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‘Out There: Ω Edition’ Launches on PC and Mac, but the Free iOS Upgrade Should Follow Soon

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[appicon url="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id799471892?mt=8"]Last week, Mi-Clos Studio released Out There: Ω Edition, a graphical overhaul of last year’s excellent iOS space-faring adventure game, on Steam for Windows, OS X, and Linux. The Ω will come as a free upgrade for Android and iOS players who purchased the original, but we haven’t heard much about it since last year.

“We’re in the process of finalizing the mobile version," developer Michaël Peiffert told me over e-mail when asked about the iOS version. “I can’t give you a precise date right now, but we hope it’ll come out in a month or two."

“With Apple, you should always expect surprises," he added.

The upgraded version of Out There ($4.99) includes 50 new narrative events, new types of solar systems, an extra ending, an expanded soundtrack, and a new coat of high-definition paint.

One of the game’s strengths is its simplicity: the writing is straightforward and level-headed, and the nuts-and-bolts mechanics of upgrading your ship and collecting resources are fairly digestible. Without a bunch of hard sci-fi jargon or fiddly oxygen-to-iron ratios to worry about, the isolation and existential terror of solitary space travel to shine through. Most games tout “exploration" as a fun, exhilarating adventure, but navigating the inky nothingness of the cosmos in Out There is tense, desperate, and wrenching.

I say this because I was worried that the upgraded visuals would detract from that somehow. Judging by the trailer above, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Those ice landscapes and pulsating pitcher plants don’t seem flashy or affected, just somehow richer and more beautiful.

Again, the iOS upgrade will be free for users when it comes out in a few months, but Out There: Ω Edition is currently available on Steam.

  • Out There: Ω Edition

    5/5 - TouchArcade 5/5 - PocketTactics 9/10 'Gold Award' - PocketGamer Grand Prize - DevGAMM Moscow 2015 Excellence in Na…
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