—
Burger Witch
Game
Game2024
Heading Out
Developer Serious Sim, Crunching Koalas
Flee your fear and carve your story. Blaze a trail across mythic American highways, where choices twist your tale and danger’s always in the rearview mirror. With roguelike routes, limited resources, and breakneck chases, this isn’t just a drive—it’s your legend in the making. From the Steam store page
200 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Mastodon, Bluesky) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
66
Fresh
127 positive · 66 negative
95% range 59–72%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 127 | 66 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
306 of 432 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
68% recommend · 130 yes, 62 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 192 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (546 of 720 positive).
Players praise the game's unique art style and soundtrack. [1][2][3] Some find the driving controls clunky and the physics unrefined. [4][5][6] The narrative and political themes divide opinion. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
+++ Amazingly fetching visual presentation. +++ Compelling plot and storytelling. +++ Unique and fresh combination of gameplay. --- Overly laborious car controls. --- Questionable replayability. With the frantic and hysterical energy of a Jack Kerouac novel, the stage is set to deliver a captivating narrative in which an American roadtrip meets a roguelike. Clearing all the acts in the story takes roughly 8 hours, …
- [9]
Came for retro atmosphere and a good road story. Got repetitive gameplay, shallow racing, and more political agenda than actual content. The art style is cool. Everything else underwhelms.
- [1]
Don't let the mass amount of mixed reviews sway you too much. A lot of the people complaining about the game seemed to have bought it without actually reading the game description first. What you get here is a solid mix of story, and a great driving experience, with gorgeous visuals, as well as a killer soundtrack. Yes, it is broken up into more than just "race the other drivers". There is a narrative that you are …
- [8]
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, this game. A good friend suggested I buy it, she knows I like car games. And I love this game, but that reason little to do with the cars. It's the stories that go along with it, it's literally a roadtrip game through Real America. Still, things don't make me say "♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥" a lot but... I feel seen here, and it took me while to work out why exactly. Obligatory footnote for that explanation. So, trigger …
- [4]
I can easily recommend this game. I really like it, but there's a couple of things holding me back from loving it. The sound design is great, the story and characters are gripping, the sound design is inventive and engaging. Unfortunately the driving is where it falls apart. Especially at higher speeds the cars feel weightless and hard to control. Overly arcade-y if that makes sense. My biggest bug bear is when the …
Summarised from 34 of the 204 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Heading Out sits at 66% positive across 193 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 200 · most liked firstTLDR: good game, very immersive, but bad writing, especially for political topics. I found the game to be fun in its resource management/driving aspect: the driving is the speed races from need for speed ProStreet but a bit slower and more slippery. That change, however, actually makes the prostreet model better because you can actually predict and strategize. It requires some time to master but it's pretty good when you get it imo. Avoid using the Daytona-looking "European" car. It's trash.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When I first saw Heading Out, I was super excited since I am a big fan of the original Vanishing Point movie and playing a game directly inspired by it was very interesting. I expected a 4–5-hour racing game similar to Need For Speed: The Run enriched with good storytelling and random encounters, and maybe having 2-3 different endings depending on your choices. However, what I got was quite different… Graphics And Soundtrack. I actually like the black-and-white visual style and find it very…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Don't let the mass amount of mixed reviews sway you too much. A lot of the people complaining about the game seemed to have bought it without actually reading the game description first. What you get here is a solid mix of story, and a great driving experience, with gorgeous visuals, as well as a killer soundtrack. Yes, it is broken up into more than just "race the other drivers". There is a narrative that you are following, and a lot of the game is making decisions on how to approach…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, this game. A good friend suggested I buy it, she knows I like car games. And I love this game, but that reason little to do with the cars. It's the stories that go along with it, it's literally a roadtrip game through Real America. Still, things don't make me say "♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥" a lot but... I feel seen here, and it took me while to work out why exactly. Obligatory footnote for that explanation. So, trigger warning, this game deals with