It’s time for a road trip with Heading Out, as you drive to escape your fears on a trip of self-reflection. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Heading Out Review Overview
What is Heading Out?
Heading Out is a roguelike driving simulator that has gameplay akin to older arcade racing games like Daytona and OutRun, a visual novel narrative for its story, an "Americana" soundtrack, and mostly black and white colored comic-like visuals. Every run functions as a DIY visual novel that has you outrunning an embodiment of fear to eventually win against the greatest racer to ever live.
Heading Out features:
⚫︎ Visual novel narrative and fully voiced cutscenes with choices to make
⚫︎ Roguelike driving simulator that has different modes during runs
⚫︎ Variety of genres for driving music ranging from rock, grunge, and more
⚫︎ Comic-like visuals with monochrome colors for high contrast
⚫︎ Multiple car choices and an overarching story
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Heading Out's gameplay and story.
 Heading Out |
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 Steam |
Heading Out Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Comic Book Visuals Roguelike Choices and Gameplay Immaculate Driving Vibes |
Arcade Driving Short Content |
Heading Out Overall - 82/100
Heading Out is an example of amazing usage of different genres and blending them together to create a great gaming experience. While the driving gameplay itself isn’t necessarily deep, as it’s more of an arcade racer, it has a great story, aesthetic, roguelike elements, and even audio design, to back it up. It’s a must-play experience that is definitely worth its price.
Heading Out Story - 8/10
From the seemingly shallow premise of just running away from your fears, the game opens up the narrative with visual novel-esque decisions in a run where you make choices with different consequences. The game’s world will react to your decisions from the different radio broadcasts throughout the run, leading up to the final race. It’s not a very deep story, but the use of the background of your character and the decisions you make is definitely a good way to create a unique tale every run.
Heading Out Gameplay - 8/10
Driving-wise, it’s very basic and arcade-y. Simple manual or automatic car controls for races and drives are what you’ll be using and driving with for 70% of the game. The other part is the roguelike and visual novel elements where you’re driving around America, encountering different people and events that’ll lead to you needing to make decisions. Each run is unique, mainly because the person that you use has a different background all the time, but this makes the experience slightly different and better so that the game isn’t monotonous.
Heading Out Visuals - 9/10
The comic book visuals, combined with the black and white filter mixed with a little red and blue for some aspects, really make the game look good. In motion, the game also looks great, further enhancing the comic book-like aesthetic. If you’re not a fan of the comic aesthetic, it may not be for you, but otherwise, the game embraces that identity and uses it to full effect.
Heading Out Audio - 8/10
The audio design of the game is amazing. From the narration, the sound effects, and most especially, the music. The narration and music are the highlights of the audio design, and they really make the experience more enjoyable and memorable.
Heading Out Value for Money - 8/10
For $19.99, the game promises a unique roguelike driving game with different choices to make and races to win. It’s not a necessarily long game to finish, but it’s definitely worth the fun factor alone.
Heading Out Review: It's More Than Just A Race
I initially thought the game was actually a horror game based on the outrunning the fear part, but I’m kind of glad that it wasn’t. It introduced me to some of my favorite memories of playing arcade racing games like the older Need for Speed titles, and it honestly felt like I was replaying them in a way. The overall aesthetic, the different genres of music for different races and drives, and the narrative—all of these elements pulled me in to keep making me interested in the long drive.
Not everyone will be a fan of the driving, however, since it’s not realistic and it’ll never be. It’s really more arcade-style racing with the occasional drifting, swerving, and navigating through traffic. Controls are also very simple since it’s really just changing gears, braking, accelerating, and such. There’s no powersliding, weapons, or other fictional items that could be used in other racing games.
The roguelike mechanics and the unique events are the factors that make the gameplay interesting, as the different choices you’ll make actually affect your run most of the time. You’ll have to make decisions related to your resources most of the time, depending on what you need. It’s simple but interesting, and I enjoy that kind of game that doesn’t want to overwhelm you too much with different things to manage.
