Clicker games come in all shapes and sizes even though it can still be difficult to stand out. You have to come up with a creative theme that hooks players into that gameplay loop of watching a number go up. This is where developer David Moralejo Sánchez delivers a refreshing take via an unexpected perspective, first-person. Outpath immediately shows us the potential of a 3D incremental game.
Instead of clicking a cookie a hundred thousand times, it plays more like Minecraft. In the same way you’d punch a tree, you can click one repeatedly to gather wood. This continues to be the case as you start on a tiny island with trees, ore veins to mine, and little else. After gathering the few resources available, you can slowly build workbenches and research tables to discover new recipes.
Next thing you know, you’ll have a bunch of credits from gathering those resources that you can spend to expand your area. What begins as a small island with limited resources quickly grows into a massive world sprawling with different biomes. This is where Outpath gets interesting as it throws all sorts of content at you. Between new recipes, creatures to interact with, a variety of trees, minerals, and more.
Following the same premise as many clicker games, Outpath is still a repetitive grind where I’m always trying to reach the next upgrade. Such as transitioning from flint tools to copper and so forth. However, along the way, many buildings help alleviate the grind. Similar to Factorio or Satisfactory where you can build entire industries that automate your work.
Early on I unlocked buildings that could break all nearby resources. But, I still had to gather them and click each building to recharge it. Fortunately, this whole process eventually becomes independent. Which gave me more time to develop new tools and gather rare resources. With that said, I quickly noticed a recurring source of frustration with the rewards Outpath gives you for making progress.
As usual, I take notes when I’m reviewing a game so I have a good idea of major points to bring up. I frequently found myself writing notes about missing quality-of-life features that almost seemed too simple to not include. As I got further into Outpath, these features became rewards that required several hours to reach.
That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the journey of unlocking new content. However, these gatekept features were simple things like consistent music. Or placing floors to extend off an island so I have an area to put workbenches. Otherwise, I had to place buildings in areas that would prevent resources from growing. This artificially extends the game’s length and can make getting certain items a pain.
There were a few moments when I had to take a break as I hoped trees would grow so I could get more wood. This is an issue with many recipes excessively relying on wood that you never have enough. Unfortunately, this repeatedly killed my momentum and enjoyment of chasing the next new thing. This is where the pacing feels off as you sluggishly grind for a material and then the next island has an abundance of it.
The problem with being an active incremental game is that you can rarely leave and come back to progress. In Outpath, there are systems to idly generate credits but they’re insignificant. In contrast, other idle games reward you for being patient. Even though you can usually speed it up by actively playing.
One neat comparison to idle games is how Outpath sort of handles ascensions. For those unfamiliar, many idlers have a moment where progression slows and this encourages you to reset for upgrades that stay. While Outpath doesn’t reset, it often feels like it does every time I unlock a new biome.
It’s a mixture of good and bad as it forces me to rebuild my workbenches. But, I at least get to play with new materials. Also, when unlocking an island, there are new skills you can get. These provide a variety of buffs like gaining more credits or an extra jump. Although, you do have to use credits to upgrade them further. This created a dilemma where I couldn’t decide what to spend my credits on. Since they’re important for expanding islands, new recipes, and skill upgrades.
Which leads to another problem when you skip unlocking buildings not knowing that they make a huge impact. Such as one that produced a resource I desperately needed. But, I didn’t know about it since there isn’t a linear path in what buildings you unlock.
Outpath Review | Closing Thoughts
Outpath is a unique idle game bound to keep your attention for hours on end. However, there are moments when the grind is dull and wears on you. Fortunately, one huge feature is an auto-click accessibility option so you can enjoy Outpath without developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
Review Score: 8/10 (Great)
Outpath was provided by the developer via a Steam code.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.