Developed by Pomelo Games, Outlanders 2 is a worthy sequel to the original title — but its sandbox mode falls flat while the campaigns shine.
Building a town from the ground up is no small feat — and in video games, it’s a task that usually requires vast screen real estate and a pair of readers to see all that tiny text. But with Outlanders 2 — the city builder/life sim developed by Pomelo Games available exclusively on Apple Arcade — I can build a thriving town while I ride the subway to work or wait for my laundry at the laundromat.
A sequel to the popular PC game, Outlanders 2 maintains the original’s aesthetic and vibe: the muted color palette, the low-poly characters, the thematic focus on nature, the pleasant acoustic guitar music. That means some players are probably disappointed that they can’t play Outlanders 2 on their PCs, but this game successfully translates the typically vast view of a city builder and all its intricate metrics for mobile — and in portrait mode, no less.
Outlanders 2 is also available in landscape mode for Mac and in portrait for iPad, but no matter what Apple device you use, you’ll need an Apple Arcade subscription. As a frequent mobile game player, though (and as someone with small hands), I like that I don’t have to hold my iPhone awkwardly in landscape mode or sit at my desk while playing a game like this. What’s more, the other mobile city builders I’ve played are fraught with other mobile game ads and prohibitive in-app purchases.
Regardless of my personal infatuation with the existence of a big game I can play while I’m in transit, though, Outlanders 2 is just plain fun. Just like the original, the campaigns (called stories in game) are where this game really stands out from others like it. First, you’ll progress through Pablo’s Quest, where experienced outlander Pablo teaches a group of new settlers (and the player) how to survive in the Outlands.
