Have you also spent far too many hours daydreaming about leaving everything behind, buying a camper, and driving through the country to get away from it all? Lord knows I have, and something tells me I’m not the only one. With the release of Outbound—a laid-back, crafting exploration sandbox—all you listless adventurers can too.
I’ve been eyeing a handful of exploration and mobile base building games that capture that sort of same spirit, like Solarpunk and Sand, but Outbound was the only one on my list that’s not caught up in the fantasy element of it all. It’s a down-to-earth experience just about you, your van, and maybe a dog, in a long-distance drive focused on sightseeing and building.
Andrea Shearon
Outbound was on my wishlist for a while, and I’ve longed for something that captures the magic of all those cross-country camper van videos I’ve spent too much time watching on YouTube. I’m not nearly brave or spontaneous enough to start that journey myself, so a game about the cozy van life will have to do. It took an awfully long time for Outbound to satisfy much of the crafting, base building itch I hoped it would, so I’ll probably keep looking for the next adventure like it. It’s either that, or hope a few updates make Outbound feel a little less on-the-rails and sluggish.
Outbound features
What kind of crafting game is Outbound?
Outbound is an exploration sandbox with some light crafting elements where base building is the main draw. You’ll forage for materials out in the wild through traditional avenues like mining ore and chopping wood, but those mechanics are pretty simple and don’t require you to take multiple swings. It’s all one button.
Signal towers for unlocking new crafting recipes are scattered throughout the world along with other points of interest. If you want the next cute shelving upgrade or crafting stations to process new materials, you’ll have to hop in your van and keep driving. It’s a fairly relaxed loop, and while there are hunger and health stats, I never felt pressure from maintaining them.
|
Feature |
Included? |
How it works |
|---|---|---|
|
Character customization |
✅ |
You can customize your character in the beginning, but I never saw options for new cosmetics |
|
Character progression |
⚠️ |
You can improve your stamina with clothing upgrades, but that’s about it |
|
Base building |
✅ |
Build in, around, and on top of your van as you unlock new recipes for utility and decor. It’s all about making the most of your limited space |
|
Pets |
✅ |
You can adopt a dog, and yes, you can also pet them. Your companion can also carry extra items to save space in your backpack |
|
Gathering |
⚠️ |
Make and upgrade tools for gathering, but it’s slightly less involved than most crafting games. Items are collected with just one button |
|
Crafting |
✅ |
Crafting starts at your workbench. You’ll expand your capabilities with more crafting stations and recipes as you explore |
|
Farming |
✅ |
Build planters and harvest your own crops from your mobile setup |
|
Survival |
⚠️ |
There are health and stamina bars, but I never ran out of health (or understood why it was there) |
|
Combat |
❌ |
Outbound is all about the cozy, peaceful experience of a roadtrip. You won’t have to fight off wild animals |
|
Collectibles |
✅ |
Track all sorts of different collectibles like Gnomes, Paintings, and Cairns in your journal |
|
Photo mode |
⚠️ |
Screenshot mode hides the HUD, but even with it on, you’ll still see distracting UI elements meant to highlight interactive options |
|
Multiplayer |
✅ |
Available for up to four players |
|
Multiplayer progression |
⚠️ |
Progression is tied to saves, not characters. You won’t keep any recipes or items discovered while a friend is hosting |
I played Outbound for 15+ hours, and here’s what stood out…
My favorite feature in Outbound is the building system, coupled with finding the perfect spot to camp out for the night with my cozy setup. I didn’t always land in the most picture-perfect area thanks to a lack of fuel and van upgrades, but when I did, I took a little more joy in decorating my space. Doing the best I can with a mobile base and trying to find the balance between form and function was a fun juggling act, even if I was mostly disappointed with the crafting.
Outbound lacks a crafting system with real depth, and my disinterest was a malaise that slowly spread to the rest of the game. Most items don’t even require you to interact with the workbench, and you’ll just place a new station directly from the build menu. There’s also a crafting minigame you’ve seen a dozen times before—time a button press correctly a certain number of times—and there’s no real incentive to try your best at it since Outbound doesn’t have any quality modifiers or chance of breaking a craft. I just spammed left click until it worked out.
Is Outbound worth it?
Will you like Outbound?
🛠️ If you like other crafting games: I’ve played a ton of crafting games, and Outbound just isn’t worth it if you love grinding for materials and exploring to find them. Your slow movement speed and stamina makes hunting for resources a sluggish chore, and the crafting minigame is bare bones. The system feels like it’s there to begrudgingly drive exploration, not complement it. Outbound tightly controls your pace with blueprint unlocks and objectives so it never felt like I could explore freely the way I would in other crafting games.
🏚️ If you’re in it for the base building: The mobile base building is where all of the fun is at, but keep in mind it’ll take you a while to collect the blueprints and materials to build much. I was close to the 10-hour mark before I really felt like it clicked, though I did enjoy decking my van out with cute plants, new structures, and Outbound’s assortment of crafting stations. It’s still a fun mix of managing function and form, it just takes a while for you to get there, and I’m not sure there’s enough depth in base building to keep me playing much longer.
👥 If you’re in it for the multiplayer: In my experience, there just wasn’t enough to do for two people in Outbound, let alone four. Your friends won’t get their own van, and progress isn’t character-specific like it is in Valheim. Anyone who isn’t driving will be doing a lot of sitting, maybe looking at the map sometimes and making a suggestion, but that’s about it.
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