Outriders: Worldslayer [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

I adored Outriders when it released last year, with the brilliant combat mechanics and addictive looter-shooter loop managing to hook me and my buddies in from the get-go. I spent a ton of hours with it, and whilst I will admit that the post-completion tasks did start to lose their shine after a while, I still had a blast playing and often jumped back in for a few expeditions here and there. Outriders: Worldslayer is the first big expansion for the game, bringing with it a new campaign, new locales to explore, and plenty of additional loot to find. It’s a lot of fun to play through too, though it does lack the pizzazz to make it stand out as a ‘must own’ expansion.

Check out some screenshots down below:

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Outriders: Worldslayer sees players venturing further across Enoch as they look to uncover more of the planet and its secrets, but instead find themselves facing off against a new foe in Ereshkigal. Vicious, deadly, and unhinged, she’ll do everything she can to bring humanity down, with the player tackling an onslaught of foes and challenges across their perilous adventure. With more of the same quality storytelling found in the original game as well as some pretty high stakes for the player, it’s easy to find yourself absorbed in the tale. It helps that Ereshkigal is really cool villain too, with the base game lacking that big bad antagonist that players were desperate to take down. You certainly get that here, with the final showdown against her certainly a doozy.

Players are either able to take their existing characters into the new content or start fresh with a levelled-up build to dive right in, so Outriders: Worldslayer certainly accommodates new players. Of course, I’d highly recommend playing through the base game first, but if you want to skip it or simply try out a new build the option is there.

I was disappointed that there wasn’t a new class to use though. Whilst the Devastator, Pyromancer, Technomancer, and Trickster are all fun to play as, I was hoping the expansion would bring with it something fresh to try out. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, with players having to stick with the same powers they’d have already been using plenty before. Admittedly, it was never promised that we’d get a new class so it’s hard to complain too much, but it would have been nice.

“Between the campaign, the Trial of Tarya Gratar, the new levelling up mechanics, and all of the fresh loot you can find, there really is plenty to like about Outriders: Worldslayer.”

Fortunately, the bulk of Outriders: Worldslayer is at a high enough quality to make the lack of a new class easy to ignore, with plenty of cool campaign missions to complete and slick areas for players to explore. Enoch is as destructive and war-torn as ever, and Outriders: Worldslayer really emphasises that – especially when Ereshkigal gets involved. It all comes together to make for a campaign that is meaty and plenty of fun to get through (even if it can feel a little familiar in places).

An all-new post-game dungeon is included too, with the Trial of Tarya Gratar offering players a stern test full of vicious foes to take down. It also just so happens to bring with it plenty of high-quality loot, so it’s worth taking the time to venture through. There’s a risk and reward mechanic in place where you can decide to turn back at certain points in order to recover loot you’ve gathered or keep ploughing on to see if you can find some better goodies; fortune favours the brave, but I had a few instances where I didn’t turn back and regretted it, so there’s definitely an element of risk involved. Be warned though: the Trial of Tarya Gratar is VERY tough and not something players will want to tackle alone. Outriders is already at its best when played in co-op, but some of the new content of Outriders: Worldslayer almost demands it if you want any chance of survival.

One interesting thing about Outriders: Worldslayer that’s different to expansions in similar titles is that it doesn’t increase the level cap, but instead introduces new mechanics to further develop your character’s strength. One of these are the Ascension Levels, which give you boosts to make minor changes to your stats. Whilst some of these enhancements do feel small to begin with, they eventually build up and can add a satisfying edge to your repertoire of abilities. You can re-spec your Ascension Levels at any time too, meaning there’s plenty of flexibility to experiment and shape them around the loadout you’re using at the time.

Check out some screenshots down below:

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Then there are the Pax Trees, which essentially add sub-classes to each playable class in the game and allow players to unlock all-new skills within them. These felt more effective than the Ascension Levels, especially since they could greatly enhance your damage output and brought with them varying buffs and de-buffs, with each giving players a new trick up their sleeve to wipe out opponents. Interestingly, your Pax Tree levels up through game progression as opposed to earning experience points, so players who invest in the new campaign and Trial of Tarya Gratar are going to get the most out of it. It added a sense of achievement to my progress through the expansion, with the reward of an upgrade a satisfying treat after passing certain landmark points of the game.

Between the campaign, the Trial of Tarya Gratar, the new levelling up mechanics, and all of the fresh loot you can find, there really is plenty to like about Outriders: Worldslayer. Some of the boss encounters and new foes are top notch too, so it’s clear that a real effort has been made to try and give players a fresh experience within the world of Enoch. I just found that it lacked that special *spark* to REALLY make it stand out from the base game – there are plenty of cool additions here, but I never felt like I was doing anything that I hadn’t done before. It’s not a bad thing per se (especially since I’m a big fan of the base game), but it would have been nice if there were a few more surprises that really stood out.

Developer: People Can Fly
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Website: https://outriders.square-enix-games.com/en-us/worldslayer/