After 2 years of legal drama, this indie RPG is back on sale and even has a new Pokemon-like sequel on the way

Screenshot from The Outbound Ghost: Reborn, showing two ghosts made out of paper floating through a grassy field.
(Image credit: Conradical Games)

The Outbound Ghost, a turn-based RPG riffing on Paper Mario, has been haunted by a strange legal drama that left it delisted for almost two whole years. That curse has now been lifted, its legal troubles sorted, and there's even an all-new sequel on the way.

The Outbound Ghost's removal from Steam and the Nintendo Switch eShop was so odd because its own indie developer Conradical Games is the party that issued a copyright strike. The developer's beef was against the game's publisher, Digerati, however. At the time, Conradical Games claimed that it had not "received a single dollar in royalties from the publisher," which was also allegedly "underreporting revenues" and refusing to fix unresolved issues in the console port - claims that Digerati refuted. The whole debacle left The Outbound Ghost in limbo, until now, that is.

"The lawsuit is over," Conradical Games announced on social media. "The Outbound Ghost is back!" Alongside the original game's return to Steam and Switch - plus "new platforms coming soon" - the developer revealed that a sequel has quietly been in development, too.

The Outbound Ghost: Reborn runs with the first game's lovely paper art style and turn-based, timing-oriented combat, but also adds a Pokemon-ish twist to the formula "where the monsters you use are ghostly figments of your imagination." Best of all, the sequel will be "100% free for all Kickstarter backers and Steam players." And if you've been a fan of the cutesy 'n' spooky world, there's a "new game in the same universe called Soul Stalker" that's in Steam early access now, and is coming to all consoles on October 24.

 Want more? Check out some other cool upcoming indie games on the horizon. 

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

Read more
Screenshot from OFF showing a monchromatic scene haunted looking white-collar working looking down at a smaller spirte.
The cult classic RPG that inspired countless weird indies, including Undertale, is making a comeback after 16 years
Key art for Overdungeon shown in the Nintendo Switch release trailer.
Despite Nintendo's Palworld lawsuit rumbling on in the background, developer Pocketpair releases its old roguelike card game on the Switch
The Sinking City 2
After a years-long battle with its publisher, Ukraine-based studio reveals first gameplay footage of survival horror sequel The Sinking City 2, launches Kickstarter, and hits $100,000 goal in hours
Awaria
The Helltaker creator has a new free game with ghost girls instead of demon girls, and after less than a month it's got over 9,000 Steam reviews at 96% positive
Realm of Ink
This slick Hades-style action roguelike with 92% positive reviews mysteriously vanished from Steam and the devs say they don't know why
a colourful overworld where a sprite rows a boat through a magical ocean
The follow-up to a weird RPG with Undertale energy and over 10,000 overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews is, you guessed it, another weird RPG that's already flying on Steam
Latest in RPG
Dragon Age 2
Veteran Dragon Age dev says one big delay is better than several small ones: "You are laying band-aid on top of band-aid on top of band-aid"
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing Astarion, a pale male elf with short curly white hair and red eyes, looking over his shoulder with a smirk on his face
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor comes face to face with what might just be the best merch to come of the RPG yet – a 5-foot Funko Pop figure of his character
The Witcher 3 screenshot of Geralt
Avowed and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tap into the same thing that makes The Witcher 3 so compelling – and it's something I'm always looking for in RPGs
Atomfall
Atomfall boss "very familiar" with Baldur's Gate 3 director's frustrations with publishers, as he recalls horror advice that games are "faster to make" if you "make fewer bugs"
Official art for Hopetown, featuring a group of miners looking towards the camera.
The battle to steal the Disco Elysium successor's spotlight continues as former and current ZA/UM devs reveal teasers for their new RPGs simultaneously
Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Zero Dawn's Aloy is the star of Sony's leaked AI-powered character prototype, which allows users to ask questions to an unsettling, emotionless version of the protagonist
Latest in News
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog
Dragon Age 2
Veteran Dragon Age dev says one big delay is better than several small ones: "You are laying band-aid on top of band-aid on top of band-aid"
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dark Souls 2 fans remind Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima that he won’t be taking the DS2 acronym that easily