When “The Outer Worlds” was announced, the developers, Obsidian Entertainment, leaned heavily on the fact that some of their members created the original “Fallout” games and later developed the side-entry “Fallout: New Vegas,” which is thought by some to be the best “Fallout” game. “The Outer Worlds” definitely has a similar feel to that of “New Vegas.” But going into the game expecting “New Vegas 2,” could lead to disappointment. That does not mean it is a bad game, however, there are many differences that add up to a different experience.
The world or worlds, are not “open” in the sense of a modern “Fallout” game, but at the same time, the game is definitely not linear. Perhaps it is best to describe it as a “semi-open” role playing game. Each world has medium-sized spaces to explore. Players can fly from one world to another, but do not have to go in any particular order, with some exceptions.
The story, dialogue and characters are easily the best part of the game. It has similar charm like “New Vegas” has, with its dark humor and thoughtful undertones. There are many important, and at times difficult decisions players need to make. The politics of the game are much more overt than other “Fallout” games, which is frankly impressive. However, this ends up serving to elevate the tone of the game; satire, after all, is best overt. The various companions are easily some of the best characters one will run into. Even if players typically like going solo in these games, going with companions and doing their quests will be some of the most enjoyable aspects of the game. The characters, in general, are good and usually nuanced.
The quests are very well made. In typical Obsidian fashion, there are many ways to end most quests, usually with some dialogue option if the player has the relevant skill. It should be noted that some quests are disappointingly simplistic, but even those typically have more than one ending.
The character system is mostly good. Like “New Vegas,” the character has attributes they set at the start, and those determine the characters skills. Where it diverges, is when you level up, you raise the relevant “skill groups,” until a skill reaches 50, then you raise it separately. The only bad part of the character system are the perks, which are largely uninteresting. Unfortunately, this harms the flaw system, wherein the player can accept a permanent debuff in order to get one more perk point.
Like “New Vegas,” there is a hardcore mode, dubbed “Supernova.” Unlike “New Vegas,” it is an entirely separate mode, rather than a separate toggle. Supernova requires eating, drinking and sleeping, while also enforcing limited saving. There are three problems with this mode: the limited saving feature can be frustrating, as you can only save on your ship. Companion can be permanently killed in Supernova and since they are incredibly fragile, it takes a lot of management to make them last and even then, they are often in danger. Everything else about the mode is good, but one probably should not try it on a first playthrough, but if the player does, one can change it at any time, but they cannot go back afterwards.
There is so much to this game and most of it is great, though there are some flaws. While it sounds like a contradiction, if one enjoyed “New Vegas” then they will probably like “The Outer Worlds,” just do not expect it to be a complete spiritual successor.
Image from Obsidian Entertainment via YouTube
