''Outlanders'' is a city-building video game developed by Pomelo Games. It focuses on small-scale management of a settlement. It was released for

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and

tvOS tvOS (formerly Apple TV Software) is an operating system developed by Apple for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. The software for the second-generation and later ...

through

Apple Arcade Apple Arcade is a video game subscription service offered by Apple Inc. It is available through a dedicated tab of the App Store on devices running iOS 13, visionOS, tvOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina or later. The service launched o ...

in 2019 and

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

in 2023. A sequel titled ''Outlanders 2: Second Nature'' will be released on Apple Arcade in July 2024 for iOS,

macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

and tvOS.

Gameplay

Players manage a small settlement. They are given various tasks to complete in scenarios, which can involve

resource management In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and effective development of an organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may include the financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or ...

or elements of

construction and management simulation Construction and management simulation (CMS), sometimes also called management sim or building sim, is a subgenre of simulation game in which players build, expand or manage fictional communities or projects with limited resources. Strategy vide ...

s. Settlers are autonomous but can be assigned to jobs. They can die of old age or if players mismanage the settlement, such as running out of food. Players can control settler behavior through decrees, though this usually decreases happiness.

Development

Pomelo Games, an Uruguayan studio, developed ''Outlanders'' for Apple Arcade. The primary motivation for this was to avoid having to find a way to monetize the game. The iOS version was released on September 19, 2019, and it was ported to Windows on March 7, 2023.

Reception

Pocket Gamer ''Pocket Gamer'' is a video game website and former print magazine that focuses on mobile, portable and handheld games. It was launched in 2005 by Steel Media Limited. The publication covers portable and mobile gaming formats, including iPhone, ...

'' identified as one of the best games on Apple Arcade and recommended it to players who want a relaxing city-building game. ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...

'' recommended the Windows port over the iOS version for its better user interface. The reviewer called it "an immensely satisfying experience" and said the scenarios are difficult but fair. ''

Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper S ...

'' said that it is as charming and relaxing as it promises but that it also has a surprising amount of humor, which they praised. '' Macwelt'' recommended it to fans of

real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...

games who want something that plays similarly but is more relaxing. ''Outlanders'' was nominated for best video game in the 2019

International Mobile Gaming Awards The International Mobile Gaming Awards ("IMGA") is an annual competition and awards ceremony that honors outstanding games made for mobile devices. It is the longest standing international competition for mobile games. Notable IMGA winners inclu ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.pomelogames.com/outlanders/ 2019 video games Windows games iOS games Single-player video games Indie games City-building games Video games developed in Uruguay Apple Arcade games TvOS games