A Slow, Deliberate Campervan Adventure
Having previously released on other formats, the release of Outbound onto Xbox comes as no surprise. And for that reason, a Day One drop onto Game Pass probably makes sense.
But equally, that same Game Pass marketing and promotion could well go against Square Glade Games’ cozy little campervan adventure. See, this is a game that is so slow, so deliberate and so, well, cozy, that it could easily turn off gamers as much as it draws them in. We’d suspect that there will have already been a number of Game Pass subscribers who have downloaded the game with interest at heart, only to switch off again within the first half-hour, never to return. In fact, we know they have, with Reddit threads a plenty asking for help and advice. In that respect, Outbound struggles.
Get through those super laidback opening moments though to embrace Outbound for what it is, and you’ll find a delightful adventure that unfolds, one long, slow day at a time.
Four Wheels and a Will to Embrace Nature
Outbound is all about the adventure, the exploration, and the opportunity to navigate your way through an inoffensive world. Going where you want, when you want is key here – at least once you’ve gathered the tools, items, and supplies for the journey ahead.
Getting behind the wheel of your favourite campervan, Outbound opens up. The road is long and windy, taking you through forests, open grasslands, up mountains and alongside rivers. Campfires await, as do chests packed with essentials. Trees are to be felled, rocks to be smashed to smaller more manageable stone, and bushes can be scythed down to deliver nutrients and food. All this plays out across multiple varied biomes too.
Scour the land and hidden collectibles will be uncovered, structures climbed and the story filled in. In that respect, Outbound does the job intended of it – delivering an explorer’s dream. A dream powered by four wheels and a will to embrace nature.
The Workshop on Wheels
It’s the campervan itself that is key to everything in Outbound. A home on wheels, it fast turns into a workshop too, a place where magic is created, tools are honed. It’s a camper that is very much ripe for imagination, with dozens of items, structures and more available to be placed, as you turn your little vehicle into a glorious pad, ready for anything.
You’ll find your fallen trees (of various species) morph into useful planks (them bridges won’t fix themselves), or making the most of a sewing machine enables the opportunity to increase the capacity of your backpack. Research awaits too, provided you gather up and collect the essentials needed to allow for such technological breakthroughs.
What we mostly like is that should you be an environmentalist, or just someone who revels in the beauty of nature, little picking can become an addictive little pastime. More so when that litter can be magically turned into blueprints for new tools and gear.
And that’s just scratching the surface of the many elements of Outbound that come together within this cozy little game.
Overcoming the Grind
The problem is, Outbound is slow. Your camper is slow, at least until you make it a tad more economical. Your movement on foot is slow, stamina draining away with every step. It’s worse when you pile your pack up with rocks and timber, as any form of sprint becomes impossible. And when night falls? Well, you may as well sleep, awakening the next day, afresh, ready to go again. Unless it’s raining. It’s always raining in Outbound. Normally when you’re trying to light a campfire…
It’s that slow nature that will dictate your love, or slight dislike for Outbound. And even then, as someone who went into the game knowing what to expect, the first few hours were about as bumpy as the tracks available for traversal. We pinged from loving the idea, to hating the slow traipse back to our van as night fell, saving further progress for another day.
We’re not sure all players will stick with it either. Getting out of the opening biome can feel like a proper chore, proven by the sheer number of online threads asking how to progress in Outbound. Achievement stats back that up too, with less than 10% of players currently making it to the Coast, that number halving again for each of the Canyons, and then the Mountains.
And there are moments where the frustration is understandable. It’s a bit of a ballache to slowly drive to a bridge, only to discover it needs a certain number of planks, forcing you to trundle back off in search of trees, gather enough wood, craft the materials, and then make the long drive all over again. That loop is clearly intentional, but whether it clicks or grates will depend entirely on the player.
When It Clicks…
Yet Outbound does click. Radio masts are plentiful. A fire lookout becomes an objective, a windmill opens up its history, a tree delights. It’s these moments, those in which a sole goal is in mind, where Outbound gains traction, helped by the uncovering of even more secrets, further mysterious lands, and pet dogs.
Others may also enjoy the base building, the creation of a stunning home inside, outside, and atop their van. Again, we got by with the bare essentials here, chucking in what was needed for progress and letting it be done, slightly frustrated by the clunky build menus. If you prefer to utilise the magic of imagination though, Outbound provides the tools.
UI Niggles
But we also have minor niggles over the map (sometimes scrollable, but at others, not), the inconsistent climbing of ladders, some UI that struggles to be clear enough for reading, and a crafting mini game that fast tires. Thankfully, that can be switched off.
And frankly, Outbound feels best to a solo player, as they go about unlocking a world in their own sweet time. The inclusion of multiplayer really isn’t needed, even if that can aid with the pacing. We guess that Game Pass landing may actually be useful in that regard.
Further, whilst it’s fairly minimal on the audio front, the visuals are nice enough to look at, popping where needs be, full of atmosphere as rain, or night falls. Granted, graphically it’s not going to test the power of Xbox Series consoles and what they can do (another thing that may turn off many), but Outbound is far from that type of game.
A Cozy Road Trip That Takes Its Sweet Time
Outbound is a cozy game. An adventure game. A crafting game. An exploration game. It’s a game of many things, much of which comes together well, albeit slowly. Outbound may take its sweet time getting there, but it does get there. Eventually.
Important Links
Cozy Van-Life Adventure Outbound Charts a Launch Course in 2026 for Xbox, PS5, PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/cozy-van-life-adventure-outbound-charts-a-launch-course-in-2026-for-xbox-ps5-pc/
Outbound Delivers Relaxed Road Trip Vibes On Game Pass – https://www.thexboxhub.com/outbound-delivers-relaxed-road-trip-vibes-on-game-pass/
Download from the Xbox Store, via Game Pass if required – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/outbound/9PFWZMT737GG/0010
