The Other Tales

Greetings, Misfits!

The release of Outcast Tales is getting closer. We hope the game provides plenty of fun for everyone, with many hours of content to take a crack at. But don’t just sit on your hands simply replaying The First Journey over and over in anticipation, as we will be releasing an update to The First Journey, so you might want to wait before jumping into adventure with fresh eyes. How about you play or watch something else for now instead? And that’s why we’re here today.

Together, we are going to take a look at media with obvious similarities to Outcast Tales; some of it might’ve even inspired us in some ways! Hopefully, these stories will tide you over while you’re biting your nails off in wait for the game.

Death Road to Canada (2016)

It’s a zombie apocalypse and only your dim-witted friends can save you! Explore the cute and quirky side of post-civilizational mayhem, ward off zombies with a bunch of random items, and survive while ransacking locations for fuel and resources.

The idea of a team of unique characters going on a large, semi-randomized adventure definitely was a big inspiration for the general progression of Outcast Tales. We really wanted our game to have tons of items, unique events, and character interactions that make every playthrough feel different. And yet, even with all the carnage going on, each new run still manages to tell a unique story and create a fun memory.

The big highlight for us were the car rides in-between the action locations: each one sets up some sort of a unique scenario and mini-story, lets the player do a meaningful choice that changes the outcome of their playthrough or affects their resources, and also acts as a springboard for character dialogue and fun banter. Having these episodes accomplish multiple goals at the same time while keeping things brisk and breezy is something we definitely learned from for our Campfire sections.

Trigun (1998)

Surely you expected a Western picture to be a big inspiration, didn’t you? Many probably expected something closer to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, though…

Both Trigun and Outcast Tales fall into the category of “Western”, but only metaphorically so: things don’t literall y take place in the Wild West (in fact, both take place in the far future), but things do happen against a somewhat desert-y backdrop meant to symbolize an unconquered frontier.

What really sets these apart is injecting a hearty dose of comedy into the usually stoic setting, with both Vash and your main party bouncing off other characters in unexpected ways (that said, Outcast Tales definitely brings even more havoc to the table).

It isn’t all smiles and laughs, though: as you watch or read Trigun, deeper layers will come into play, revealing secret pasts and clandestine conspiracies. While this isn’t exactly the template used in Outcast Tales, we did want to highlight a few more thought-provoking moments throughout the adventure: as you play, your party will be faced with plenty of funny and somber choices, leading to unexpected and permanent consequences. A lot of these moments are played for laughs, but they’re often based on some type of a real moral dilemma, and we hope these sequences give you a nice opportunity to engage with the game on a slightly deeper level. Sometimes just stopping and thinking for a few moments makes the ensuing carnage all that sweeter, you know? It’s just a few moments, though!