The second Outriders broadcast showcases a ton of new information for the game, including how side quests work, how the Pyromancer plays, how the music brings the game to life, and much, much more. However, this Sci-Fi shooter has its RPG elements, and one of those comes in the form of a crew. This was showcased some in the broadcast, with Game Rant also speaking with People Can Fly's Bartosz Kmita (Game Director) and Szymon Barchan (Senior Narrative Designer) regarding the crew.
There are three members shown off in the broadcast—Jakub, Dr. Zahedi, and Bailey—but People Can Fly assures us there are more to join the crew. Outriders are so aptly named as they are the few powerful enough to leave the human settlements of Enoch and adventure beyond its borders. Joining them is this crew aboard a customizable truck and an entourage of sorts in Outriders, which also brings out all the elements of a hub with it, as the truck is described as a "moving RPG village."
Jakub is the player's driver and handles the customization of the truck. He first arrived on Enoch alongside the player 30 years prior as a "bright-eyed youth," but given the players had to go back to cryo-sleep, he's aged and grown considerably. Dr. Zahedi is the scientist, one of few who understands how to save humanity on Enoch, and also handles weapon mods for Outriders players. Bailey gets appointed to the team by Korrigan, the Grand Marshal of Trenchtown, and Bailey nor the team are exactly happy with the arrangement. She operates as the team's gear vendor.
For now, those are the only members of the crew showcased so far, but we did ask People Can Fly how many more characters will join Outriders players: "Yes, there will be more characters, but overall, we tried to keep this group like a trip with your friends or family in the truck. So there wouldn't be like a crowd of NPCs that join you on this rather intimate journey." While it's not an exact number, it's clear that these characters are meant to emphasize the story, and it's understandable that too many characters would take away from that. After all, they're not exactly Mass Effect companions joining in on the fight, but are a support crew there to aid the player.
We want to keep this whole entourage big enough to have a group of supporters, but not so big they would be lost [to the background.]
They do, however, have their own quests, stories, dialogue, and more. It seems these crew characters go relatively deep, but unfortunately for fans of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, these characters can't be romanced. As People Can Fly explains, "we are not creating a game about love stories. Our world is a little bit different, more brutal and gritty, and they have different problems. Survival is the issue, not romance right now." Nonetheless, this shouldn't prevent players from growing close to the crew members, and investing in their stories seems like it'll pay off in the long run.
Outriders releases Q4 2020 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.