Outland is nearly ten years old yet it feels like it could easily belong in the current era of top-notch indie platformers. This wonderful side-scroller comes from House Marque the developers that brought us classics arcade experiences such as Resogun and Nex Machina. Unlike many of House Marque's other games which tend to be more high score driven, Outland is built around a single player campaign. You could say this is yet another metroidvania but it feels a bit too linear for that. What really makes this game stand apart from its contemporaries is the binary colored enemies and obstacles. We've seen this kind of gimmick before in the excellent shoot'em up Ikaruga but adapted for this genre it really works wonders.
Outland isn't too concerned or heavy focused on its story but what it does offer is fulfilling. You play as a man haunted by mysterious visions. He travels into the forest and finds a shaman that tells him stories about the ancient gods who helped make the world. Over time these same gods sought to undo what they had made. Although they were once locked up by a unknown hero they are about to break free and its your responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen. The few story moments are all narrated which really help draw you into this world. Throughout your journey there are many illustrations you can find carved into the walls which gives the visuals some Mayan vibes.
The game world is broken up into five regions each featuring a final boss known as a guardian. All the guardians have their own story of what they brought to the world and how eventually they turned against it. About half way through each new region you are bound to discover a new power which will grant you access to spaces you couldn't visit before. When the game starts about all you can do is run, jump, and swing your sword around. Over time you learn to use charge attacks, access jump pads, and slam into ground pounds. Unlike like more traditional metroidvanias back tracking usually isn't necessary. However, if you wish to find all the hidden collectibles and stations to upgrade your health and stamina then you'll want to explore previous areas.
What really makes Outland special is how the world is split between two colors; day is represent by red and night is represented by blue. As you progress farther into the game most of the enemies and obstacles are split into one of those colors. Eventually you learn to instantaneously switch between the two yourself. You'll need to be blue if you wish to move through blue beams and bullets yet you most be the opposite color of an enemy in order to damage them. As you progress you find that you have to switch colors more and more frequently as the game gradually helps you build up your reflexes.
I had a blast playing through this side-scroller. The controls were very tight and responsive making the more challenging tasks feel fair and reasonable. The games does get fairly difficult but the checkpoints are very forgiving. I will mentioned I was quite surprised by the challenge offered by the final boss yet I made it through eventually. The binary color theme is the highlight of the experience and really drives Outland apart from the multitude of other metroidvanias out there. If you go straight through the game it clocks in at about six hours but should you choose to fully explore and get the collectibles it will be closer to eight. I can say with confidence that anyone else who enjoys classic side-scrollers and platformers will love this game just as much as I did.