Exploration

Overview

Exploration is one of the core pillars of Outbound. The game has a seamless open world with no loading screens. Players drive the camper van between biomes or head out on foot into areas the van cannot reach. The world rewards curiosity: landmarks hide unique items, Signal Towers gate blueprint progression, and environmental details piece together the setting's backstory.

Travel methods

The camper van covers large distances and can go off-road across open terrain. On foot, players reach narrow paths, clifftops, dense forests, and other areas the van cannot navigate. A dog companion can accompany foot expeditions, fetching resources and carrying supplies back to the van.

Points of interest

The world map marks several types of discoverable locations: campfires, landmarks (like the Fire Lookout, Sunbeam Acres Farm, and Lilly's Windmill), utilities, Signal Towers, bridges, and cairns. Landmarks contain environmental storytelling elements, unique items, and sometimes blueprints not available at Signal Towers.

Collectibles

Hidden gnomes are scattered across biomes as collectibles for thorough explorers. Bunnies roam the landscape and cannot be harmed. These details reinforce the game's non-violent, cozy identity.

Environmental storytelling

The world tells its story through what players find rather than through dialogue or cutscenes. Abandoned structures, arranged objects at landmarks (like items from a previous ranger at the Fire Lookout), and visual details hint at the history of the utopian future. The developers have deliberately left some questions unanswered, including why the player is traveling off the grid in the first place.