C4G checked out the demo of Outward 2:

So I Played Outward 2 Early!

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Wccftech interviewed Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, CEO of Nine Dots Studio about Outward 2:

Outward 2 Q&A – Director Says Sequel Is a Few Years Away, Will Be Just as Cruel & Obscure

In 2019, indie Canadian studio Nine Dots released Outward, an unforgiving immersive action roleplaying game that immediately captivated an audience. Having sold over 1.3 million units to date, the game is now getting a sequel, as announced earlier this month by Nine Dots.

We had the opportunity to talk with Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, CEO of Nine Dots Studio and Game Director on the original game and the sequel while at GDC 2024. You can read the full transcript below; Outward 2 can be wishlisted on Steam.

How long has Outward 2 been in development so far?

Well, we started full production in January of 2021.

Leading up to that, what sort of design documents and feedback from the first one were the basis for this new project?

I had the opportunity to analyze everything that people wanted from Outward while working on the DLC. The DLC was a very nice opportunity to just complete the vision we've had for the initial title. In doing so, I was constantly re-evaluating what I would change if I could do it. What would people react positively to? So, making the DLC really informed the design going into the sequel.

What kind of feedback did you get from the console version of Outward?

I didn't hear as many complaints as I would have expected from the reduction in production values from the port. It wasn't broken, but it was not as polished as on PC. I think that the definitive edition definitely had a better reception and that's one big reason why - not that the porting teams that we had were bad, but we have so much more control by making the game and porting it ourselves that I think this had a big impact on the final quality. It's just that nobody can know our game better than ourselves. We would know of something that is just a tweak, but it's going to work so much better. If you don't have that very deep knowledge of how the game is made, it isn't so obvious.

[...]

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IGN checked out Outward 2:

Outward 2 Preview: The Survival RPG That Hits Hard

This sequel brings the pain (again), but what else can it deliver?

I started my playthrough in a quarry, having been dropped unceremoniously into the world with no preamble. The environment is very detailed, colourful, and almost cute in a low-levelled World of Warcraft dungeon kind of way. In other words, not very threatening – but I was very quickly taught otherwise.

Along with my starter gear, I put on my backpack – a bulky thing that you’ll literally need to remove before combat, lest its weight makes you clumsy and slow. I blithely strode through a gate into the next area – a mine pit, with some nearby enemies to flex my combat skills on.

Hard Mode Only
Something new to Outward 2 is the concept of an off-hand; while your left hand could only hold trinkets in the original, you can now equip a shield or a second weapon, allowing some flexibility in choosing a setup that’ll deal the most damage to whichever enemy you’re fighting. You can even get a bit silly by equipping two shields and just going about bashing everything.

The combat moves sound like typical RPG fare on paper – dodge, tap for quick attacks, hold for slower and stronger attacks, et cetera. But once I was actually in combat with a giant, angry bee-like enemy, I realised that I needed to undergo a lot of hard lessons to learn how to employ my skills effectively. Which is another way of saying that I died. A lot.

[...]

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Couchpotato spotted a pre-alpha teaser for Outward 2:

Outward 2 - Pre-Alpha Trailer (1080p)

Outward 2 is a challenging action RPG with survival elements focusing on a believable and relatable experience. There is no hand holding, no leveled encounters, no divine gift making you tower over your enemies. Eat your meal, check your map, grab your backpack: a fulfilling adventure awaits.