Outcast

Outcast from 1999 by the Belgian studio Appeal is among the most ambitious action adventures of its generation, even though it didn't fare too well commercially. The player takes on the role of former soldier Cutter Slade, who is sent to the parallel world of Adelpha to rescue scientists stranded after a failed experiment, and gradually becomes entangled in a conflict between the local Talan tribes and an occupying alien technology whose military dominance oppresses the native population. The world of Adelpha was remarkably alive – with its own language, religion, and social structure for the natives, who reacted to the player according to their actions.

The game was pioneering for its use of a voxel engine for vast, open outdoor environments combined with polygonal characters, which at the time of release allowed distant views and a sense of a truly open world unheard of on Windows 9x computers. The gameplay blended action shootouts, platforming sections, and conversations with NPCs who gave quests and provided information about the world, thereby foreshadowing later open-world adventures. Orchestral music recorded by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra gave the game an unusually grand, cinematic atmosphere.

Contemporary reviews praised the technical innovation, the scope of the world, and the music, but high hardware requirements and lacking marketing support meant the game didn't succeed commercially as much as it deserved. The dialogue with the native Talans, written with an emphasis on their own culture and manner of expression, was among the most elaborate that action adventures of the time had to offer. In the following years Outcast built a strong cult following and is remembered today as a forerunner of many ideas that later made other open-world titles famous. Its later remake only confirmed that the original had an extraordinarily forward-looking vision.