Outbuddies is a Metroidvania 6 years in the making and it’s almost here

“Why do so many solo devs want to make a Metroidvania?” I say as I sit here meticulously planning my own Metroidvania as a solo dev. It turns out everyone has their own ideas about the genre and Outbuddies is no exception.

It’s been in development for 6 years, mostly by Julian Laufer, and it’s coming to Windows later this year and Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch hopefully in early 2020. I got some hands-on time with Outbuddies at PAX West and here are some of my thoughts.

Check out the trailer for Outbuddies here

First off, while some Metroidvanias lean heavily on the Symphony of the Night style with leveling and equipment (e.g. Timespinner, which I reviewed a few months ago), Outbuddies is more of a Metroid-inspired title in line with Axiom Verge (also a solo developer). The pixels are chunky and the weapons and travel powers are heavily intertwined, making each upgrade you get interesting and important.

There are hidden collectibles and secrets because of course there are, but fairly unique to the genre is the local assist co-op, which allows a second player to get involved without controlling the main character.

Image: Steam

The full game will feature “about a dozen” boss fights. I saw one and it was a gigantic, screen-filling boss and oh boy it was no joke. The boss was a late-game press preview played by one of the event staff and even they got destroyed despite knowing the fight.

I’m definitely interested in seeing the full version of this when it drops on consoles early next year because I don’t have a Windows machine – If you do, you can get your hands on Outbuddies significantly sooner!

Have any thoughts on this? What do you think about Outbuddies? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Epic Tavern is a reverse-RPG game where you’re the Tavenmaster in a wild fantasy land
• Hot Shot Burn is a local multiplayer arena game with the best synthwave soundtrack – PAX West 2019
• Stranded Sails is a peaceful game about exploration and farming – PAX West 2019
• Colt Canyon is a brutal, pixel-heavy western game where death is permanent

Jake Vander Ende

Jake is a writer and game designer in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He loves action, exploration, building, filling bars, and turning numbers into bigger numbers. Someday he'll release a video game.