Heading Out Review: Wholesome Road

Presenting Gameffine’s Heading Out review

Road Movie games are a different vibe altogether. In the last 10 years, games like Road 96, Kentucky Route Zero, Spiritfarer, Final Fantasy XV, Metro Exodus delivered heartfelt stories about coming of age, camaraderie, humanity as well as provided deep social and political commentaries. Serious Sim of Radio Commander fame and the chill dudes over at Saber has cooked up a new game to add to this ever-increasing list. Aptly titled Heading Out, it’s a mishmash of different genres and ideas, presented in the style of a road trip exploring Americana. Too vague? We got you covered — Presenting Gameffine’s Heading Out review.

Long Road Ahead

Heading Out is a clever blend of a Visual novel, a racing game, a Roguelite and a Management sim. As the store page rightly points out, “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” In Heading Out, it’s the journey that matter the most. As the player is put into the shoes of a speed freak dubbed the Highway Interloper. Each playthrough begins upon answering questions regarding our unlikely hero and deciding what made them go on the run. The first playthrough puts the player in the driving seat of a muscle car and lets them go on a cross-country trip about self-discovery, acceptance, and redemption (maybe). The destination is pre-set, but the game gives the player total freedom to choose how they reach it.

Heading Out is not just about driving from A to B. The map spans several states, littered with stories, events, people, and locations to discover, interact or to drive on by. These are conveyed through short, storyboard-esque visual novel scenarios, while the racing and chasing parts of the game takes place in traditional real-time fashion. On top of these, players are required to manage their fuel consumption and energy. Running out of both results in a game over, and fatally crashing the car too many times and by getting caught by the police. But, game over isn’t the end. In a Roguelite fashion, hitting a fail state simply means that you get to start over and get to experience different events and outcomes. I just wish that the UI was a bit more controller-friendly to do all this.

The American Dream

While all of it might sound confusing, let me assure you that it really works. While the race ‘n chase part of the game is solid (albeit a bit repetitive), it’s the human stories that won me over. Heading Out handles sensitive subjects like racism, sexuality, marginalization, mental health and other social issues very maturely. These mini-stories are told through events and NPCs and through several radio jockeys who seem to have a special spot for your outlaw antics. The stories and events get randomized each playthrough, boosting the replayability of Heading Out. Some stories even have multiple parts, slowly unraveling through the course of the Interloper’s journey. But, if these are not your fancy, these can be skipped completely in favor of advancing the Interloper’s reputation and fame through races, chases, and stunts.

If the above features are not enough to convince you to purchase, Heading Out, then maybe the aesthetics will. Heading Out features a stark black & white world, with bright red and blazing yellow making sporadic appearances not too dissimilar from Betrayer and Hellscreen. The art department has done such heavy lifting to make the game unique as well as feature a dreamy, surreal vibe, separating itself from its contemporaries. Then there’s the fantastic soundtrack. The 19-song OST sets the vibe and tone for the game and alternate between putting pedal to the metal and peak existential dread. Kudos to the art team and audio director.

Real Talk

Heading Out offers a unique blend of high-speed races, road move vibes and colorful tales of the Americana backed up by a stellar soundtrack and a unique visual style. Even when the races and maps tend to be slightly repetitive, the stories do not.

FINAL RATING: 80/100

Heading Out Review

Presenting Gameffine's Heading Out review. Heading Out is an immersive driving game inspired by classic road movies developed by Serious Sim

Price: $19.99

Price Currency: USD

Operating System: Windows

Application Category: Game

Editor's Rating:
8