a number of adult topics. So if you're the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Man, what's frustrating about Heading Out is there is an incredibly interesting artstyle, world, and lore that keeps you invested. Yet, the actual gameplay just isn't that good. Getting this out of the way first, you do spend more time in the map screen than what the advertising made it seem. I knew this going in because of other reviews, and honestly this is one of the stronger aspects of the game. You have to manage your money, vehicle health, wanted level, your focus (so you don't fall…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+++ Amazingly fetching visual presentation. +++ Compelling plot and storytelling. +++ Unique and fresh combination of gameplay. --- Overly laborious car controls. --- Questionable replayability. With the frantic and hysterical energy of a Jack Kerouac novel, the stage is set to deliver a captivating narrative in which an American roadtrip meets a roguelike. Clearing all the acts in the story takes roughly 8 hours, supposing that each run is successful on the first attempt. The only low…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It has so much potential and I tried so hard to enjoy the game, but overall the game is extremely boring, the stories are simply forgettable, and the radio hosts' dialogues are downright ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Even better the publisher/developers are actually intentionally being deceptive with the game Pros: - Most of the random encounters are intriguing - Unique comic like art-style - The fear system: gameplay wise it introduces another element you have to take into consideration when making choices and I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →2025: The Knightling World War Z VR RoadCraft Tomb Raider IV–VI Remastered 2024: MudRunner VR A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead Exploding Kittens VR Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Heading Out Kingdom Come: Deliverance Expeditions: A MudRunner Game Tomb Raider I–III Remastered And I'll stop here.
neutral · AI labelView post →A lot of people seem to have decided to play this game not knowing what it is. So let me tell you. It is a game that asks you several personal questions (like your fears, biggest regrets, love life, etc) and will use that information to show you people similar to you, and different. The racing is only half the game. Its more like half racing game, half visual novel. You have to manage cash, focus, reputation, fame, time and your car condition. Politics are a part of the game, from the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Came for retro atmosphere and a good road story. Got repetitive gameplay, shallow racing, and more political agenda than actual content. The art style is cool. Everything else underwhelms.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hurts to put a negative review for this one. While the idea and concept is amazing, the execution and realisation is suboptimal at best. The writing is boring and "in your face" type and the gameplay boring and repetetive (feels like a drag on the last chapter). Random encounters are mostly shallow and boring and the poor writing is just glaring there too. Do not get me wrong, I have enjoyed the experience and the vehicle roster of the game, their controls along with absolute…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I purchased this game because it look cool but after playing for about 2 hours Id had enough more woke trash wtf are these DEI company's doing hiring people who really have no passion to make a good quality game just rather push there woke BS i hope this fad dies very quickly and all these people need to go out and seek help because they are all mentally unstable thank you and fu#k your pronouns now like this review if you want me to write more
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoy this game, amazing soundtrack, looks really pretty, and I think the driving is pretty good (can sometimes Jank out), and the main story plot-line and most of the Side stories really tie this world together. I only really have one problem with the game, and its the Rainbow Radio station girl, feels completely out of place for a game that takes place in the 70's (mid Vietnam era). I am extremely left leaning and gay, but stating "I'm gay" and "DAMN MEN" every time she is talking…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I expected a racing game with rouge-lite elements and maybe a bit of a story. Instead I got a game that is more of a pick your own adventure book than a racing game, which would be good if the story was good. At the end of races there are these little radio segments that play to give a bit of narrative, which would be cool if it wasn't for the radio hosts having the most heavy handed virtue signaling, and blatant attempts to relate to the player that just fall flat. There's even a little blurb…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The driving part is very chill even with it on hard difficulty and manual. There is no car part upgrade which was a let down. The story is aight. It gives you a multiple choice survey before you start to adjust the story to whatever trauma you end up choosing, Which just makes the story shallow. The art and music is great but i cant recommend it based on that alone. If you are going to try get it 50% off .
