Out of This World

Story
Out of This World was one of the earlier puzzle/cinematic games where the player controlled Dr. Lester Knight Chaykin, a physicist who, during an experiment gone very wrong, ended up being hurled to a distant planet. The player had to figure out what to do in order to make his way through the game, solving puzzles in various situations and working with an alien "Buddy" (real name unknown) at times in order to hopefully eventually escape.

Referring to Out of This World as to being a "game" might be a bit of a stretch, as, at times, it might not even qualify as to being one in a traditional sense, as there's no opponents to beat up, hardly any objects to gather, dots to eat, barrels to jump over, etc.

Gameplay
The player is given a certain situation and they must figure out what to do and how to get out of the situation by using ingenuity and a certain control scheme.

For instance, a new game begins in an underwater area, which Chaykin and part of his work area is suddenly transported there. The player must figure out what to do (and rather quickly) to keep Chaykin from drowning and escape from the area.

Once that is accomplished, there are giant leech-like creatures that slither around in a couple of scenes immediately upon exiting from the water, which can kill Chaykin if the player does not dispose of them. The player will also have a run-in with a big beast that chases after them, which, upon escaping the beast, Chaykin will face a couple of locals (on whatever planet he is on) who will shoot him with a laser gun, which he will reawaken at some point in a cage with Buddy.

The game and story evolves from there, as Chaykin, once he is able to escape from the above, acquires a gun that can not only be used as a weapon, but also generates a force field and a super shot that can destroy walls and guards' force fields. Unfortunately recharge stations for the gun need to be found to keep its energy up so the player can defend themselves.

Destroying circuits throughout the game also helps the player out with various circumstances, along with draining a reservoir, helping out Buddy a few times (without him, the game cannot be won), defeat guards and several other dangers in several more compounds, and even manipulate the controls of an escape pod (among other objects) near the end.

If the player is able to beat the game, the final scene shows Buddy picking up a wounded Chaykin, then mounting a pterodactyl, which then flies off.

Trivia

 * The game had two PC releases; the original one in the 1990s and an updated one in 2006.
 * The sequel of Heart of the Alien was only released on the Sega CD. Out of This World was also included in the package.  It is identical to the Genesis version, except for the music, some sound effects, a few minor details during the introductory cutscene, in-game voices were changed, and the controls are a little looser.

Links
Stage Select database entry with a picture of the cartridge and passcodes for all areas of the game for the Genesis version

This article uses material from the Out of This World Sega Wikia article and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.