Outward came out last year as a solid game in the Souls-like genre of RPGs with some twists to make it unique. The review for the original game is here. Now the company has released DLC for it with The Soroboreans which adds some new magic, a new weapon type, enchantments, more dungeons, and a corruption mechanic. I found this DLC to be difficult in a good way at times and sometimes grindy for enchantments but otherwise enjoyed my time back into the world of Outward.
Outward The Soroboreans adds a fair amount of things to do but is not meant for someone who hasn’t spent a decent amount of time playing the original game. The dungeons are higher-end with some nasty monsters and difficult bosses. I will say starting a new character with a chance to join the new faction introduced with this DLC is a worthy choice that gave me a new perspective. I felt they may have been a little tougher than needed but your mileage may vary depending on what weapons and skills you’re using. There is a story and some quests that will lead you to more of the areas and give you more lore for the world which I enjoyed. As in the first game, the new areas are beautiful and worth time to check out.
The new weapon introduced were Gauntlets which I felt had good “weight” to their attacks and added some nice in close punching weapons that gave yet more variety to a game that already had depth in skills and weapons to begin with. I’m still partial to a sword and shield, but using the combos from fists along with some skills can make for a fairly tough in your face fighter. Along with the new weapon, Outward The Soroboreans introduces new skill trees in Speedster and Hex Witch. I found the abilities in Speedster to be fun and paired well with the new gauntlet weapons. Hex Witch was a nice little set that I didn’t delve too deep into but I could see that advantage to a build from it, especially in the new environments.
The Enchantment system in Outward The Soroboreans is a system that I feel you will either love or hate. There is some grind to it and a discovery element, but for me, that is something I expected from Outward and thoroughly enjoyed. There are some RNG elements to it, but overall it adds more variety and a chance to make some fun gear.
The Corruption mechanic is new to the areas of Outward The Soroboreans and at times felt like another stat like hunger and thirst I had to worry about more than a fun and new mechanic that I feel it was meant to be. Oftentimes it felt more of a bother than a great addition to me as I was playing. Being a survival Souls-like game you have to be mindful of things like eating, drinking, rest, and now the evils of corruption. Thankfully corruption wasn’t in every part of the new area which meant there was still plenty I could explore without having to worry about it.