How to lower the drawbridge and fix broken bridges in Outbound

Your cozy camper road trip in Outbound is quickly interrupted by a raised drawbridge, and the other bridges crossing the river are also destroyed. If you want to keep this show on the road, you'll need to figure out a way to fix the broken bridges so you can lower that drawbridge.

While you can't just swim over to the other side of the river to lower the bridge, the solution is still really simple. It'll just take a few minutes of exploring to gather the necessary materials, then you can hit the road. Here's how to fix the bridges in Outbound.

How to repair the broken bridges

1. Find one of the broken bridges along the river
2. Collect 20 Everwood from the surrounding area
3. Unlock the Sawmill blueprint and build one in your van
4. Turn 20 Everwood logs into 10 Everwood Planks
5. Take your planks and turn them in at the broken bridge

There are broken bridges on each side of the drawbridge—just drive up the road north or south to find them—and those will get you and your van across the river. They need to be repaired before you can cross, and each bridge requires 10 Everwood Planks to fix.

Everwood Planks are crafted at a Sawmill, another little crafting station for your van. Other bridges in the area will require even more wood, so keeping your Sawmill stockpiled with Everwood is a good idea in the early hours of the game.

If you don't already have the Sawmill blueprint unlocked, check the nearby paths for Signal Towers with new recipes to download. Stop at each campsite along the road to clean up Litter in exchange for Download Coupons, too.

Use your new Sawmill to turn 20 Everwood into 10 Everwood Planks (and ignore how that conversation ratio doesn't make sense). If you need logs, you can pick up a bunch in the wooded areas by the river. If you have the Axe unlocked, there are also dead Everwood trees on the ground that you can chop for five Everwood logs each.

Once you have enough Everwood Planks, take them to either bridge and fix it up. The prompt to repair the bridge will appear once you get close enough to it. Make sure the wood is in your inventory as well; they won't count if they're in your van's storage.

How to lower the drawbridge in Outbound

Once you've repaired at least one of the bridges, you can cross the river and start looking for a way to activate the drawbridge. It doesn't matter which bridge you choose; either one will put you on the path to the bridge controls.

After driving to the other side of the river, make a sharp turn and start driving toward the drawbridge. Once you arrive, you'll see a small control center to the right of the bridge.

Head inside and flip the switch to lower the drawbridge. There's also a Bottle Cap on the counter inside. Pocket it for now and test your luck at a Cap 'n Snap machine later.

The bridge will remain lowered after you flip the switch, so you only have to worry about this once. Don't forget to go back and fix the other bridge once you have enough wood too. Having multiple paths across the river will make navigating the first map a lot easier.

The other side of the river has several new resources to discover, including a new type of wood and a tough ore that blocks the tunnel to the next map. You'll need to craft better tools and upgrade your van before you can harvest any of the cool stuff, so keep an eye out for Signal Towers and other prominent POIs with new blueprints to unlock.