Overview
Wildlife is one of the defining features of OutboundSquare Glade Games' cozy camper van exploration and crafting game. The world is set in a utopian near future that is largely unpopulated by human characters, and in place of traditional NPCs the environment is filled with wild animals that players can observe, feed, and befriend. Every biome has its own set of creatures, and the types you encounter shift with the weather and time of day. Animals are not targets, resources to be harvested, or threats to survive. They are companions to the journey, and part of the scenery that makes the drive worth taking.
The game treats nature as something to coexist with rather than something to dominate. This approach lines up with Outbound's broader sustainability themewhere living off-grid with solar, wind, and water power goes hand in hand with leaving the world around you unharmed. Whether you stop to watch a group of bunnies from the grass, place a hive for some bees, or cast a line from a lakeside camp, wildlife encounters are a reward in themselves.
No-Combat Design Philosophy
Outbound has no combat, no enemies, and no hostile creatures. You cannot kill, hurt, or harvest animals for meat or pelts. This is a deliberate design choice that reviewers have tested directly. 's Steam Next Fest preview described the game as 'cozy survival through a Pixar lens' and confirmed that players can 'pet the cute bunnies and let the chill outdoor vibes wash over you.' Multiple previews have noted that the camper van cannot run over animals, and curious reviewers who tried to do exactly that found that the game simply does not allow it.
The developers frame Outbound as 'a survival game about trying your best to live, as opposed to one about desperately trying not to die.' There is no hunger meter that forces you to hunt, no predators that force you to defend yourself, and no mechanic that rewards aggression. Survival mechanics lean entirely on foragingfarmingand cooking. Wildlife sits alongside those activities as an ambient feature of the world, not a gameplay loop you have to grind through.
Animals in The Outdoors
The first region players explore is The Outdoorsa mixed biome of temperate forests, open plains, wheat fields, rolling hills, and mountain foothills. This is where most players meet their first wild animals. Bunnies are the signature species of The Outdoors and they appear in meadows, along forest edges, and near clearings. Small creatures scurry through undergrowth during the day, while quieter encounters happen at dawn and dusk.
Because the weather and day-night cycle affects which animals appear, the same clearing might host different creatures on a sunny afternoon compared to a rainy evening. This gives revisited landmarks a sense of living variety and rewards players who camp in one spot long enough to watch the environment change.
Animals in The Coast
The second confirmed biomeThe Coastintroduces tropical shores, rocky cliffs, sandy beaches, redwood forests, and palm groves. The change in environment brings a different cast of wildlife suited to a warmer, wetter, salt-aired setting. Coastal stretches host their own species mix that differs from the plains and forests of The Outdoors, and water bodies along the shore open up additional fishing opportunities.
The Coast is built around scenic exploration as much as resource gathering. The old lighthouse perched on the cliffs is a navigation point for the region, and the drive out to it tends to surface wildlife encounters along the way. Rocky tidepools, beach edges, and dense coastal forests each have their own mood, and the animals you meet in one zone may not appear in another.
Bunnies and Small Mammals
Bunnies are the most publicized wild animal in Outbound and they have become something of a mascot for the game's cozy identity. They can be fed, petted, and observed, and feeding them heaps of berries has a charming side effect: it attracts more bunnies. Previews have described this as amassing 'a friendly army of bunnies' that follows you around. There is no cap or reward tied to this behavior. It is pure atmosphere.
The important thing to know is that bunnies cannot be harmed. You cannot kill them with your van, with a tool, or with any other mechanic. This was confirmed by, 's hands-on coverage, and the Gamescom 2025 preview round. The same principle applies to every other small mammal you find in the world. Interaction is always on the animal's terms, and walking away is always an acceptable option.
Bees and Beekeeping
Bees were added to Outbound through a successful Kickstarter stretch goal. Once the beekeeping goal was unlocked, the developers expanded their existing hive concept into a full system where players can catch wild bees and keep bee colonies inside placed beehives. Hexagonal hive models were designed specifically for the feature and can be set up at your campsite or around your camper van.
Bees in the wild are found foraging around flowering plants and meadows, which makes The Outdoors a natural first stop for would-be beekeepers. For the full production loop, placement rules, honey uses in recipes, and how bees feed into cooking and recipe ingredients, see the dedicated beekeeping article.
