Games in Early Access can always be a bit tricky to review. Will this game even look quite the same upon full release or will it be an entirely new experience? Out and About was featured at both the Women-Led Games and Wholesome Direct this year so it’s quite possible you’ve been looking forward to this one.
While the game plans to have over 100 real plants, early access already introduces 50 of these. The game also uses these plants and fungi for real world recipes that you can recreate if you choose. So while we can’t fully say the game will look very different in it’s full release, we can already see much of the groundwork today. We can confirm, it’s quite jam packed.
Out and About is not just your cozy relaxing game of foraging and cooking. In fact, you can actually learn a bit from this game. The game will offer you the opportunity to learn about many different items you can forage in the real world. Of course, they may not all be quite as close together as in the game. They developers do provide the warning that it is not meant to replace proper foraging references. Although, they have gone through extreme lengths to provide players with learning opportunities. In fact, they have even created a separate page, the Curiosity Nook, which provides references for foraging and recipes you acquire in game.
After you’ve read the warning, you’ll end up in the character creation screen which offers quite a bit of customizing for a game in early access. You’ll have five main menus: skin, face, hair, extras, and clothes. It was actually quite impressive how much you can cosmetically adjust your character.
Once you’re satisfied with your character, chosen your name and pronouns, you’ll find yourself waking up to a crack of thunder, the scent of rain, and a voicemail from your concerned Granny after the storm. You’ll meet Annie, the campsite manager who realizes if the campsite is a mess, the town must be distraught. On the way back to town Annie gets injured, nothing serious of course, this is a cozy wholesome game. Annie suggests you find Barbara who can help and before you know it, it’s time to forage your first leaves.
You can’t just go running in to forage. You’ll need to identify the plants with your handy camera. Somehow anytime you take a picture of an unidentified species, Barbara will show up to give you details. So don’t worry, you’re never alone. You will then need to do some closer examining before you can harvest anything so be sure to examine the plants. All of this knowledge will actually come in handy as you will need to sort the plants later. If you forget, there will be ways to remind yourself. Of course, you can always keep your Curiosity Nook page open as well.
It’s important to know which plants you get and sort those plants through correctly. After you get your experience with foraging and sorting items in your basket, you’ll start making your way down the path to get to Granny. You get to meet some other characters along the way, including Charles who recognizes you. It’s clear that everyone in this town knows each other and looks out for one another. It’s a lovely sentiment to see a tight knit group of people after a disaster.
The map isn’t overly massive but there are times when you can’t get around due to blocked paths and downed trees. This forces the town help dynamic onto you through an app called My Porto. You identify spots that need clearing Charles will help clear the spot with his muscles. Of course, it isn’t all that easy as you’ll have to have enough currency to do so. So even with this tight knit community, they won’t help clear out areas for free. So much for the care of the area.
The narrative continues when you find Granny and before long you know you’ll have to help fundraise to repair the town. You didn’t think the town would just want to work to repair where they live on their own did you?
Cook recipes and sell them to townsfolk and anyone passing by for some coin. Customers will come looking for food or ointments and you can make them happy by selling them items along the way. Of course some customers you can’t make happy. That’s quite alright there will be plenty of others who you can.
Once you’re in a free roam mode you’ll be foraging on your own and every couple of days setting up the market stall. In your free time, you’ll do favors for those around town to build up your relationships with them. They’ll also open up to you more. Eventually Harry will stop crying about his blender and start considering his other options. Keep unlocking new areas on the map for more items to get more recipes and better items to sell at market. Make friends with the townsfolk and help restore the town before the suits tear it apart.
The Good
The game is simplistic and cute. For those who enjoy cozy, relaxing gaming, this is great for you. The introduction of real items that can be foraged and cooked is a welcome addition to this style of games. Sometime that feels a bit educational without forcing education into it.
Knowing what to do in order to grow your relationships with townsfolk is also pretty straight forward. The calendar system allows you to track this and plan out your days. Instead of having to guess or keep track on your own, the game gives you the information in a clear way.
The story, while not overly original, is one that many people can get behind. The evil suits with no souls or heart come and only see dollar signs. They don’t care about the history, the people living there, or the impact their decisions could have. Of course, not everyone employed by the firm is soulless, there’s always that one who knows things aren’t right and will give you warning.
The art of the characters is also quite good. Their eyes are warm, they aren’t overly detailed characters, but they are each distinguishable. It doesn’t feel like they were all the same base character with a few small changes so kudos to the designers. The characters also do feel like those you would find in a nice small town so they are well written.
The Bad
Some of the game does get a bit repetitive. Now this is fine for so many who are looking for a cozy relaxing experience. They say that people who are experience anxiety find comfort in things that are familiar, it’s why they rewatch shows. I’m not a therapist, but it’s probably also why games that have a lot of repetition are also comforting. It just does end up feeling a bit like a chore and less fun after a bit.
The photo mode is also cute but could use some work. The selfies end up feeling odd when they all use the same somewhat bored looking facial expression. A small smile could make a huge difference with certain poses for the characters. The outfits are cute, the style is cute, if the facial expressions could match, these would be great.
Another bit that drove me nuts is why does this character just randomly decide to skip? Perhaps its meant to be whimsical. This feels like it would be much better as a toggle for how the character wanders around.
Overall
This game is ideal for those with an interest in nature but who also want to have a cozy game to enjoy at home. While the early access is only out on PC, it does feel like the perfect game for handheld consoles. Especially for those who enjoy games like Stardew Valley or Disney Dreamlight Valley handheld.
The game offers a nice spin on the idea of a farming sim or cozy game and I am the first to say, cozy farming sim is not my genre of choice. However, I can see the value in games like this and understand why so many would find themselves drawn to this. Are you someone who loves your cozy games? Do you agree with our Out and About review?
Out and About is available now on Steam in Early Access. Early Access is expected to run approximately a year. Once the full release is available, you can anticipate it being on other platforms as well! If you can’t wait and need to get your hands on Out and About, be sure to check out the Steam page.
Thank you Yaldi Games for the review code. Out and About was reviewed in early access on Steam.
