GameSpot reviewer Chris Hudak commended the game's story and cinematic cutscenes, calling it a "movie-worthy experience" and citing the cinematic and musical influences of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns and Ennio Morricone's scores, respectively; he overall praised the game and called it "the most complete and faithful Old West shooter in the industry to date". In a retrospective review of the game, Kotaku editor Luke Plunkett praised the game's soundtrack and called the multiplayer "excellent." Plunkett cited the release of the visually superior "Quake" a year earlier and "Half-Life" not long after as factors that led to the game fading into obscurity for most players. "The Escapist"'s Stew Shearer gave high marks for the game's villains; he called them "fun to hate." He stated that "Outlaws" "isn't just Doom with cowboys; you can tell that the developers put some real hard work into making the player feel like they're the hero in a Sergio Leone flick." The reviewer for "Computer Games Magazine" noted that while the game did not look as visually appealing as its competitors, other developers should "show as much thought in level and multiplayer design."