This cozy camper van survival game takes the best elements of The Sims and Stardew Valley and puts them on wheels

16.02.2024 - 19:29 / gamesradar.com / Hope Bellingham

We've all dreamed of running away from the stresses of modern life and living in the forest, and this cozy campervan survival game lets you do exactly that. 

Outbound is an upcoming open-world survival game with cozy and crafting elements that are very reminiscent of games like Stardew Valley, House Flipper, and The Sims. Set in a utopian near future, players will leave their mundane office jobs and reset with just an empty camper van and a dream. 

From here, you'll need to build, explore, and scavenge materials to craft with and customize the inside and outside of your house on wheels - players will need to not only survive but thrive in their new environment. From the looks of the trailer below, there's more to Outbound than just stringing up fairy lights and picking out some throw cushions to chuck inside your camper. 

There's some decorating to do, but it's also about upgrading your van by making technological advancements and using natural energy to power your home. This means you have to worry about things like solar panels, weather conditions, and growing your own crops.

This game really does tick a variety of boxes for many different genres, taking inspiration from survival games, simulation games, cozy games, and more. It also follows my current favorite indie game trend of designing tiny rooms. This isn't the only cozy camper game we've seen lately either, Camper Van: Make it Home is similar to Outbound but focuses more on organizing the inside of the vehicle, similar to Unpacking.

Outbound hasn't got a release date yet, but you can keep up to date by wishlisting it on Steam, following its developers on Twitter, and backing the project on Kickstarter - where it's set to launch soon.

Take a look at our upcoming indie games list for even more hidden gems to keep an eye out for.