''Outernauts'' was an

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for

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. Developed by

Insomniac Games Insomniac Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Burbank, California and a studio of PlayStation Studios. It was founded in 1994 by Ted Price as Xtreme Software, and was renamed Insomniac Games a year later. The company is m ...

, it is the developer's first social video game, as well as their first game for a non-

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platform. The game is published by

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and was released as an

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in July 2012. It was announced by Insomniac Games that the game would no longer be available on Facebook from January 31, 2014, and would be ported to iOS. The game was shut down on February 1, 2016.

Gameplay

As Outernauts, players must explore alien planets to capture and nurture creatures with which to do battle, in gameplay similar to the '' Pokémon'' series. Player actions are limited by "energy", an in-game resource that accumulates over time, but which can also be purchased with real-world currency. Critics praised the game's presentation, with ''

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'' noting its "classy cartoon visuals, slick orchestral soundtrack and finely-tuned UI." ''Eurogamer'' commented on the size of the game's world, describing how even with a week of play, most of the galaxy map had yet to be unlocked. ''GamesTM'' too, praised the game world as "interesting to explore", the characters "providing a sense of unknown that continues to entice". Inside Social Games compared the depth of ''Outernauts'' gameplay favorably to other social games, but warned that the social viral mechanics, such as "nag screens" and "pay to win" mechanics would ward off the core gamers it set to attract. ''GamesTM'' likewise, found the energy system to be the game's biggest hindrance, and one which could frustrate by interrupting gameplay. Despite this, ''GamesTM'' concluded that ''Outernauts'' was "a step up on most Facebook games".

Closure

On December 14, 2015, Insomniac announced that all the microtransactions options were removed, and that the game is shut down permanently on February 1, 2016. Insomniac explained that the current player base was too small, and that the overall game became unprofitable.

References

Notes References

External links

''Outernauts''
at

Outernauts Facebook cover fan art
{{Insomniac Games 2012 video games Electronic Arts games Facebook games Flash games Insomniac Games games IOS games Science fiction video games Video games set on fictional planets Video games developed in the United States