Nine Dots Studio is hard at work on Outward 2, but studio founder, CEO, and Creative Director, Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, took a few moments out of his busy schedule to give us at a look at the current game. Giving us a tour of the new character creation, the ins and outs of Haboob, and what begins your adventure in Aurai, the preview was just the beginning. I also got to play a part of the title, feeling my way through the different areas you can explore. Here’s all I learned in my Outward 2 alpha preview.
Outward 2 Alpha Preview | No Hand Holding Here
I spent a significant amount of time diving into the nooks and crannies of Outward 2. While I can safely say no Trog is safe around me, I died more times than I can count to Recluses, Thespians, Manticores, and falling into the water. I harvested and ate more mushroom soup than anyone probably should. Through it all, I explored most of the Bellowgale, kept finding more stairways in Haboob than I thought possible, and discovered most creatures will absolutely maim you when given the opportunity.
Outward 2 is currently in alpha phase. There’s still a lot of work to be done on the title, and everything I played through can completely change by the time it’s released in the summer of 2026. I’m going to focus more on the general mechanics, how it compares to the original Outward, and what is to come for the RPG.
This also means I won’t be commenting too heavily on bugs, missing dialogue, game crashes, and other issues that are current works in progress for Nine Dots Studio. Though these issues can have an impact on your gameplay in the upcoming alpha playtest, they should be eradicated by the time launch comes around. These issues should be reported to the dev team so they can be addressed.
To start at the beginning, Character Creation has been significantly expanded. Not only do traits and backgrounds impact character origins, but they also affect starting stats, where you begin your adventure, recipes you inherently know, and can offer unique dialogue choices. On top of that, you’ll no longer have a potato for your face unless you want to. There are multiple options for hair style, eyebrows, face structure, acne, scars, makeup, and more.
When it comes to getting into the meat of the game, there are a few mechanics that have stayed the same from Outward. Your health and stamina maximum decrease when you get injured, dying results in a random event bringing you somewhere else on the map, an equipped bag slows down your dodges, and some quests are timed. You’ll meet NPCs from the original, and may even be saved by Gep, again.
There are plenty more examples of things that have remained the same that you’ll stumble upon as you play, especially the difficult and brutal combat you’ll encounter. Many were worried that combat would begin to follow RTS mechanics, but fans can rest assured that the combat is the same as Outward. You have to unlock mana to use magic, skills are taught by trainers, and your attacks depending on how often you get to swing your weapon.
While you only have a single city to begin from during the playtest, there are hours worth of content you can experience. You’ll be able to take on multiple quests, explore at least three distinct areas, and visit a Leyline. If you make it back into Haboob, you’ll even see the city change from when you were exiled. After playing through the region three times, spending at least 18 hours in the wilderness of the Bellowgale, I’m still discovering new areas and interactions with NPCs.
What’s available of the narrative has ensnared me completely. I want to know more about the Symposium and their research, see the different regions, and learn why you were framed in the first place. There are two other starting cities to play through their beginning adventure. The story is there in the right portion to not inform me about the world and my current situation, while keeping me on the hook for future narrative.
There’s so much left to uncover, and I am 100% eagerly awaiting Outward 2’s release so I can experience it all. Combat was exciting, exploration kept me on my toes, and completing objectives consistently felt rewarding. Once it releases, I plan on this game taking over my life for quite a while.
Outward 2 was previewed on PC over the course of 20 hours with a code provided by Nine Dots Studio. All screenshots were taken during the course of the preview.
