Outriders is a 2021 online cooperative action role-playing game developed by People Can Fly. Square Enix published the game for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Pretty much any gamer that wants to get ahold of this game can do so regardless of the console or platform they use. However, Outriders has no Nintendo variant, so Switch players must search elsewhere. Outriders is a third-person shoot-and-loot style game that needs an internet connection to work. As expected from an online cooperative game Outriders emphasizes the co-op gameplay heavily. The game can be played solo. Outriders runs in a similar vein to Destiny 2.
The game debuted to mixed reviews from critics and players. Outriders received praise for feeling like a complete game on launch, which sadly has become less and less normal for online games. The game received high marks for stunning visuals, fun and unique level design, and fun gameplay. Where the game originally faltered was the story and characters. These elements didn’t feel new or innovative. Many critics and gamers called them basic or predictable. IGN rates the game a 7 out of 10 and while they claim it’s good, their review highlights the common complaints. In their featured review, IGN says, “Outriders‘ blend of wickedly fun sci-fi shooting & looting is well worth enduring its lackluster story and rough edges.”
Metacritic also reflects the same sentiment by saying the majority of critics and publications rate the game as mixed or average. Steam also rates Outriders a 6 out of 10, which isn’t bad, but isn’t a glowing review either. That said, when taking a look at Steam’s recent reviews, almost all of them are positive. Since its release, Outriders has worked on buffing out the issues and addressing common complaints. Overall, 83% of Google users claim to like the game despite its obvious flaws. Outriders also managed to snag a win at the Central & Eastern European Game Awards (CEEGA). It won the CEEGA Technology award.
Outriders Premise
Players get to create a custom character at the beginning of the game. When making their character, players must choose one of four classes to play as. Each class has its own abilities and different gameplay styles. The classes include the Trickster, the Pyromancer, the Devastator, and the Technomancer. The Trickster’s kit focuses on time manipulation while the Pyromancer can control fire. The Devastator can dish out hard-hitting seismic attacks and the Technomancer can control technology like turrets. In addition to their class abilities, players can also use weapons like auto rifles and shotguns to fight enemies.
The plot focuses on the rise of climate disasters in the mid-21st century. This basis hits close to home because the planet is currently fighting the effects of Global Climate Change. If humanity’s way of living doesn’t change drastically, a real version of this scenario might be waiting on the horizon. In Outriders, the major world leaders come together to create the Enoch Colonization Authority (ECA). The ECA focuses all of its efforts on migrating humanity to Enoch, an Earth-like planet that could act as humanity’s new home.
The ECA creates two massive ships, the Caravel, and the Flores, to transport 1 million humans to Enoch. The Caravel allegedly never makes it, but in 2159, the Flores enters Enoch’s orbit. Outriders are sent down to the planet first. They are elite soldiers sent ahead to scout the planet and ensure the safety of the rest of the colonists. Unfortunately, after touching down on the planet, they discover a dangerous, ongoing energy storm they call the Anomaly. They attempt to warn the ECA that Enoch isn’t safe, but the ECA are desperate to give their people a place to live. Rather than heed the Outriders’ warning, the ECA dispatches security to eliminate them. This ensures the colonists never find out about the dangers of Enoch.
The story jumps to the year 2190. One surviving Outrider has been in cryostasis for 31 years. They awake to the colonists settled in a mountain valley on Enoch. Their supplies are dwindling and they’re unable to leave the valley due to the Anomaly and deadly alien lifeforms that inhabit the planet. Due to the helpless situation humanity faces, the colonists turn on one another and civil war breaks out. On top of all this, some humans who have come in contact with the Anomaly and survived have become Altered, humans develop supernatural powers.
Outriders Main Characters
Outriders blends important NPCs with customizable characters the player gets to create. This is a common video game trope where the main playable character is created by the player. This allows the player to make any kind of character they want for a customized appearance, backstory, and gameplay. Players often feel more ingrained in the game’s world when they’re able to create their own characters. In a way, it lets them insert themselves into the world.
There are dozens of characters that make up this massive game. Outriders features a large, diverse cast of characters that range from background NPCs to major characters. For this guide, let’s take a look at a few of the most prominent characters.
