Tag: The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds [Impressions]

On By fonsoqIn Gaming
  • The Outer Worlds
  • rated M
  • Obsidian Entertainment
  • Unreal Engine 4
  • Release: October 25, 2019
  • PS4, Xbox One, PC. Nintendo Switch (2020)
  • Played through Xbox Game Pass on Xbox One X

With games like Star Wars: Kotor 2, Fallout: New Vegas, and the more recent Pillars of Eternity (not to mention their Black Isle roots) Obsidian has a long lineage of great RPGs. That lineage continues with The Outer Worlds. The game takes place in a universe where megacorporations have decided to colonize the furthest reaches of space. You play as a settler who has been awakened abruptly from cryosleep. You are then thrown into a strange new life where you must discover the true intentions of the corporations around you.

Spacer’s roads take me home

While only 15 hours into The Outer Worlds, I feel Obsidian’s newest entry doesn’t disappoint. It definitely fills the void for FPSs with deeper RPG mechanics that are more like Fallout 3 rather than 4. While it doesn’t have the big open world, The Outer Worlds choses instead to have alot of smaller, but still pretty open, areas available to travel to from your space ship hub. These areas have places to explore and worthy sidequests to complete.

The writing is a good mix of characters being utterly serious while maintaining comic undertones. This is where the game shines. Obsidian has created a great world filled with believable characters. Quests are open ended and can be solved multiple ways. Whether you want to be persuasive diplomat or the ruthless space cowboy, the story is yours to make.

Tagging along on your story are a group of enjoyable companions. For the ones who want to Lone Wanderer it all, you can absolutely do that. While I haven’t met every companion in the game, I feel that each one is worthwhile to drag along. They often talk to each other sharing stories or commenting on their surroundings. Besides chit chat, they also offer bonuses to your character in both combat and skill buffs. Each also has a special move they can unleash in battle. You can tune companions to your liking by choosing their perks and defining their combat roles.

The base game mechanics include a solid FPS base with the options to go in quiet or go loud with the good variety of weapons, skills, and armor loadouts. Weapon and armor mods further fit your playstyle. Each time you level up, you further strengthen your skills as you please and with every 2nd level you can choose a perk. The game also features a “flaw” system where it can give you debuffs and in return will give you perk points if you choose to accept. For example, jumping off high ledges too many times can give you weak legs. This debuffs your movement but gives you a valuable perk point to spend as you please.

According to other online sources, The Outer Worlds can take between 15 to 40 hours to complete. With 15 hours spent in my playthrough, I feel that I have barely scratched the surface and I can’t wait to see what else the game throws at me.

In Summary

  • + A great RPG with great gameplay
  • + Fantastic companions
  • + A good variety of loot
  • + Meaningful choices so far
  • + Fast travel straight into ship
  • – A bit glitchy at times

Stay tuned for the full review!