Thank you Rhino Rock Studios for providing us with a review code!

Outblast is a fast-paced 360 degree shoot ‘em up that can be played in VR or flat mode. You play as the C11-28 interceptor ship that is tasked with destroying the Typhon virus that is spreading through the system. Defeated enemies will leave behind blocks of data that need to be retrieved in exchange for points. The number of remaining lives and time remaining are also factored into your score which is added to an online global leaderboard.

When you first launch the Outblast, it will have you complete a short tutorial that explains the basics of moving, shooting, boosting, and using your sword attack. Collecting and using power-ups is briefly touched on as well. There are extra lives, firing rate increases, homing ammo, and magnet (increased pickup range) power-ups available throughout the game.

There are two game modes: Arcade and Stage Select. Arcade mode has you playing through all of the levels with its own scoreboard. After you beat the first boss, the Stage Select mode option will become available and you can start off on any previously unlocked level. As of this review, there are five different districts and boss types. I have played Outblast on my laptop and on my Steam Deck. I am sad to report that progress does not transfer between devices.

When you first enter a level, the timer will begin counting down and you’ll have to defeat all of the enemies in that wave before you run out of time. If you run out of time or out of lives, the game will end. I found the amount of time during enemy waves to be sufficient, but boss battles are significantly more challenging. Fighting against the clock too adds more tension. I’ve never been a fan of time attack games, but I found Outblast to be entertaining even when I’m not good at it.

For the most part, the levels are not random though some of the enemy movements are. You’ll have to familiarize yourself with the various enemy spawn points as it’s not uncommon to have an enemy spawn over your ship and cost you a life.

Your ship will have to avoid environmental obstacles like lasers, falling spikes, and blocks that shoot projectiles. There are centipede-like enemies that fly around and octopus-like ones that will crawl along the floor or ceiling. When an enemy is defeated, data will flow out of them, not blood.

The level design is pretty good and the object placement is challenging at times. You’ll often find your ship in an enclosed area that enemies can still effortlessly breach while you have to shoot an escape path out of. Meanwhile the clock is ticking and you’ll have to have everything cleared away before the clock runs out.

Visually, Outblast looks nice and runs great in VR and in flat mode. I preferred the convenience of playing it on the Steam Deck. While it’s not rated for the Steam Deck, it runs fine, but the font is a little small.

The background music is nice and fitting. I liked the AI voice, but it mispronounces words; up sounds like “hup” and magnet sounds like “rednet”.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced shoot ‘em up that can be played in or out of VR, check out Outblast. I’m sure it won’t take long to boot me out of fifth place on the leaderboards.