- Dutch indie studio Square Glade Games’ second title surpasses 1 million wishlist items
- Electric RV Customization + Off-Grid Survival + 4-Player Online Co-op… Healing Open World Exploration
- “A game embodying the ideal of peace and tranquility”—positive reviews from gaming.net, but mixed media reactions lead to multifaceted evaluations.
Dutch indie studio Square Glade Games and publisher Silver Lining Interactive have officially released the open-world healing exploration game ‘Outbound’ for PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. The Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 versions are scheduled for release on May 14.
“Outbound” is a work that depicts a journey of freely traveling through vast nature by converting a camper van into a personal mobile home. It portrays an off-grid lifestyle achieved by exploring diverse regions such as forests, coasts, deserts, and snowfields, collecting resources, and installing eco-friendly facilities like solar panels and wind turbines.
The game supports modular building, farming, cooking, pet adoption, and up to four-player co-op, and is characterized by a blend of a relaxed travel vibe and survival crafting elements. Having garnered high anticipation with over 1 million wishlists prior to release, this title is currently offering a 10% launch discount for the first two weeks.
A colorful utopian world… an emotional and warm healing feeling
Outbound is realized as a stylish, warm, and vibrant space. There are a total of four distinct regions—from lush forests and sun-drenched coastlines to vast deserts and snowfields—each featuring different visual colors, collectible resources, and architectural conditions. Overall, the color palette, a blend of pastel tones and highly saturated natural colors, faithfully expresses the work’s worldview of a “utopian near future.”
Vibrant yet smooth animations and a warm, sentimental aesthetic are among the game’s core charms; combined with gentle sound effects, they seem to complete the comfortable atmosphere characteristic of a healing game. Moments such as sitting by a campfire gazing at the night sky or tending to crops in a rooftop garden feel like scenes from a real trip rather than a game.
Campervans Become Homes… A Combination of Modular Architecture and Off-Grid Survival
The essence of Outbound is the process of transforming an empty campervan into your own mobile home. Through a modular construction system, you can install workbenches and storage spaces, add a second floor structure to the roof, or express your individuality with various furniture and decorations. Sustainable living elements have also been implemented, such as cultivating plants and mushrooms in the roof garden and gathering wild herbs to cook meals.
Energy management is also a crucial key to survival. Initially, the engine is powered by a bioburner running on wood and plant fibers, and subsequently, sustainable energy is supplied through solar panels and small wind turbines depending on weather conditions.
In addition, you can download new crafting blueprints if you discover radio towers hidden around the world, and a system has been established to collect discarded waste and turn it into recyclable resources.
Traveling with your lovely dog
As you continue playing, the campervan feels less like a simple vehicle and more like a real ‘mobile home.’ You can experience the fun of a self-sufficient lifestyle by opening the trunk to craft fuel, organize resources, and perform recycling tasks yourself.
In addition, you can adopt pets from shelters to travel with, and small activities such as discovering hidden landmarks, collecting garden gnomes, and stacking cairns add to the fun of exploration. The game supports not only single-player but also online co-op for up to four players. You can customize a campervan with friends, explore the world, and enjoy a more vibrant travel atmosphere.
“Love Letter of a Healing Trip” vs. Disappointment with the repetitive structure … mixed media reactions
Reviews from overseas media are generally positive. gaming.net described it as “a game that conveys the romance of a road trip and a sense of community to people tired of city life,” while LadiesGamers also gave it a favorable review, calling it “a game full of comfortable and lovely details.”
On the other hand, some media outlets cited the repetitive gameplay structure as a drawback. XboxEra pointed out that “the fresh appeal of the early stages turns into a somewhat monotonous grind in the mid-to-late stages,” and Creative Bloq also evaluated that “there is a lack of moments that strongly demand strategic choices from the player.”
Overall, the game is evaluated as a title that will provide high satisfaction to users who enjoy the cozy genre and road trip aesthetics. However, some suggest that it may be divisive for players expecting a deep survival system or intense challenge elements.
The second challenge of the Dutch two-person studio known for ‘Above Snakes’
Square Glade Games is a Netherlands-based two-person indie development team founded by developers Tobi and Marc. Their debut game, Above Snakes, garnered attention from indie fans by selling over 60,000 copies in the six months following its release.
Outbound is a follow-up project that builds upon that experience to further expand the global scale and system. It successfully concluded its Kickstarter campaign and garnered high expectations even before its release, ranking in the top 50 of the global Steam Wishlist. It has also received official Steam Deck certification, supporting portable play environments.
Information related to ‘Outbound’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Square Glade Games (Netherlands) |
| Publisher | Silver Lining Interactive |
| Genre | Cozy Open World Exploration / Crafting Simulation / Base Building |
| Release platform | PC (Steam·Epic) / Xbox Series X|S / PS5 / Switch / Switch 2 |
| Release date | May 11, 2026 (Switch·Switch 2: May 14) |
| price | $24.99 / £19.99 / €24.99 (10% discount for the first 2 weeks of launch) |
| Play Mode | Solo / Online Co-op Up to 4 players |
| Steam Deck | Official certification |
| Pre-order wishlist | Over 1 million cases |
| Main Content | 4 Types of Biomes / Modular Campervan Construction / Off-Grid Energy / Pet Adoption |
| Main Keywords | Cozy, Road Trip, Campervan, Off-Grid, Crafting, Cooperation, Nature |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
