OutRun may initially deceive you with its relaxing vibes. Chill music, palms rolling by, the crashing of waves and the golden glitter of the beach... Oh, oh god that semitruck is getting a little too close, oh NO SLOW DOWN!!
As you and your girlfriend are hurled from your car, which is now tumbling down the highway like a discarded toy, you have but a brief moment to reflect on your life. Was it a good one? Was it worth dying young?
OutRun is essentially an i-15 simulator. Beautiful sights compliment a breezy Summer soundtrack, nothing but positive vibes out here as you take a long drive with your girl... but death is never more than a heartbeat away. The main gameplay hook is that you must out run the clock, with each level giving you a bit less time and a lot more hazards. It's an arcade game, so the rapid climb in difficulty is to be expected, but you're also given mercy in the form of a Shadow the Hedgehog-esque progression system. If one route is giving you too much trouble, you can always try another. This open-ended progression meshes perfectly with OutRun's easy-going tone, and gives the console ports some much needed replayability.
It still exists to eat your quarters, though. Controls can take a bit of getting used to, and later levels are punishing in a way that is designed to result in a game over. And yet, this is easily on my list of perfect Summer Games, one I intend to revisit shortly when it starts to heat up. I might lack the skill to see it through to the end without abusing save states, but I can feel the call of it's ~vibes~. As sure as me becoming a bloody skid on the i-15, I can't out run good times.
As you and your girlfriend are hurled from your car, which is now tumbling down the highway like a discarded toy, you have but a brief moment to reflect on your life. Was it a good one? Was it worth dying young?
OutRun is essentially an i-15 simulator. Beautiful sights compliment a breezy Summer soundtrack, nothing but positive vibes out here as you take a long drive with your girl... but death is never more than a heartbeat away. The main gameplay hook is that you must out run the clock, with each level giving you a bit less time and a lot more hazards. It's an arcade game, so the rapid climb in difficulty is to be expected, but you're also given mercy in the form of a Shadow the Hedgehog-esque progression system. If one route is giving you too much trouble, you can always try another. This open-ended progression meshes perfectly with OutRun's easy-going tone, and gives the console ports some much needed replayability.
It still exists to eat your quarters, though. Controls can take a bit of getting used to, and later levels are punishing in a way that is designed to result in a game over. And yet, this is easily on my list of perfect Summer Games, one I intend to revisit shortly when it starts to heat up. I might lack the skill to see it through to the end without abusing save states, but I can feel the call of it's ~vibes~. As sure as me becoming a bloody skid on the i-15, I can't out run good times.