The story is simple and straightforward, but it will keep you interested in every act. The premise is that you’re trying to outrun your fears, race against the greatest driver to ever live, and beat him. After every act, you get more story hints as to why things are the way they are and why they happen. Another part of the story is the different events and choices you make during your run. The radio hosts actually talk about your different achievements, choices, and current state of events, and sometimes they’ll cheer for you for escaping the cops and vice versa.
Using a comic book-style aesthetic isn’t anything new, but Heading Out uses it pretty well. It goes for that black and white core, then blends in the dark red color to symbolize the fear that’s chasing you. In motion, the game is animated really well, and they really double down on the comic book effects with the cutscenes and the driving segments.
They have their own music tracks that all sound really good. It ranges from rock and grunge for the high-intensity races, and sometimes melancholic and jazzy tones for the chill races. Also, it’s good to note that the voice acting is good in the game, with the exception of mismatched voices for the NPCs in the game.
Overall, the game is pretty damn amazing. Arcade-style racing games aren’t super popular nowadays other than Mario Kart, so it’s good that someone is trying to tie that genre with other popular genres. I had doubts about combining the arcade style with roguelike elements, but I’m glad I’m wrong since this game is definitely a hidden gem. More than that, the visuals and music really complete the game’s package.
Pros of Heading Out
| Things Heading Out Got Right |
|---|
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Comic Book Visuals Roguelike Choices and Gameplay Immaculate Driving Vibes |
Comic Book Visuals
The visuals of the game are something that I’m a big fan of. It uses classic comic book-style graphics; from the shading to the use of onomatopoeia, the game really focuses on that kind of aesthetic.
Roguelike Choices and Gameplay
The roguelike elements of the game shine when it comes to the second part of the gameplay. You’ll come across certain events and sometimes people that make you make a decision. These actions have consequences and could even lead to very unfortunate events. The use of the decision points and the different rewards and hazards presented make every run unique.
Immaculate Driving Vibes
The combination of the aesthetic, the music, and the voice of the narrator is simply sublime. There are intense races and police chases that hype you up with the music, and there is the occasional chill drive where you can choose to enjoy the music while driving through the interstate. The overall vibe of the game is immaculate and is not afraid to flaunt it whatsoever.
Cons of Heading Out
| Things That Heading Out Can Improve |
|---|
|
Arcade Driving Short Content Cringey and Mismatched Dialogue |
Arcade Driving
The driving functions similarly to the older coin arcade games you’d play back in the arcades. It’s very simple for both manual and automatic controls and doesn’t really go beyond this type of style. If you’re looking for a realistic style of driving, this isn’t the game for you.
Short Content
The game requires about nine to ten hours of gameplay to complete the main story. Anything after that is basically repetition and pure enjoyment of the game. Runs are typically thirty to forty-minute sessions that you can stop and continue from. It’s not a long game to finish, but the replayability is subjective to how much you enjoy the driving mechanics and the visual novel-style gameplay.
Cringey and Mismatched Dialogue
While I gave that game its flowers for the narrator, the dialogue from the other drivers on the road is pretty spotty and sometimes cringey. Sometimes, the voice lines don’t match since the lines are clearly recorded by different people. They’re used as if they’re spoken by one person, which tends to make it repetitive as well. As for the dialogue, I found some of the radio hosts corny, but that could simply be a case of preference.
Is Heading Out Worth It?
Yes. It’s Time to Outrun Your Fears.
For the relatively cheaper price of $19.99, the game simply has that cool factor that you don’t want to miss. It’s a basic arcade-style racing game for most of it, but the atmosphere, aesthetic, and music really take the game to a whole new level. It’s time to kick it into fifth gear and race across America.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
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| Steam |
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| Price | $19.99 | ||||
Heading Out FAQ
How Long Does It Take to Beat Heading Out?
The devs stated that the game takes around nine to ten hours to beat for the main content.
How Do I Unlock Other Cars in Heading Out?
You can unlock new cars by beating each act, totaling four different choices.
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Heading Out Product Information
| |
| Title | HEADING OUT |
|---|---|
| Release Date | May 7, 2024 |
| Developer | Serious Sim |
| Publisher | Saber Interactive |
| Supported Platforms | PC(Steam) |
| Genre | Visual Novel, Simulation |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| Rating | N/A |
| Official Website | Heading Out Official Website |
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