- The Main Character (MC): The MC is the Outrider who survived the Anomaly back in 2159. After surviving the Anomaly, the ECA’s security force mortally wounds them during the fight. An ECA engineer, Shira Gutmann, manages to save the Outrider’s life by putting them into cryostasis, where they stay until the year 2190. After waking from cryostasis, the Outrider meets up with Shira again. Now, Shira is ECA’s de facto leader and she recruits the Outrider to help her beat back the Insurgents. The Insurgents are militant rebels who want to overthrow the ECA. In addition to battling the Insurgents, the Outrider also needs to reconnect with Flores, which still orbits Enoch. If they can reestablish a connection with Flores, they can get more supplies and, hopefully, find a new, safe area to settle away from the Anomaly.
- Shira Gutmann: Shira Gutmann started as an ECA engineer. After saving the Outrider’s life by putting them in cryostasis, she became the de facto leader of ECA and stood against the Insurgents’ rebellion. Now, Shira is the Grand Marshall of Rift Town, the ECA’s main base. Shira’s father helped design the Enoch colonization plan, but he gave up his place for her to join the mission. After the MC wakes up from cryostasis, they reunite with Shira and begin working for her. She’s humanity’s last hope for survival on the hostile planet and as Grand Marshal, she keeps everything going.
- Doctor Abraham Zahedi: Dr. Abraham Zahedi first boarded the Flores at 10 years old. His father, Ezra Zahedi, brought him on board so he could start a new life on Enoch. Zahedi is one of the brightest minds of the ECA and since entering Enoch’s orbit, he’s dedicated his life to studying the Anomaly. He’s made it his lifelong mission to decipher the mysterious signal coming from the other side of the Anomaly. While Zahedi is brilliant, this isn’t the only reason he decided to throw himself into his research. He had ulterior motives to stay as far away from the combat as possible. It’s a pinnacle part of his character that he wouldn’t last a second on the battlefield. Zahedi is the one who finds the Outrider’s cryopod.
- Hernando Monroy: Hernando Monroy is the main antagonist of Outriders. He is the Caravel’s captain. During the construction of the Caravel and the Flores, the Caravel exploded, rendering it useless in the Enoch expedition. After the Flores departed, those left behind rebuilt the Caravel with more advanced technology. This allowed the Caravel to arrive and land on Enoch before the Flores ever entered the atmosphere. After landing on Enoch, the colonists from the Caravel came in contact with the natives. The natives were able to control the Anomaly and derived special power from it. Out of fear, ignorance, and desire for power, Monroy led his people in an attack on the natives. He wanted to wipe them out and steal their power. His power-hungry quest led to all of the events of the game.
Outriders Titles in the Series
As of December 2023, Outriders is the only game in the series. There is no confirmation that an Outriders 2 is happening and many critics and fans speculate that it’s not likely due to poor sales. That said, Outriders did receive an expansion in 2022 called Outriders: Worldslayer.
- Outriders (2021)
- Outriders: Worldslayer (2022) – A DLC expansion for the base game.
Outriders Cheats, Trainers, & Mods
Before Outriders launched, the developers put out a pre-launch statement on Steam that addressed what they considered cheating and how they would respond to cheating. They put this statement out after the demo launch where they identified a small portion of players cheating. In the statement, they said that only 200 people out of 2 million players were caught cheating (about 0.01%). They said that they did not expect that percentage to grow upon the game’s release, but they wanted to address their policies on cheating. They also said that they can see every account that’s cheating and are aware of their activity. The developer update said, “We can see you all. Yes, even the person who gave themself 600 Legendary Weapons.” To address hacking, modding, and cheating, the developers listed the repercussions of cheating.
Repercussions of being identified as having used cheats:
- Repercussions are account-wide, not character-specific
- You will not be able to matchmake with legit players
- Matchmaking will likely take significantly longer
- You will still be able to play solo
- In the future, your HUD will have a discreet but visible watermark placed on it so that gameplay footage created on this account can be readily identified as coming from a flagged account.
