Outsider entering final development phase

Written by Jack Allin — August 27, 2019 at 11:29

Good news, puzzle lovers: Even at end of all things there will be no shortage of brainteasers to solve! At least, not according to indie Portuguese developer Once a Bird, who have unveiled their upcoming point-and-click adventure, Outsider.

The universe is doomed for reasons unknown, and humanity has already wiped itself out, leaving behind only a broken android named HUD-ini. Players must first perform a repair of the android himself, and then "escape the lab he's in, then escape Earth, then the universe." Accomplishing these increasingly ambitious goals will require a bit of exploration and a whole lot of puzzle-solving along the way. 

Inspired by games like The Dig, Myst and The Room, Outsider consists largely of a series of self-contained logic puzzles, each of them unique. Hand-drawn in a slick cartoony art style that still manages to feel suitably grim for such apocalyptic conditions, the game's camera seamlessly pans or zooms between environment and puzzle to continually maintain immersion. Players ostensibly control HUD-ini as he traverses "a lab and several other locations in a future Earth, as well as an alien planet," though you'll do so via a godlike cursor that operates independently of the android. There are no inventory items to collect as you go, but some objects when clicked will convey additional background story details. 

Predicting a date for the end of the universe is never an exact science, but the developers are hoping to complete Outsider for PC and Xbox One "within three months." You can follow its progress and get an early feel for the in-game experience through the developer's  interactive website while you wait.