2021's Outriders is a co-op shooter created by People Can Fly and published by Square Enix. The game takes players to the alien planet of Enoch, which lays the foundation of Outriders' story and core gameplay. Players can enjoy the game solo or together with other 'Outriders' and experience the world of Enoch together in a vast quantity of main and side quests.

The game received mixed reviews upon its launch, with a majority of criticism made towards Outriders' characters and, more notably, its story. Outriders: Worldslayer thankfully releases soon, and there are quite a number of mysteries from the base game that will hopefully be solved in the upcoming expansion.

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What Exactly is the Anomaly in Outriders?

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One of Outriders' biggest unsolved mysteries is the very origin of the phenomenon known as the Anomaly, a key aspect to Outriders. The first settlers off of the SM Flores documented that the Anomaly occurred as soon as they arrived, but the endgame storyline seems to suggest that Enoch's unique environmental phenomenon had been part and parcel to the alien world for much longer. Players' interactions with NPCs seem to suggest that no one has any idea what the Anomaly is, nor why those on Earth couldn't detect the Anomaly before sending off their colonists.

Another thing that has been left unexplained is the effects of the Anomaly itself. The Pax who once inhabited Enoch turned into the Feral when exposed to the Anomaly, while humans exposed to its effects become Altered. Advanced human technologies turned useless beneath the power of the phenomenon, hence why the colonization efforts of Enoch were a failure. However, not all humans turn into Altered when exposed to the Anomaly and not all electronics seem to be effected by its electromagnetic pulse – and the reason as to why that is remains unanswered.

The Wanderer's Fate

One of the best side quests in Outriders is the Wanderer's. Many players suspect that the mysterious hooded figure may be Nikolai Galyatkin, the right-hand man of Caravel mercenary leader Monroy, who is said to be the very first Altered. Although People Can Fly hasn't confirmed the connection, it hasn't stopped speculation among players.

At the end of the three-quest arc, the Wanderer tells players that he will see them again, but players never do. This leads to many wondering what happened to the Wanderer, and if they will truly ever see him again. Perhaps Outriders: Worldslayer will reveal his fate.

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Enoch's 31-Year Civil War

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When players awaken to the events of Outriders, they discover a civil war on Enoch that has lasted throughout their time in cryo-sleep. A core piece to the lore of Outriders is that the war wasn't fought between humans and any alien species; it was fought between humans of the Enoch Colonization Authority (ECA) and the Insurgents who they abandoned.

The backdrop to Enoch's civil war must feature more in the story. It's highly unlikely that one that started out of the need for resources could be carried out for so long, especially since those precious resources had become so scarce as the conflict continued. This is something that could be looked into in the upcoming Outriders: Worldslayer expansion.

Caravel's Technological Advancements

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Although the ending to Outriders explained much that was missing from the lore, plenty more questions still remain. As far as players were concerned, there were originally two colony ships sent from Earth by the ECA to establish the foundations of a human colony on Enoch – the Caravel and the Flores. A catastrophic engine failure caused the destruction of the Caravel before it could even leave Earth's orbit, supposedly killing everyone on board.

However, when players meet Monroy, they discover that some miraculously survived the ship's destruction. The survivors, under the 'guidance' of Monroy, then rebuilt the ship and somehow arrived on Enoch before the SM Flores. Just how the Caravel managed to build a more advanced ship capable of traveling faster than the Flores within a short span of time is a mystery yet to be solved.

The Future of the Pax

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As players continue through Outriders' story, they discover that the Feral were once a peace-loving race called the Pax. They became enslaved by those of the Caravel colony and decided to turn Feral to fight back against their oppressors. The future of the Pax race remains one of Outriders' biggest mysteries.

Going through the Wanderer's side quests, it becomes clear that he wants to discover a way to reverse the effects of the Anomaly on the Feral to turn them back into Pax. Although he failed during the events of Outriders, the expansion may offer hope for the resurrection of the Pax race.

Outriders is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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