The pre-launch statement also laid out what they consider cheating:
- Intentionally running the game on PC without Easy Anti Cheat (EAC)
- Modifying game files to enhance a character: levels, skills, inventory, etc.
- Externally modifying game time to reduce time-dependent features such as vendors and challenges
- Using a trainer program or similar to gain advantages within the game
- Using gameplay-altering programs such as aimbots or wallhacks
They also described all the steps they would be taking to monitor cheating:
- All accounts will be checked for evidence of cheat use on launch day – April 1st, and then at regular intervals thereafter.
- Any account logs found to have evidence of cheating on them on or after launch day will be permanently branded.
- If you cheated during the demo “just to try it out” but wish to go into the main game unbranded, you must DELETE ALL CHARACTERS AND ITEMS ON YOUR ENTIRE ACCOUNT in order to wipe the slate clean. You should not carry over any progress between the demo and the main game if you previously cheated but do not plan to do so in the main game.
PC Mods, Cheats, & Trainers
With all that said, People Can Fly and Square Enix never outright banned cheating or modding. They said they would be operating on a system where cheaters would have a branded account. This meant that they wouldn’t be able to play with normal accounts that weren’t cheating. This ensured that people who wanted to play the game normally and fairly wouldn’t be affected by cheaters. It also laid out all of the consequences clearly of having a branded account. Since banning isn’t a problem, it leaves plenty of room for people who don’t care about the brand to modify Outriders.
For PC gamers, there are plenty of options to download and utilize mods and trainers as they want. WeMod has an Outriders trainer that supports both Steam and Epic Games. This trainer features 24 cheats that make gameplay much easier. This mod was last updated on Jul 30, 2022, a couple of days after Outriders: Worldslayer dropped. The WeMod trainer should work with the Worldslayer expansion just fine.
- Player-Specific Cheats: Unlimited Health, Unlimited Ammo, No Reload, Super Accuracy, No Recoil, Rapid Fire, and Set Player Speed
- Enemy-Specific Cheats: Jam Enemy Weapons and Super Damage/One-Hit Kills
- Game-Specific Cheats: Set Game Speed
- Inventory-Specific Cheats: Unlimited Resources and Unlimited Shards
- Stats-Specific Cheats: Unlimited Exp, Edit Max Health, Edit Armor, Edit Anomaly Power, Edit Class Points, Unlimited World/Apocalypse Tier Exp, Max Legendary Drop Rate, Max Epic Drop Rate, Unlimited Ascension Exp, Ascension Exp Multiplier, Edit PAX Points, and Edit Ascension Points
Outside of mods and trainers for computer gamers, there aren’t any hacks, cheats, cheat codes, or exploits for Outriders. Console gamers can’t take advantage of these types of cheats. They have to play the game unaltered.
Outriders Cheats FAQs
What happens if you cheat in Outriders?/Can you get banned for modding Outriders?
These are the most common FAQs. Gamers worry about the repercussions of cheating, so they research what consequences exist before doing it. Outriders won’t ban players if they decide to cheat or mod. For a full breakdown of the repercussions, please look at the section above or refer to the developer’s Steam statement.
What is the hardest class to play in Outriders?
A question like this is somewhat subjective. Each class has its strengths and weaknesses. What one gamer prefers or excels at may not line up with their friend’s preferences. Several guides, like this Rock Paper Shotgun article, suggest that Pyromancer is the hardest class to play. That’s mostly due to the way Pyromancers get their health back. The Pyromancer HP restore mechanic is a bit too situational to constantly rely on it without other players to rely on.
Why is Outriders so difficult?
Again, this question is a matter of perspective. What some gamers consider difficult may not be hard to someone who plays similar games all the time. That said, Outriders works on a World Tier system. This means that as the player levels up and progresses through the game, the world state evolves with them. Players will never be too overpowered for the world state so as they level up, they will have to deal with increasingly challenging enemies. Sometimes the enemies progress faster than the player, meaning players are fighting enemies that are more powerful than they are.
Is Outriders a grindy game?
Yes, like many open-world shooter RPGs, Outriders has a massive grinding element to it. Many players have complained about Outriders‘ grind, claiming that it gets stale quickly.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Outriders / People Can Fly / Square Enix.