Review: The Outer Worlds

It takes another developer to bring out the best Bethesda (kinda) game since Oblivion and Fallout 3, The Outer Worlds from Obsidian is brilliant in many ways. Now that the developer is part of Microsoft Studios I really can’t wait to see what they will do with the sequel. (And for the love of everything that is holy, please make a sequel) It has some rough spots but not only is The Outer Worlds one of the best games of 2019, but it might also be remembered as the best new franchise of the Xbox One and PS4 generation. Here is our (fashionable) late review!

What we liked!

• Dialogue and story: Obsidian always shines with dialogue and The Outer Worlds is pushing it to the extreme. Unexpected and surprisingly dark conversations with much comical relief moments really stand out, it doesn’t matter if you play main quests or not the dialogue is always on point. Issues between religions, five different companions and hilarious side stories make this a dream for RPG players. It made me laugh out loud, multiple times! It made me feel hatred against characters and most importantly it made me doubt my conversation replies. This is another reason why this part is so impressive the choices you make really make a big difference, changing the outcome of the colony.
• Environmental design: The world has such a distinct style, it doesn’t matter where or when you play it, you immediately recognize the design style. Beautiful in every way, they made such a believable new world with some magical colorful environments that simply put a smile on your face.
• Replay value: Your first playthrough will roughly take 25 hours, give or take. What is important to notice is that replaying this game is totally worth it! There is more than just trying to be the good or bad guy, each different dialogue option opens up new possibilities, playing with different squad members opens up new roads and ways to advance the story, I even became friends with someone that was a boss fight in a previous playthrough. Absolutely crazy stuff and a massive compliment to Bethes… , excuse me Obsidian, for pulling this off.

Somewhere between

• Combat: The Outer Worlds comes with a time dilation mode, similar to VAT from Fallout. Aiming at specific body parts will cause effects on the enemies. While this sounds nice I ended up with not really liking this gimmick. Gunplay doesn’t feel tight enough and a little unresponsive even. This is the elephant in the room, as this is something that every similar game in the genre has. NPC’s and enemies are plain stupid too, never going for cover or flanking options. I don’t want to sound too negative as the combat remains fun but it could have been a lot better, maybe for the sequel Obsidian?

What we disliked

• Forced menu moments: Listen, I think everyone prefers smooth gameplay over forced time-wasting in all kinds of menus, right? Not being able to track more than one quest, recharging your health needle, all of that requires some extensive menu work, that often feels a little repetitive and redundant.

Obsidian has shown the world why Microsoft bought them. The Outer Worlds is a tremendous accomplishment. This is the RPG that this console generation needed so badly and simply features the best dialogue in a game ever. I do hope that everyone discovers this wonderful game, be the good guy, be the bad girl or something in between, there is always something new to discover!