Fish
Fish populate the game's rivers, ponds, lakes, and coastal waters. Like bees, fishing arrived as a Kickstarter stretch goal and was built out into a full mini-game where players cast a line from the shore and reel in what they catch. Water bodies appear in both The Outdoors and The Coastwith coastal saltwater adding variety to what freshwater lakes offer.
Fish caught in Outbound feed into the cooking system and can be prepared at a camp stove or kitchen workstation. Fishing rods are crafted like other tools and the mini-game is forgiving, in keeping with the broader no-pressure tone. For rod types, bait, spot selection, catch mechanics, and the list of confirmed species, see the main fishing article.
Interacting with Wildlife
Interactions in Outbound are light-touch and optional. None of them are required, and ignoring animals has no survival cost whatsoever. The menu of things you can do is short on purpose: approach, feed, pet, observe, and move on.
The overarching rule is that no interaction with a wild animal is harmful. You cannot scare an animal into fleeing into a danger zone, you cannot trap them for resources, and you cannot be punished for failing a stealth approach, because there is no stealth system in the first place. Animals exist as part of the landscape, and the exploration experience is richer because of them.
Bobblehead Collectibles
Animal bobbleheads are a collectible system that sits alongside the living wildlife, but they are not the same thing. Bobbleheads are small figurines shaped like animals that players find or unlock during exploration. They are decorative rewards, typically displayed on the camper van's dashboard, and they function as keepsakes tied to biomes and landmarks rather than creatures you interact with in the world.
The collection runs parallel to the hidden gnome figurines scattered across each biome. Both serve the same purpose: giving exploration-focused players something to hunt for beyond pure resource gathering. Bobbleheads and gnomes are inanimate objects. When you see references to 'animals' in Outbound, they almost always refer to living wildlife like bunnies and bees, not to these collectibles.
Birds and Ambient Fauna
Outbound's worlds are populated by ambient fauna that contribute to the atmosphere even when they are not directly interactive. Reviewers and trailer footage describe a living ecosystem across both confirmed biomes, with creatures moving in and out of view as the weather changes. The studio has not published a full species list ahead of the April 23, 2026 launch, so detailed bird behavior and specific ambient wildlife will be documented here as they are confirmed in the final release.
What is already clear is that the game prioritizes variety over volume. Rather than flooding the map with a single stock creature, Square Glade Games has emphasized biome-specific fauna that makes each region feel distinct. That variety is meant to reward slow exploration and repeat visits to favorite landmarks.
Companion Animals
Wild animals are separate from companion animals. The main companion in Outbound is a dog adopted at the Paws & Whiskers Lodgea dedicated location where players can feed, pet, and train their new friend. The dog is a functional gameplay partner as well as a cozy travel buddy, and it can help with tasks during exploration. For full details on adoption, training, bonding, and dog-specific abilities, see the dog companion article, which is also covered in the broader pets guide.
Unlike wild bunnies, a companion dog persists across sessions, travels with you in the camper van, and has its own progression. Wild animals, by contrast, stay within their home biomes and do not join the party. The two systems are complementary: the dog is the one you bring with you, and wildlife is what you meet along the way.
Multiplayer Considerations
Outbound supports online cooperative play for up to four players, and wildlife behavior carries over into multiplayer sessions. Because no player can harm an animal, there is no risk of a co-op partner accidentally or intentionally breaking a wildlife encounter. Feeding bunnies together is a common cozy moment in trailers and previews, and group beekeeping or fishing trips work the same way they do in solo play.
Multiple players can approach the same group of animals at once without scattering them, and wildlife encounters scale naturally to group play. If one player is fishing at a pond while another is setting up a hive nearby, both activities proceed without conflict. The no-combat rule also means there is no friendly fire, no accidental kill, and no griefing angle tied to animals.
Tips for Wildlife Encounters
A few practical habits make wildlife encounters more rewarding, whether you are in The Outdoors, The Coast, or anywhere else you end up on the road.
For new players who are still learning the ropes, the beginners guide and tips and tricks pages cover the wider survival and exploration loop that surrounds wildlife encounters. The most important takeaway: there is no wrong way to meet the animals of Outbound. Stop when you want, feed when you want, and let the road deliver the next encounter when it is ready.