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game gets boring pretty quick - The gameplay loop feels bland and generic. And there's no replay value. Why I don't reccomend it: 1) The driving blows. The physics engine feels primitive - there's no real sense of speed, inertia, or feedback with any car you drive. The controls are clunky, so pulling off anything fancy or fun (like a "drift", or weaving in between obstacles) feels more like a lucky accident, rather than a deliberate action. I think the dev's were going for a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am probably sure this is a nice game, but as a whole, I simply cannot recommend it. For a game focused on driving, there is a shockingly very small amount of it. The story is... certainly a story. It's good in some parts and meh in others. Several locations to choose from to travel to, but of course you only ever seem to see the city you start in. After that, it's watching a dot on a map while you "drive" it to the next story piece. What fun. The driving itself is by far the worst I have…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The car: The car is a brick. It doesn't feel particularly good when you are pretty much in a straight line, and it feels awful when you have to take a turn at 90°. It's not too "arcade" or too "simulation", it's just at best "not annoying". Don't buy if you are looking for a driving game because it's clearly not the main point of this game. The OST: I mention it only because they mention it on the steam page of the game, otherwise it's forgettable. They try to sell you a fantastic soundtrack,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is not the game they advertised. This is not a racing sim, this is a "look at a map the whole game and follow a dot" Wait for a sale, its not worth it at full price.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great concept and art style, driving with demons and style. I love the fourth wall breaking meta kind of aspect it has. Makes you think about and reflect on yourself's past. Soundtrack also is very good to awesome and well suited for easy listening outside the game.'Same old road' on the soundtrack hits me hard emotionally (thank you father for finally telling me how it was). This whole experience has a full additional level that's waiting to be discovered below the obvious at first sight.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's alright, was expecting something similar to Road 96, instead it's a lot of shallow stories that have very little depth. Let me give an example of a story so you can judge if the game is for you (This is a summary and not word for word of a real game moment): Cops are messing with african american teens because all cops are racist (hurr hurr), without having any context would you like to rev your engine so that the cops who must be racist are distracted and pursue you, or do you leave…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very middling gameplay and very surface level stories and the absolute boneheaded decision to add traffic jams to a racing game make it a very underwhelming experience
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A really enjoyable car game that's not afraid to try something new and different which I respect
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For a story that tells me it's all about me (the character in the game), nothing really relates to me, beside some meta game outputs. I felt more involved as the protagonist of need for speed underground. The driving feels uninspired and off. After you've seen the three basic types of races, they are just a chore with rubber banding enemies. The feeling of speed is all over the place, and while the little animations are cute, they are super boring after the tenth time that you saw them. I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a little rough around the edges but oozes passion from every facet. unique gameplay loop and storytelling choices, and very solid core moment to moment driving
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The replay-ability is questionable due to the rogue-like gameplay with a good but mandatory story. (And yet, two days later thinking on it; i re-downloaded it.) but all things considered I enjoyed this experience. If they ever get around to making a sequel with some updated content (mostly cars, visuals, custom music and maybe game modes), I'll be playing it and imagining it'll keep me hooked for quite some time. gives me heavy Queens of the stone age "go with the flow" music video vibes
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SHORT, NARRATIVE DRIVEN GAMEPLAY. FEELS LIKE A ROAD TRIP THAT GOES ON IN A LOOP. THERE SHOULD BE A FREE ROAM VERSION TOO APART FROM THE MAIN LINE; INCLUDING THE STORIES AND RACES IN-BETWEEN. THAT'D ADD TO THE REPLAYABILITY OF THE GAME.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →more hipster nonsense luring you in with vintage cars. This game tries so hard to be a therapist propagating to an agenda. Its marvel. Its Disney. You don't need this game. spend the evening with your friends or better yet, play mad max, forza or just get in your own car and drive. It'll be a better experience
