Summary
Heading Out gives you a roguelike driving experience where you must pace yourself and manage your money. The driving mechanics are solid and there are lots of variations to keep gameplay interesting. Once you beat the game, there’s no incentive to replay the game again. It’s a solid yet short roguelike experience that driving fans will enjoy.
Developer – Serious Sims, Crunching Koalas
Publisher – Crunching Koalas
Platforms – PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5 (reviewed)
Review copy given by publisher
When you are trapped in your car with a bad feeling of deja vu, you must travel across the US to race. You can’t remember much but you know the best racer in the world is in a specific location. Participate in the race and you may figure out where the feeling of deja vu is coming from. The journey isn’t going to be easy as you have an infamous reputation. Between people challenging you to races and police pursuing you, finding the truth will be a struggle.
Heading Out gives you a roguelike experience in the form of a road trip where you deal with several events. Manage your focus, car condition, and money to ensure you can reach your destination. Putting your driving skills to the test gives you great control over your journey. However the game is short and there’s little incentive to return after you are finished. It’s a good roguelike that performs well on the PS5 but may be a short experience if you aren’t a driving fan.
The premise of Heading Out is that you are a driver with almost no memory of your past. You only know two things: there’s a racer you must beat and you must outrun your fear. As you travel, you meet a variety of people and events that influence your journey. However, your fears are never far behind you, forcing you to speed ahead to avoid getting caught. It’s a difficult balance but eventually you reach the world’s best racer to find out what’s going on.
Gameplay consists of resource management as you travel and the actual driving for races. You must manage your Focus and Car Condition which affect your ability to navigate. If your Focus is low, driving is sometimes obscured by your eyes closing. Your Car Condition dictates your speed and car durability; your driving ability goes down if your car isn’t cared for. While you can drive with both in poor condition, it’s easier if you keep both at a healthy amount.
You must also balance maintenance with random events that occur on your journey. There are races for money, events that affect your resources or stats, and police chases. Figuring out what events you should take is a key part of your success. Sometimes you need the money but your Focus is low or your car is ruined. Maybe doing a kind action sets you back more than you can afford. It’s fun to consider the roguelike aspects and decide what you can handle.
If you choose to race or drive through obstacles, you start the game’s driving sequences where you navigate through traffic. Several obstacles crowd the main road and you can bypass some of them with detours. Weaving through traffic is tricky but it makes you feel like a street racer. Driving also gives you more control over the outcome rather than losing stats to random events. Skilled drivers can avoid almost every negative consequence.
Even if you aren’t a skilled driver or racing fan, the basics aren’t hard to learn. You improve as the story goes on, understanding what to look out for and what obstacles hinder your efforts. The feeling of constantly driving whether it’s on the map or through a race immerses you in the gameplay. Overcoming disadvantageous situations with your driving skill gives you motivation to practice and enjoy your run.
However, the game’s enjoyment rapidly decreases once you reach the end of the story. There’s little reason to restart the game unless you want more practice or enjoy the roguelike. There’s no replayability other than going through races or making self-imposed challenges. Unless you fail to progress and repeat the story levels, replayability significantly goes down once you know there’s nothing left to do.
Game length is also short with only four story acts. While this ensures the game doesn’t overstay its welcome, it also assumes that you are spending lots of time failing. However, anyone with experience in driving games could easily finish the game within a day. Even if you don’t play driving games often, it’s not hard to improve your skills. This means it’s easy to reach the end of the story and the game loses its charm.
Heading Out is a fun roguelike experience that immerses you in the fast-paced life of an infamous driver. Being able to influence outcomes and emerge unscathed with your driving skills is genuinely impressive. The fun doesn’t last long without the story though and the game is short, meaning enjoyment is fleeting. But if you don’t mind some driving, Heading Out is a good roguelike on the PS5.
