Look Outside
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Look Outside
When I saw that Coulombe was involved in the cult classic, Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden, I knew I was in for a ride simply by association. But I wasn’t fully prepared for the depths of creative madness I was gazing into with Look Outside.
Look Outside is a moody horror RPG that is greater than the sum of its parts. Despite having a frustrating level design at times, a lack of map and being a little too breezy, what's forefront and centre is the vibes and setting. Francis Coulombe nails this, providing richly detailed pixel art that depicts grotesque beasties and monsters. Amalgams are made of teeth and limbs. Guys with eye clusters poring out of their torso. The designs are the whole nine yards. It's also a quality little bite-sized RPG with lots of charming systems and tidbits to flesh out the experience. Just, whatever you do, do not think too hard about the flesh monster that is knocking at your door. I promise all is OK.
Look Outside is genuinely one of the scariest games I've played since P.T., and that's an incredibly high bar to clear.
Look Outside is one of the most interesting projects I've played in 2025 so far, and I believe it will find a legion of fans over time. With the surprise release, a good portion of the public will still have a way to go to get to the game, but the project is so solid, different, creative, and thought-provoking that I doubt word of mouth won't have its effect. I really had a scary, impactful, and fun time playing this title, and I hope it won't be long before we see more from Francis Coulombe, a name to keep an eye on in the coming years.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Look Outside is such a solid title. It was appealing in many ways, from the sickening body horror portrayed stylishly to the easy-to-pick-up and play combat and RPG elements.
There are a few places where the game might softlock you, such as if you don't strategically melt away the ice in the ice apartment room. I highly recommend making multiple saves if you're not already in the habit of doing so.
Look Outside is a unique and dense experience. It leverages its relatively short runtime by being fit to bursting with interesting mysteries, meaningful gameplay decisions, characters both eerie and endearing, and a horror aesthetic that knows when to depict its grotesqueness outright and when to leave things up to the player’s imagination. Its mashup of survival horror resource gathering and turn-based combat is less successful for the way the former garners more satisfying engagement than the latter, but even still, Look Outside is an easy recommendation for anyone—but horror fans in particular—on the lookout for something new.
Look Outside absolutely nails the horror-apocalypse vibe while blending in RPG and puzzle mechanics. It’s messed up, creepy, and downright fun… in a weird way. Retro gamers and horror fans — this one’s definitely worth checking out.