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →On the surface Heading Out looks like it's a High-Octane Driving Road trip, but in reality it's staring at a map with filling progress bars while progressive political propaganda is shoved down your throat. It doesn't even give you the choice to change this, even with the Visual Novel tag, because all choices are black and white without nuance. The races are the only highlight as they're completely based on the musical track length, which allows for some variable difficulty depending on your…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finished the first Act (sub 2hr), already got a repeating talk-radio segment. Does not bode well. The writing is just not good. It's vanishing point but with absolutely zero subtlety. It's got that "The writers think their audience can't think and need to be bludgeoned with the themes for them to understand it." thing going on.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game needs steering wheel support and starting points other then just detroit.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →alright, concept its good. execution no so much. Driving feels Arcade-y with a clear difficulty curve. its decent but gets old rather fast. Graphics are highly stylized, it goes all in into the black n white comicbook style, thats about it other than that its rather unimpressing. Voiceacting is cringe. particulary on races, game also goes Woke, gets preachy honestly the best thing on this game is the soundtrack. fits the game well enough, therefore i wont be adding it to any playlist anytime…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The concept of this game is very intriguing. Love the Persona-like graphics. Narration is soothing, but could be better. The attention to detail when making, ESPECIALLY with your FIRST CAR being MOPAR... Horrible. The game classifies in detail as "Immersive" but Muscle Cars are LOUD... where's the exhaust noise? The Point mechanics for Fame per level is not that great either... The Devs need to add more range to the "Near Misses" or add a 3 point system for when the Player executes a "Near…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →P. S. If you have difficulties in the walktrough, this guide will be very useful: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3561496240 GLOOMY ≠ COOL Heading Out from Serious Sim (the name is definitely hype, yeah yeah...) and Crunching Koalas makes a bold entrance as an ambitious blend of racing, roguelike, management, and non-linear storytelling on PC. The idea, where you play as a mysterious Interstate Jackalope battling fears, the cops, and resource shortages, while…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heading Out, developed by Serious Sim and published by Crunching Koalas, is a narrative-driven driving game that immerses players in a stylized, comic book-inspired world. Released on May 7, 2024, the game invites players to embark on a journey across mythic American highways, where every decision shapes their story. With its unique art style, dynamic gameplay, and emotionally resonant themes, Heading Out offers an experience that blends high-speed racing with introspective storytelling. The…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yeah, it plays like a road trip movie - a crappy modern reboot one. Oddly politically-charged for some reason, & does a very poor job at capturing/portraying literally anything about the 1970's (which the game takes place in) or outlaw roadtripping (which is literally the premise of the game). Choice options are often completely oddball - stuff that I don't think anyone in the player character's position would do. Or even have the chance to encounter. There's rarely an option to just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A Road 96 that goes Vroom. The game is really good. The only negative comments come from those monkeys who didn't watch the trailer and are like, 'ouh ouh, no racing game ouh ouh. It's a kind of Telltale game, but with race and cars.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This definitely wasn't what I thought it would be. Looked like a fun car game, sort of an Outrun style game maybe with more of a roguelike approach to progress, but instead what this is turned out to be some highly narrative driven almost storybook game. The driving is broken up into what feels like almost minigames, just a simple outrun the timer or an opponent sort of thing, most of the time you are just managing a simple map and making "do this or that" decisions. Then there's the radio…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well... Generally the game itself has confused me naturally through the gameplay. Mechanics and aesthetics, theme, especially the protagonist is super appealing unlike the rest of it. How could the choice features possess any rational meaning if the final ending remains one and alone in the game. It simply pointless to make it up for people and anyhow manipulate your reputation, your fame or even storage making absolutely no SENSE. The ending left me incredibly overwhelmed for I did actually…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Alot better than you would expect it to be for a black and white game, the fear mechanic can be very very stressful when your up against the wall and need to run, the car handling on the other hand can be a little wonky at times.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the game needs more in it's main gameplay loop or to end by act 3. act 4 I was sick of driving and that was the main gameplay loop. I never struggled for resources on balanced. I didn't find any bugs or issues with controlling it. Other than if you go a little too far off road it dulls the background audio as if someone was speaking but they never do. The music is good but as the gameplay is based on music it needs more songs. They aren't listen to one song days on end good.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I jumped in blind to this game, thinking it was a driving game but it was mostly map screen. I think story is driven by player and there is not an actual story but pieces of things you put together. Expected a lot more long roads. Wish it had more driving and generated roads so playing the game would be endless.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can easily recommend this game. I really like it, but there's a couple of things holding me back from loving it. The sound design is great, the story and characters are gripping, the sound design is inventive and engaging. Unfortunately the driving is where it falls apart. Especially at higher speeds the cars feel weightless and hard to control. Overly arcade-y if that makes sense. My biggest bug bear is when the physics engine just seems to completely lose its grip on reality and you go…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Console versions of the roguelike driving game Heading Out now have a late August release date. Full story: traxion.gg/heading-out-... #Indie #IndieGame
