A unique career against fear and one's own personal realities.
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Developed by Serious Sim and Crunching Koalas, Heading Out was a game that caught my attention from the moment I saw its trailer on PC, and it finally arrived on Xbox to delight more than one player. I think it’s convenient to analyze this title starting from its unavoidable references, which I consider very important to review for those who dare to get behind the wheel in this release.
Initially, the game is heavily inspired by the movie Vanishing Point (in some Latin American countries, it was called “Carrera contra el destino” and in Spain “Punto límite: cero”), which curiously had two versions, the original from 1971 and a remake from 1997, the latter starring the great Viggo Mortensen in the role of the protagonist and featuring Jason Priestley (Brandon Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210) as The Voice, a narrator who accompanies Kowalski’s adventure while crossing the United States in a white Dodge Challenger. All these elements, in one way or another, are present in Heading Out, from the Dodge Challenger to the different voices that accompany the story from the game’s radio.
Heading Out tells the story of a person (whose gender is never specified) who is on a poetic mission to escape their fear, although fear, in this case, is quite tangible. The different characters refer to the protagonist as “Liebrelope,” a legendary animal that is a mix between a hare and an antelope, and yes, in a certain story, it can be found on the road. While the game takes place mostly behind the wheel of the car, escaping from the police, running races against opponents, or simply driving from one point to another, a large part of the game develops as a text adventure in which different situations are presented, and it will be the player who must decide on one path or another, with some weight in the final consequences of these choices.
The title takes place in the United States in an era close to the 1970s, something that can be seen in the car models that appear on the roads (including the player’s own) and in some news that is given on the radio stations; although many do not conform to the reality of our world, in fact, there is talk of a civil war in Canada that forces Mexico to close borders, something that never happened.
Put it in first gear and step on the accelerator; you’ve run many races in your life, but never against your own fear. The fuel for this adventure is your own survival. Join me.
Technical Section
Perhaps the graphics may not be to the liking of a mass audience, but I think they are a genuine graphical marvel. The story is portrayed as if it were a graphic novel, completely in black and white and with only a few small things in color, such as the sirens of the patrols, traffic signs, and fear, whose crimson color will always have a sinister presence wherever you go in Heading Out.
But it’s not just the colors that make the graphics stand out; the comic book-style format of the stories makes the player momentarily transform into a comic book reader, or the appearance of a frame with a foot on the accelerator, brake, or gearbox when accelerating or braking, a truly brilliant detail.
The music has a more than principal role in the game’s mechanics, as the start and end of the races or chases are 100% connected to the playback of a musical track. The rhythms that accompany the game go from rock and roll to jazz, without leaving out country sounds, but all of them left me pleasantly satisfied during the analysis, although of course, I had my favorites, like you surely will. In fact, you can listen to it directly here.
Within the sound section, there are also the different radio stations that add flavor to the story and report on the player’s progress. Each of the announcers has an editorial style and will be more in agreement with one action taken by the player than with another, and even the stories will vary. The performances are well done and feel natural in these recordings; the only problem is that by the fourth act, many of the voice-overs are repeated, and it would have been interesting to incorporate a bit more variety.
A negative point, at least in the Xbox Series version, is that I had several problems with crashes that were somewhat frequent during the long and beautiful hours I dedicated to this analysis, which, equally, I do not regret for a single minute.
The title is localized in our language, both in the interface and in the subtitled audio, with the option to choose the Iberian or Latin American variant.
Gameplay
As I mentioned in the first paragraphs of this analysis, saying that Heading Out is a driving game would be limiting it. We are facing a production that mixes driving, text, and also adds a rogue-lite aspect that must also be part of the equation. Dying or failing only opens the doors to new opportunities and to step on the accelerator again through the roads of an entire country.
I was struck by the questions the title asks the player before starting each act, inquiries about first loves, betrayals, sorrows, and joys whose level of depth left me absolutely surprised. The answers, which can also be random for those who do not want to have such an introspective journey, will have an impact on the adventure and on the stories that appear there, in one way or another.
The concept of escaping fear is transmitted in time. Fear will be drawn on the map as a red line, and a counter will indicate the distance to which it is located. It will be the player who must manage the times, calculating the exploration in each of the cities, the roads that can be taken to reach the destination, and the need to generate income to pay for fuel, buy items, and rent accommodation to gain concentration and not sleep in the middle of the road.
Each of the races, whether alone or against a rival or several, even the escapes from the forces of law and order, are not measured in laps or times; simply in finishing first before the music that is being played ends, something that is represented by a cassette on one end of the screen. Solving some stories and winning or losing races directly influences the level of fame and karma that the player generates throughout the act and can serve to perform certain actions or receive some rewards, although it can also cause adverse effects if the number is negative.
Most of the time, the game takes place behind the wheel of one of the 4 available cars, each of which is unlocked in each act of the game, and beyond its appearance and some variation in speed, no other significant changes are appreciated between the vehicles. The rest of the adventure takes place on the map of the United States, to see where to advance more effectively, where you can increase or decrease the speed in the different sections. Personally, I would have liked it if those segments could be done while driving, or at least have that option.
Duration
The game is divided into four acts that start from the same point on the map, what changes is the destination to which you must arrive, each time farther away as you advance in the story. Additionally, the acts end in the same way, trying to challenge the best driver of all time and ending with the same sad ending, until reaching the final stretch of the title.
Heading Out is not a long game, about 5 hours will be enough to complete the story, but it offers a lot of additional content in the form of stories to follow that have to do with the level of popularity and karma that has been built. Even some quite entertaining challenges that increase the replayability and could be said to double the base hours of the production.
Conclusion
Heading Out is an indie loaded with good ideas and with an excellent execution in general. My main criticism is the lack of car options; it would have been great to be able to customize the vehicles or have some more options of that style at hand, but really, this has been a game that fascinated me from the first moment, and I tend to think that the feeling can be shared by other players.
Get this production if you’re looking for a different experience, sometimes very reflective, sometimes loaded with action, but that will relax you just the right amount and leave you with a smile on your face when the final credits roll.
Translator and video game localiser with a passion for retro titles and simulators. He has never let go of a controller since he was given an Atari 2600. He collaborates with different developers in the localisation of their titles into Spanish through Camelot Translations.
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