PC's Cult Classic 'Outcast' is Finally Getting a Remake (PC and Consoles)

DSOGaming Reports:

Bigben announced that it has signed a licence agreement with the studio Appeal to publish the video game OUTCAST – Second Contact, a remake of the cult PC game Outcast. This expanded and updated version of the 1999 game, currently being developed by the team behind the franchise, will be released at the start of 2017.

Yves Grolet, co-founder of APPEAL, said:

“Outcast succeeded beyond our hopes and we take great pride in seeing that it remains a classic for many players today. We’re now using the same team and passion to work on the remake that fans have been demanding for years. Our objective is to show just how modern the game is with cutting-edge graphics and improved gameplay, while retaining the charm of the original which won over so many players.”

Alain Falc, CEO of Bigben, added:

“Outcast is a cult classic that is part of the video game repertory. I am delighted that APPEAL came to Bigben and have the faith in us to supervise the evolution of such a popular franchise, which people will enjoy discovering or rediscovering on next-gen consoles.”

The first screenshots for OUTCAST – Second Contact will be coming out in a few weeks, so stay tuned for more!

http://www.dsogaming.com/news/outcast-second-contact-announced-remake-of-the-classic-outcast-game-coming-in-early-2017/

This is fantastic news. Outcast was one of the best Third Person Action Adventure games back then. Graphically it hasn't aged well but the core game is still fantastic. Few years ago, devs tried to remake the game by taking it to the kickstarter but unfortunately due to lack of enough media attention, it failed to reach its goal, even though early hours brought a lot of money,,, but then it died. Glad to hear that they finally got resources to remake the game. Hopefully they'll be able to do it justice.

Hell freaking YEAH. That game was and is awesome. I missed the last kickstarter and I am glad that they found a way to remake the game. This is awesome news.

Checked out the original on YT. It seems like one of those games that if you didn't experience it back in the day it's completely impossible to realize why anyone would like it, or why it would get a remake :). Not saying it won't be good, but I'm completely lost by this one.

I still have my original big box copy still to this day. However, the game wasn't really that good and there's slim to nope interest from me in this remake. It's just my opinion though.

Yeah that gameplay looks dull, slow, and clunky to boot. It being a 1999 game makes a level of sense.

good stuff. i have 1.1 but it hasnt been updated in an age so i thought any more efforts to get it upgraded were scrapped.

at the time outcast was one of the most ambitous games out there. it had tech in it that wouldnt be topped for years. the water effects, at the time, were just amazing for example. the AI was wonderful and just exploring the different areas (which were huge) was great.

and the soundtrack....oooooh the soundtrack. i think it was the first game to use a full live orchestra for its soundtrack.

combat was meh though...it would decend into a bit of a drawn out slogging match at times. the game had some really sophisticated AI but i think it was over complicated for the combat.

the game hasnt aged particularly well though but there is the makings of a great game in there. hopefully this is an overhaul and not just dusting it off and giving it a bit of a face lift.

Conversation system is still pretty unique. When you are finding someone and ask other characters about him, they will point you in the right direction by staying stuff like "Last time I saw him at [insert place name]".

Name of the place that they mention changes from time to time, since NPCs have their daily routines and they move around the map. When they are nearby then NPCs point their finger at them and say "He's,,, right there". It's fantastic.

I hope they can refine the gameplay and make it more modern and faster without hurting its soul. It'll make the game so much better.

The name is so generic. Got confused with Outlast.

@Cloud_imperium: yeah i remember that. as i said the AI at the time was pretty awesome outside the combat (and in combat it was trying to be awesome with flanking and retreating and generally trying to catch you out....but it just got in a kerfuffel from time to time.).

but yeah the gameplay does need a lot of work. i would love them to work on the AI side more to further develop that living world field and to also make combat more exciting. tighten up the controls and overhaul the weapons too (i only remember using 1 or 2 in the original)

the other things i would like to see them improve (they were great 17 years ago but more can be done now) is the sense of exploration and discovery. jumping from rooftop to rooftop in the big city was cool and riding a twan'ha (big turkey thing...i think it was a twan'ha) around the place was epic at the time and the maps themselves were just huge and full of awe. so hopefully they can capture and enhance that.

the graphics at the time also gave the game a wonderful organic feel....like the world was grown rather than built.

Games that don't hold your hand like Outcast, yeah that make you learn a language in order to find your way around, are scarce these days. Outcast was brilliant in terms of exploration and making the player get more and more familiar with an alien world. It is sad that it got so forgotten in favour of GTAs and whatnot, this game was lot more ambitious years before.

You and me both did.

As someone who is 36 this game wasn't that good at the time and had nothing on games like No one lives for ever, half-life, and unreal. I played it at the time and thought it was boring as hell back then.