Outplayed Review: No One Ever Said That Falling In Love In Virtual Reality Wasn’t A Thing

I hate interactive verticals. Despise them. It’s a play to cost more money and I am already spending enough. Besides that the choice that costs coins aren’t that different. So I will keep my pennies and press the free options. After all, I will not be outplayed by the app. I fell for spending money when it came to Candy Crush and moved on. Outplayed pissed me off because it was an interactive vertical.

I am not a gamer, but I do enjoy a vertical that stars Cameron Porras. If you are on social media – Porras is quite captivating which makes you want to watch him. He has this fun, IDGAF attitude that is enjoyable. He translates that into his characters that he plays which makes you want to watch.

Even if it is something you wouldn’t normally watch. Gaming? Hard pass, most of the time that is.

Outplayed is something I normally wouldn’t watch. The series is about, “Brooklyn is a broke college student from the trailer park. But online, she’s Echo—a fearless gamer gunning for the $50,000 Blackgrove Reign tournament prize, her one shot at freedom. To win, she has to dethrone Thorne, the reigning champion. What she doesn’t know? Thorne is really Ethan—the hot, cocky frat king who also happens to be her TA… and her best friend’s older brother. After they butt heads in real life, Ethan discovers Brooklyn is Echo and enters the game to toy with her—only to find himself drawn to her skill, fire, and spirit. Online, they become unstoppable partners. Offline, they’re bitter rivals. When will Brooklyn realize Ethan is Thorne, and can these sworn enemies stop fighting long enough to see they’re perfect for each other?”

Going between virtual reality and real life – Outplayed gives a look into how a relationship builds. Brooklyn is Echo and Ethan is Thorne. At the beginning the two have no idea that they are the players in the game. What they do know is that Ethan is Brooklyn’s roommates brother. He’s a frat boy with an attitude. He’s got an attitude, thinks he’s hotter than he is, and doesn’t seem to know how to control himself.

Brooklyn is open about the fact that she is a gamer. She needs to win a tournament for her school tuition. College hasn’t been easy and she has no help. Her Mom is a drunk who seems to think that being rude to her daughter and taking advantage of her is the way to be a Mom. This has made Brooklyn very independent. She just runs into issues when Ethan breaks her VR glasses.

Cass makes apologies for her brother, but asks one thing of Brooklyn – to stay away from him. People have used her over and over again to get close to her brother. She hates that – rightfully so.

But, even if you make promises, it doesn’t mean that you can always keep them. Brooklyn is drugged at a frat parrty and ends up loosing her virginity to Ethan. Something that should stay under wraps – but Ethan makes it known. He’s teaching a class that both Cass and Brooklyn are taking. Because he can’t figure out Brooklyn, he resorts to public humiliation, swinging her panties around on his finger, letting everyone know that Brooklyn left them in his room.

Frustration grows with Ethan – at least from me – because he doesn’t seem to know how to not be a jerk to her. He is rude at every turn, not understanding girl code and wants what he wants. But Brooklyn draws a line and that makes him take steps to have her in virtual reality if he can’t have her in real life.

But that doesn’t mean that it’s not going to spill over. When he tells Brooklyn that he loves her in the game, he’s angry when that is not returned. He confronts her in class, where she tells him that it doesn’t count – he said it to her in the game.

As the gamers all figure out who each other is – the quest to win spills over into real life. Dirty tricks make you wonder who it is that will win. It is Thorne and you would think that he’s spending it on what he needs, which I guess he does. He pays off Brooklyn’s tuition for her entire four years. He wants to keep her around – as he loves her.

Outplayed isn’t bad. It’s quite entertaining. The biggest issue with it? It’s one of ReelShorts interactive dramas, and those are just a money grab. We pay so much money to watch the shows, that asking for more through the purchase of coins feels like a slap in the face. It is annoying and feels disrespectful in a way.

It’s not that the actors in this vertical were bad, but it definitely was not cast all that great. Only one character felt believable and that was Ethan. The other characters felt like someone stepped out of acting class and bought their parts.

I wanted to turn it off, but I watched it – is Cameron Porras. He carries it. I think that he is an actor that deserves more respect put on his name. Yes, I get the stigma of verticals, but you can genuinely tell that the actor gives all that he can. He is passionate about his craft. The actor is also passionate about his fans.

Porras pours himself into his roles and with all the verticals that he is in it seems that he respects his fans and knows that they are paying money to watch. Therefore he’s gonna make sure that they get their moneys worth.

Outplayed is worth the watch for him, but also because it’s fun even if you aren’t a gamer.