Outriders players can explore the alien world of Enoch in many ways, but one of the chief decisions that will influence a player’s experience is whether they choose to do so alone or with friends. Although the game is billed as a three player cooperative experience, it is entirely possible to do the whole thing in single player. For this reason, many players have been wondering whether or not there’s a way to play the game offline, as requiring an internet connection even when playing solo seems a bit off. The short answer is no, solo gamers cannot play Outriders offline.
When Outriders first launched at the start of April, its unique gameplay, promising premise, and all the hype surrounding it were undermined by intense server issues. Players were constantly getting kicked, sometimes stopping them from completing missions and progressing through the story. This was unfortunate for everyone, but those players that just wanted to play the story mode on their own were particularly peeved by it.
The reason Outriders requires players to be online at all times is because the data for the game is stored on an online server. In most singleplayer games, save files and character data are stored to the console itself, but in the case of Outriders, the player’s character is saved to a server online. This means that if the player doesn’t have an internet connection, they won’t be able to access their character or play Outriders at all.
It’s entirely possible that People Can Fly or Square Enix will find a way to implement an offline mode in the future, but at the moment it seems unlikely. This online only gameplay was probably a choice that the two made in order to keep piracy and cheating to a minimum. This wouldn’t be so bad if there were some elements of online play in the game (think Dark Souls bloodstains and messages), but it is an entirely singleplayer, self-contained experience if players choose not to interact with matchmaking or play with friends.
While reception to Outriders has been overwhelmingly positive so far, this flaw is one of the biggest gripes that players have with it. Even assuming that the player is able to maintain a stable internet connection and play the game, there can be issues on the server side as well. Since launch, those server issues have gotten significantly better, but many feel that they never should have happened in the first place because an offline mode should have been included.
Outriders is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
