[appicon url="https://itunes.apple.com/app/id799471892"]I have a confession: I never finished Mi-Clos Studio’s engrossing space-travel roguelike Out There ($4.99).
After days and days of dying, tinkering, and learning, I finally had a manta ray-shaped ship with the right mixture of technology and raw materials, capable of jumping vast distances through uncharted space. I’d made contact with several different alien species: some hostile, some friendly, all inscrutable and mysterious. Eventually, I came to a three-pronged crossroads and, not knowing who to trust, became paralyzed by indecision, my lone star-wanderer doomed to unending stasis.
Eventually, Mi-Clos updated the game, which (accidentally, I’m sure) rendered my best saved game incompatible. That’s a downer ending, but the subtle, excruciating balance it took me to get even that far left quite the impression—I’m confident saying that Out There is a great game, even though I don’t know how it ends. The TouchArcade hive-consciousness agrees.
Sensing that I lack the mental fortitude to try again, Mi-Clos announced a substantial free update to the game this morning, hoping to entice back into the inky, expansive darkness of space. According to the game’s updated website, Out There: Ω Edition includes new ships and aliens, a new ending, and 50 new narrative interaction. A “new graphic engine" is also in the works, apparently, but without any new screenshots or trailers, I can’t begin to speculate on what that might entail.
iOS users who already own Out There will receive this update for free, but the re-mastered Ω Edition is also heading to PC and Mac. The game is working its way through Steam Greenlight, and $10 and $15 pre-order bundles are already available. The extra fiver is for Siddharta Barnhoon’s expanded soundtrack, but if you’d rather stick to iOS or save a few bucks, the App Store version is much cheaper.
Mi-Clos hasn’t announced a release date yet, but the new content will be available at Gamescom 2014, which takes place next month. Out There: Ω Edition is, presumably, impending.
