Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remastered

Lucasarts games are fairly famous for the “point and click” genre, putting out titles like The Secret of Monkey Island and Manic Mansion, but alongside them and the mountain of Star Wars titles released, they have also tried their hand at the first person shooter genre in the past, first off with Star Wars: Dark Forces, and then followed it up with today’s cult favourite Outlaws. And with it, the remaster masters over at Nightdive have got Outlaws + Handful of Missions Remaster  hog t...

Much like its grizzled and long dormant protagonist, Outlaws + A Handful of Missions has been pulled out of the doldrums of retirement to lace up its boots, load up its guns and ride into the sunset. It's old, gruff, unapologetic and certainly not for everyone. For me however, the opportunity to replay one of my favourite cult PC shooters of the 1990s in arguably its definitive form, easily makes Outlaws + A Handful of Missions worth the price on its head. For everyone else, a snappy and surprisingly clever Wild West retro shooter beckons.

Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster is another great port by Nightdive, featuring modern improvements to the game's visuals and accessibility features like Gamepad support. Guns feel powerful and enemies are equally deadly, but Outlaws is let down by its lack of gun variety and obtuse level design.

Back in 1997, Outlaws did a great job of turning classic Western tropes into a video game. Still, it’s hard to ignore that the gameplay and design are stilted and simplistic compared to modern shooters. Fans of the original will certainly appreciate the happy jolt of recognition, and there’s a bit of value in new gamers walking through the time machine to a much simpler period in technology. All that aside, Outlaws’ fun doesn’t last very long, even remastered.