Nightdive Studios is the master of getting me interested in something I had no idea about. I say this because the team has released remasters and modern versions of games I’ve loved, but also those I didn’t know existed, and some games people consider bad. As someone who adores first-person shooters from the ’90s and even grew up with many of them, there were tons I never played for whatever reason. I covered this in my recent book review.
Back in August, Outlaws + Handful of Missions on Steam was renamed to include (Classic) in the title. When this happened for Dark Forces, it ended up leading to a remaster being announced. This is when I saw friends speculate about a potential remaster, but I hadn’t actually played or even really looked into Outlaws + Handful of Missions at that point. I decided to buy it on Steam in case it got delisted. Nightdive announced a remaster soon after, and I’m actually floored at how much fun I’ve had with Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster on Steam since earlier this month. I didn’t have pre-release access to the Switch version, but I have been playing it a lot since launch day for this review.
If you’ve not played or heard of Outlaws before, it is a 1997-released first-person shooter by LucasArts using the Dark Forces engine. It features a Spaghetti Western film-like experience with incredible cut-scenes for the time and fantastic music that I cannot get over. Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster includes the original game and its expansion remastered for modern consoles and PC platforms with a plethora of extras and online cross-platform multiplayer.
While I didn’t expect to care much about the story, I think the voice acting and cut-scenes are really great for when it was released back in the late ’90s. You play as James Anderson, who is a retired Marshal. He comes home to find his daughter missing and his wife on her deathbed. Anderson picks up his guns and sets off to find his daughter.
The core gameplay might feel a bit simple today, but I think it plays wonderfully in this remaster with a new weapon wheel option, gyro controls, and generally with how responsive and snappy everything is. I decided to avoid watching trailers or gameplay until getting the remaster, and was pretty surprised to find out you could even swim underwater. Nightdive has done an amazing job with making Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster play well today, but it still looks like the original. In fact, I had to swap between the classic and remastered visuals by pressing the minus (-) button on the controller to see how much care went into preserving the aesthetic for higher resolution displays.
I’ve also had a chance to try out the multiplayer with randoms online. I found joining rooms and getting into a game worked well, though I haven’t had a chance to play with friends yet. The online holds up well based on my experience playing Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster on Nintendo Switch 2.
Visually, I have no complaints with Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster. Everything scales well on modern displays and runs perfectly. The Switch version takes a bit longer to load compared to when playing on Switch 2 via backward compatibility, but it isn’t too long. I hope we see a Switch 2 upgrade with mouse controls, though, since it would be great to have those here in addition to the gyro controls that work well.
In addition to the base game and expansion remastered, Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster includes a pretty exhaustive vault featuring storyboards for cut-scenes, the soundtrack, a look at the software used to create Outlaws, colormaps, renders of weapons, characters, the UI, and even press artwork sent on a CD back in the day. My only small complaint with the vault is that there are two fantastic interviews Nightdive has done in its podcast on YouTube with Clint Bajakian on the soundtrack and Kevin Schmitt on the level design. I wish these were included here to watch in-game.
Clint Bajakian’s soundtrack is probably my favorite aspect of Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster. It is shockingly good with how it captures the vibe of Spaghetti Westerns, but I want to highlight one specific track: The Last Gunfight. After hearing this track, I half expected a Metallica opening song to play. Yes, it reminds me of The Ecstasy of Gold quite a bit, but the soundtrack overall is superb. Including the full soundtrack in this package really adds to the value.
Speaking of value, Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster is priced like the Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster. This is more than you’d expect for a remaster of an older game, but I imagine the licensing was a nightmare. As someone who initially wasn’t sold on a $30 remaster of a single game like this, I’m more than satisfied with the release.
Nightdive Studios absolutely nailed the Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster release because it managed to get its hooks into me as someone who never played the original, and it did so with a release that controls wonderfully on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. I hope this gets a physical release like the upcoming System Shock remake, because I’d happily buy one.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch
Review copy provided by Atari and Nightdive Studios
