Heading Out Review

Blending genres can often lead to some truly innovative, great games. However, it can also lead to a title stretching itself too thin and not excelling at any one type of gameplay. Heading Out, co-developed by developers Serious Sim and Crunching Koalas, attempts to blend racing with roguelike elements, all wrapped up with a visual novel method of storytelling. But… can this slick-looking title pull it off? Or is it another case of all flash and no substance? Let’s take a look!

You take on the role of Jackie, an outlaw on the run, as they journey across America. Our protagonist isn’t only evading the police, though, as they will constantly have to outrun (outdrive?) their Fear. Taking on the form of an eerie red mist, if this catches up to Jackie, it’s game over, so they’ll need to be constantly on the move from town to town.

Each of the game’s acts offers various story sequences that you’ll play through in order to progress. Not everything is tied to the main narrative, but small choices can have big ramifications later on. Each scene is played out via comic book–style panels, narrated by an unknown voice. Although I would have liked to have seen a bit more character development, especially when it came to Jackie, this journey across America was an engaging and intriguing tale, and much more than I was expecting.

Style-wise, Heading Out is an eye-catching, aesthetically pleasing game that really impressed me. Similar to Sin City and the like, this greyscale world is interspersed with splashes of vivid colours. Be it a rival car’s bright yellow paint job or the red lights of another vehicle’s brake lights, these comic book visuals sure do make this title pop!

Sound design is also of a really high quality. The various radio stations offer a selection of tunes to listen to as you play, but the hosts are the true standouts: they’ll react to the choices you’ve made, often in humorous fashion, and whilst some will applaud your acts, others will act negatively towards you. It was genuinely surprising, and made each faceless voice feel like an individual with their own unique opinions.

You’ll spend the majority of your time with Heading Out looking over the map screen. Here, you can take part in small scenes, rest, repair your car, and choose which route to drive next. It all boils down to managing your time effectively enough so that the Fear doesn’t catch Jackie. Sure, your car does need fixing, but can you really afford that hour of time lost? These non-story-based decisions the player will have to make creates a rather tense atmosphere, and although I wasn’t constantly being caught by Fear, the persistent threat was enough to keep me planning very carefully.

Once you’re on the road, certain map markers dictate what sort of events will unfold. Some will see you having to escape a police cruiser, maybe you’ll partake in some street racing to earn some cash? Perhaps the most entertaining were the random encounters, with the weird and wonderful citizens of this macabre world helping to shape your story and improve Jackie’s reputation. With multiple routes for each leg of the journey, a full playthrough may not take more than a few hours, but there’s certainly enough replay value to be had.

As for the actual driving aspect, the handling is passable, if a little too floaty. It’s far from the worst driving I’ve experienced in a game, but Heading Out’s cars can feel like they’re drifting around on ice. I did appreciate each of the unlockable vehicles feeling different to drive, however. Whilst one may accelerate rapidly, it’ll struggle to take corners at high speeds, whilst another may not be quick off the mark, but handles tight turns much more efficiently. Again, they still aren’t the best to control, but having some variety was a nice touch.

Heading Out has some interesting ideas and executes the majority of them very well. Whilst some more fleshed-out characters and smoother car handling would have been nice, it’s the narrative that kept me truly engaged. Not only that, it just looks effortlessly cool, with some well-written dialogue sequences, especially from the radio announcers. Racing fans may be disappointed by the lack of driving on offer. However, if you’re after a visual novel that has a bit more gameplay than the usual, then this is definitely a title to check out!