neutral · AI labelView post →Great game - story was interesting, and a very unique way of presentation. I thought that the driving would be the crutch and the storytelling would be a drag - but it was quite the contrary. In fact, I found myself looking forward more for the story than the driving, especially towards the end when I was dealing with 3-4 police chases in every state. The soundtrack is an absolute banger and the radio hosts have such personality - my only real issue with the game is the sun glare while…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An arcade-y racer with a nice story and beautiful presentation. The way the game uses color in an otherwise black and white road is fantastic and the design philosophy is something I'm genuinely left in awe by.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not going to be my favourite game ever, but in general I was pleasantly surprised. The choice to give the player only some specific driving segments and leave them on the "world map" otherwise was initially jarring, but the further the game progressed, the more I enjoyed those moments of relaxation. Overall, I feel like it's a neatly executed, well directed game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay was okay. Story was absolutely cringe. Maybe get it on a sale?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game lacks any controls customization, so if someone needs to change key mapping like me, he can't. Sadly, that makes the game unplayable for me, which is a shame because it looks interesting.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A game with muscle cars and anti-muscle car propaganda The most incessant innate ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ridden radio hosts i have ever heard(did yall even watch vanishing point or just the fkn preview?) the soundtrack is bad despite this i actually enjoyed the game because ♥♥♥♥ the police and its fun to run from them
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is pretty good, racing feels good, cars are weighty and feel like they're barreling down the roads. The story is pretty good. My biggest issue is that the "hours until fear gets you" just genuinely doesn't work well. There's been more than once were I've rested for 7 hours and I've been ahead of fear by 9 hours and it still somehow hits the city I'm resting in and loses me the run. If it's not accurate why have that as a feature? Other than that though this game's fun. Super stylized,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great game, great premise, great setting, and it makes fun of henry kissinger
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cops: "Pull over!" You pull over. Cops drive past you. Profit
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm mixed about this game, On one hand it's something I wanted. A cross country road trip, racing, and with narrative choices. It being short is a blessing and a curse, it is short enough for me to want to finish it, but the gameplay loop starts to become a drag. Even though I haven't seen every mini encounter I definitely got the same one's a few times. The main story is fine, I feel like the writing takes a few cheap shots to make you feel something, I do feel like the writing could be better…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love the base concept of this game. I could easily play it for hours. But then we have to talk about the story and D.E.I, abc, we don't like men crap thats all through out it. I want to like this game but the story makes it ruins it. Now they come out with a number 2 with out the d.E.I crap and fix the car slowing down during races. I be first in line for it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is buns. The game presents itself as a roadtrip sim with neat driving physics and mechanics with some roguelike mechanics; What can go wrong? A lot. Not to the protagonist though, literally nothing negative happens to you outside of stat decreases, because there is no protagonist. It is a sockpuppet to further the narrative and views the game pushes; You choose three social attributes at the start of the game and that determines how people talk to you and your internal monologue's…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The hook for me in this game was the graphics style, there is something special for me in black-and-white with an accent color style, but I didn't expect a multiple-choice narrative from a car game. The best part of this game is the radio commentary, which has different stories based on player progression. Eventually, they started to repeat, but some were funny every time I heard them - they reminded me of talking on the radio in GTA games. I did not care about the story, it felt like a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quite a nice surprise, got this and compulsively played through it once in a sitting. It's rough around the edges, but addicting to play. It feels solid to play, the visual style is neat and the quirky little things like the radio station DJs give it a distinct feel. I'd love to see this concept expanded into something bigger and more diverse in terms of moment-to-moment gameplay.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Woke garbage trying to push homosexuality literally within the first 15 mins, not to mention its a driving game that you literally dont drive in most the time, you just coast on a map... genius design, thats exactly what i want in my "immersive driving sim"
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A heady Americana road trip, straight in the heart of guilt, obsession and the early AM static.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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