Obsidian’s incredibly hyped new RPG project The Outer Worlds is finally out in the wild, and so far, reviewers are raving over its many virtues. Very little of this praise seems undue, as the game definitely seems to be everything it marketed itself to be. The same cannot be said for some its leading competitors, to say as little as possible on that particular subject.
That said, we pride ourselves on at least attempting to be a little objective here at TheGamer. Nothing’s perfect, after all! But whether or not we’re entirely full of it is, as always, entirely up to you. So keep scrolling as we get down to brass tacks and try to pick apart one of the most anticipated RPGs to hit shelves in the past few years. Here are the five best, and five worst, things you need to know about The Outer Worlds.
10 BEST: The Characters & Writing Are Perfect
We’d may as well kick things off with the fact that Obsidian definitely did what it does best. The Outer Worlds’ satirical gallows humor hits the mark dead-on, entertaining the player and drawing no shortage of well placed chuckles without robbing its commentary on corporate culture and flawed value systems of impact or merit.
Some characters are definite caricatures, but their spoken dialogue still makes them feel as if they have a pulse. They’re complex personalities with well thought-out goals and motivations. Whether it’s sassy shipboard AI ADA, double-talking company man Reed, or chipper-yet-naive companion Parvati, exploring their stories is immensely satisfying.
9 WORST: The Combat Is A Little Boring
It’s hard to hold this against it, since The Outer Worlds has so much more going for it. But if you’re headed into it expecting to have your socks knocked off by a hot and innovative new take on first-person shooting, you’re setting yourself up for some disappointment.
It isn’t bad. It’s clean, it’s functional, and it definitely does the job. But in a nutshell, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel or any of its spokes. The core shooting mechanics feel very light, airy, and lacking in impact. Melee combat is dull and straightforward. Enemy AI is less than spectacular, and the TTD system is essentially just free-form VATS.
8 BEST: The Setting & Lore Are Fantastic
If you needed to describe The Outer Worlds’ setting of Halcyon by way of comparison, you’d wind up with a pretty colorful palette of influences. The aesthetics are very Borderlands, with colorful and vibrant alien worlds rife with unique and imaginative fauna, such as the Canids and Primals.
Thematically, think parts of BioShock and Fallout sort of intermingling in the best ways possible. The heavily corporate motifs of most of the game’s factions echo those of BioShock’s rapture, while the channeling of classical Americana borrows from both it and Fallout.
7 WORST: Character Customization Is Very Limited
Character creation is an easy and breezy experience, but perhaps too much so when it comes to your character’s physical appearance. You get a selection of fifteen facial presets for each gender, and zero configuration when it comes to body type.
After forcing yourself to settle on a face, you’re presented with a lackluster handful of sliders that accomplish very little, outside of a cool spread of hair color options. You’re stuck with the bare bones here, and if you’re a customization enthusiast, you’ll struggle to be happy with the result. Or you can just wear a helmet the whole time and pretend.
6 BEST: The UI & Menus Are Superior To Fallout’s
Direct comparisons between Fallout and The Outer Worlds were inevitable, given that we’re talking about an Obsidian game (and the controversial nature of the direction Bethesda has taken the Fallout franchise in lately). But if there’s one thing that The Outer Worlds does miles better, it’s the interface.
The control schemes are great, the inventory management system is simple and intuitive, and you don’t have that bland Pip-Boy UI staring you in the face for gobs of time every two minutes. Despite the loot heavy experience, it doesn’t feel as if there’s nearly as much time wasted sifting through dense and disorganized item lists.
5 WORST: No Romance Options
Obsidian has gone on record saying that they didn’t implement romance as they didn’t want it to detract from the core roleplaying experience. And as respectable as that is, everybody wants their own purely fictional space lover, don’t they?
Granted, you could go boot up Mass Effect if you’re really looking to scratch that particular itch, but it does still feel like a lost opportunity for deeper character development, both for the player and their companions. Alas, you’ll have no special space spouse in The Outer Worlds.
4 BEST: Skills, Perks, & Flaws
This is where a lot of the Fallout fans that have felt disenfranchised over the last few years are going to going to find themselves overjoyed. The game’s skill system strikes a perfect middle ground between a callback to the hardcore cRPGs of yore and modern convention.
Skills aren’t overly punishing in terms of making the wrong choice, but they carry weight and impact that truly shape the gaming experience. The flaw system, while definitely introducing new challenges, is entirely optional, and provides reward in the form of offering free perk points in exchange for accepting the disadvantage.
3 WORST: It’s A Little Short
Of course, we’ll never feel like there’s enough of a good thing in gaming, but The Outer Worlds definitely feels like it could’ve stood a little more run time. Especially considering how immersive and enjoyable spending time in Halcyon is, for the most part.
Most gamers are clocking in between twenty five and forty hours in The Outer Worlds, and with it being compared to massive open-world titans like Fallout, that isn’t exactly something that works out in its favor. Granted, it’s definitely less of an open-world title stylistically, and there is replay value, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting more to see.
2 BEST: True Roleplaying & Freedom
Obsidian, unsurprisingly, hit the nail on the head when it comes to player agency. And they didn’t stop there, they continued driving that nail until it went clear through the wall. Compared to a lot of its contemporaries, the amount of freedom here is unprecedented.
We have branching plots and quest conclusions, skill and statistic-based dialogue options with real impact, and there isn’t a singular invulnerable “essential” NPC to be had. The Outer Worlds is very much your adventure, from start to finish.
1 WORST: Less Open-World Than We Wanted
Again, this issue presents a bit of a give and take. The Outer Worlds is much more “open” than most in the ways that the player can involve themselves in the plot and resolve the situations they’re confronted with.
However, the “world” part comes up a little slim. You aren’t exactly on rails, and the settings are very much exploration-friendly and non-linear. However, it doesn’t consist of one big, interconnected world as we’ve been trained to expect with games like Fallout or Skyrim, resulting in each area feeling a little more boxed in and instanced.
NEXT: The 10 Most Difficult Choices to Make in RPGs
