What To Expect From The PC Version Of Outriders
As the coronavirus caused major delays in 2020, players have gotten used to waiting for new video game releases. Outriders, which Square Enix teased at E3 2019, also experienced multiple setbacks, pushing its release from last September all the way to April 1, 2021. Thankfully, it's not all bad news, as the developers recently revealed what fans can expect from the PC version of Outriders.
The game's official YouTube channel published an "Outriders: PC Spotlight" video detailing everything from the basics to exciting quality-of-life features. The presentation begins by providing minimum, recommended, and ultra settings. At minimum, you'll want an Intel i5-3470 or an AMD FX-8350, 8GB of memory, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750TI or AMD Radeon R9 270x, DirectX11, and 70 GB of storage. On the higher end, you'll want an Intel i7-7700 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600, 16GB of memory, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB, DirectX 12, and 70 GB of storage. The ultra specs are still mostly listed as "TBD," but the announcer in the video assures viewers that "if you bought a desktop from the last six years, you'll be fine." Of course, you will need Windows 10 to run the game.
The narrator then takes you through specific display settings, pointing out that you can lock and unlock the frame rate. Beyond that, the advanced display allows you to really tailor the visual performance to your PC's capabilities, meaning nobody will be left out of seeing what Outriders has to offer.
Following display settings, the video confirms that Outriders will support mouse and keyboard, key remapping, and major first-party controllers. Outriders will also feature a customizable UI, allowing you to pick and choose what information is displayed on-screen during gameplay. Outriders will have total cross-play support, so you can play with your entire friend group.
For those eager to enjoy the best video presentation, the game supports ultrawide monitors and dynamic resolution scaling, which changes output resolution according to performance needs. NVIDIA DLSS and ANSEL will both be supported — the former promising to enhance frame rate and imagery and the latter enabling high-quality screen captures. The narrator rounds off the technical specs by discussing its use of Razer Chroma RBG, claiming it will "provide a full-blown immersive experience that transcends the screen into your setup." The video ends with a glimpse at trading cards and backgrounds for the game.
The presentation focuses exclusively on the PC port, so gamers will have to wait and see how its console counterparts will compare.
Overall, the response from fans is overwhelmingly positive. One user commented, "a game that shows love on low end pc's gets my love back," while another said, "you know what, just becuase [sic] the video executed really nicely, i just pre ordered the game."
The numerous delays are hopeful signs that the team behind Outriders is dedicated to releasing a tight product without the bugs and glitches that often come from a rushed project. Considering that Square Enix's recent Avengers game bombed in sales, it makes sense that the publisher would want to ensure Outriders is a quality title.