerable.
-Traveling is also slow. You can only travel by foot, and for some people this turns them off as they are only interested in getting to their destination as fast as possible. I think it enhances the game in some ways though, as it lets you get immersed seeing the beautiful sights, listening to the soundtrack, and it encourages you to explore the world and discover the many secrets.
-The voice acting and story are somewhat weak. This is fair criticism, although the studio that made this was pretty small on release of the game so I don't fault them too hard for voice acting. It can be kinda funny as you play the game for a while, me and my friends have a lot of inside jokes from the voice lines in the game.
-The game feels very difficult from the start. I like to think that this is intentional, as the game is meant to be harsh and unforgiving (no hand-holding). It tries to teach you from the start that you can't rush into this game guns blazing. You need to be tactical, prepared, and smart in how you combat enemies. The game will fully let you make mistakes and (hopefully) learn from them without interfering. Again, this turns a lot of people away initially but there is no victory without adversity.

Verdict: Outward is a game that understands the essence of what gave old-school adventure games their charm. It lets players discover and play the game for themselves, while presenting considerable challenges and secrets along the way. There is a lot of content in this game (60+ hours for one playthrough). The fact that you can experience all of this with a friend makes it that much better. The clunky and slow gameplay will turn some people away but that's ok, this game isn't meant for everyone.

I highly recommend that people give the game a try if they are interested. I'm unbelievably excited for Outward 2, which seems like it will retain all the good qualities of Outward while fixing the clunky/slow combat.