[3] In 2001, Appeal developed a sequel, called Outcast II: The Lost Paradise, which was never finished due to bankruptcy.

A large part of the game focuses on conversing with the friendly aliens known as the Talan in order to learn the story and history of Adelpha, and to progress in Cutter's mission to find the probe.

Alternatively, the player can sneak around the enemy, by use of standing behind cover, lying down in a muddy field, using gadgets that turn Cutter invisible for a short time, and so on.

Cutter begins the game with just a pistol and his fists, and the player can buy more weapons and upgrades, while ammunition can either be found in the world, or crafted by taking a certain amount of materials to a Talan known as a Recreator.

Minutes into the mission, an alien life form discovers the probe and damages it, causing an unforeseen backlash of energy that creates a black hole, threatening Earth.

After being briefed on the situation by his old friend Major Vernon, former U.S. Navy SEAL Cutter Slade is given the job of escorting three scientists (William Kauffmann, Anthony Xue and Marion Wolfe) on a mission to this alien world to repair the probe and close the black hole.

Their technology is comparable to those of ancient China or medieval Europe, however they have psychic abilities that vary depending on each Talan's "essence": fire, earth, water, or air.

Upon learning of their predicament Xue became unstable, fell out with Kauffmann, and took over the Talan warrior caste, teaching them to be violent and xenophobic.

This directly led to a Talan warrior attacking the probe on sight when it arrives, causing the creation of the black hole that threatens the Earth.

Kauffmann realised that he could not stop Xue, and started the cult of the Ulukai among the non-warrior Talan before his death, preparing them to help Cutter when he arrives.

[citation needed] Outcast features a high-quality orchestral score composed by Lennie Moore and performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and choir.

At the time of Outcast's release, orchestral game scores were uncommon, and Moore's achievement was hailed as "absolutely top-notch".

It was essentially a series of in-game recordings which were made to poke fun at itself, such as Cutter making an advertisement for his backpack that acts much like a magic satchel, by showcasing that he could store house furniture such as doors and chairs in it, or extra scenes involving Nikaa.

[20] Another small bug ("Cyana lighthouse problem") was fixed later by the fan community who also created patches which allow higher display resolutions beyond 512 x 384[21] and widescreen support.

[25] By December, its sales in the German market had surpassed 50,000 units, which Udo Hoffman of PC Player called "a nice number".

[27] Writing in 2009, GamesRadar+ praised the game as "revolutionary", noting that its freedom to explore a three-dimensional open world preceded Grand Theft Auto III by two years.

[31][32] During the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Outcast for "Computer Adventure/Role-Playing Game of the Year", which was ultimately given to Asheron's Call;[33] it was also nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition", which was awarded to Um Jammer Lammy.

[34] Adam Pavlacka reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "If you're tired of FPS madness – and you've got some serious horsepower – give Outcast a try.

[36] In 1999, a sequel, called Outcast II: The Lost Paradise, was being developed by Appeal for the PlayStation 2, PC, and GameCube.

[41] On April 16, 2017, team Eternal Outcasts released the final CryEngine 3 technical demo[42] along with Steam Greenlight submission of the project.

[44] On July 3, 2013, it was reported that Yann Robert, Franck Sauer and Yves Grolet of Belgian developer Appeal had acquired the intellectual property from Atari, SA with the intention to revive the franchise.

[45] On April 7, 2014, a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign was launched by members of the original development team with the goal of $600,000 for an HD remake of Outcast.

Outcast 1.1 was built and recompiled from the original source code with improved stability, higher resolution support (max.

An official remake, titled Outcast: Second Contact, was released on November 14, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

[50] On September 17, 2021, THQ Nordic announced an official sequel titled Outcast 2: A New Beginning for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.