Outbound

In Outbound, the journey is the destination — specifically, the coziest possible trip in an electric camper van with a supremely practical roof tent (which is really huge when unfolded) through a peaceful world waiting to be explored. But it's also about expanding and upgrading this mobile home.

The game offers players a relaxing experience that they can enjoy at their own pace. There is no strict end goal. It's the journey that matters, and this can be undertaken alone or with up to three other players. Although there are survival elements, such as managing hunger and health, they are not too demanding and there are no dangers in the world. Hunting is not possible, and animals cannot be harmed or killed. Players can craft workstations, customise their camper van, and generate energy from solar, wind, or water sources. They can also upgrade their vehicle, grow crops and live sustainably off-grid, transforming an empty camper van into a large home. Players collect materials, craft items and build on top of their vehicles using modular parts. As technology advances, it becomes possible to efficiently power one's home using energy. It is also possible to create gardens to grow a variety of plants and mushrooms for cooking healthy meals on the road. All of this creates a motivating crafting loop. In multiplayer mode, all players share one camper van.

At the beginning of the game, the vehicle moves slowly. As players progress, the vehicle becomes slightly faster, but this is not a racing game and the vehicle physics are simple. While driving, players can switch between first- and third-person camera views. When players leave the vehicle to explore on foot, the camera locks to a first-person perspective.

Although crafting recipes for tools and other items have been streamlined, there is a surprisingly large number of crafting stations. Gathering certain materials from the game world can also feel repetitive, especially when travelling the same familiar route multiple times. Better placement of materials could have mitigated this. Sustainability is also part of the game's design. Players can clean up areas by picking up litter, and you can only collect wood from dead trees that have already fallen to the ground. Outbound features four handcrafted regions with diverse environments, each with distinctive landmarks, simple environmental puzzles, new resources to gather and hidden collectibles. While the world invites exploration and offers beautiful vistas, it can also feel sparse and somewhat lifeless.

Square Glade Games is a small independent game development studio based in Groningen, the Netherlands. Tobias Schnackenberg and Marc Vogler founded the studio in 2022 while developing their debut title, Above Snakes. Schnackenberg began developing his first commercial game, Above Snakes, as a solo project in 2021. Vogler joined the team in 2022, and together they formed Square Glade Games. Above Snakes is their debut title, selling more than 60,000 copies within six months. Following the release of this game, the studio has been building various game prototypes. One of these was Outbound, which the team worked on for several months. The game was revealed to the public in February 2024. Square Glade Games ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for Outbound in 2024, raising over €250,000.

Outbound is set to launch on 11 May 2026 for PC and Xbox Series X|S, and on 14 May 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Switch 1 & 2. Silver Lining Interactive is the publisher of the console versions and will also distribute the retail edition. In Japan, Sega is the retail partner.

Conclusion

Outbound is a relaxed experience centred on exploration and the pleasure of slow travel. Although it can sometimes be a bit grindy and the world could be livelier, it's best enjoyed in co-op mode.

Features

• Relaxing, cozy exploration adventure
• Highly customizable camper van with an engaging crafting loop
• Playable cooperatively with up to four players