Check back soon
Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.
Hooboy, this is kind of late, *glances awkwardly at Days Gone. Anyhoo, The Outer Worlds is the new (buy which I mean came out in October) first-person RPG by Obsidian, the makers of Fallout: New Vegas. Yes, Obsidian has also made many other high-quality RPGs, but New Vegas is the one everyone remembers. And with Bethesda completely and utterly fucking up the Fallout franchise, leaving it… radioactive, if you will (I'm here all week folks, tip your waitress), now more than ever would be a great time for a New Vegas 2. Sadly, that's not going to happen, so instead we got the next best thing. A brand-new IP that's a spiritual successor to Fallout: New Vegas. Except that's not entirely true, because I'm here to tell you that The Outer Worlds is BETTER than getting a New Vegas 2. Let me explain.
The Outer Worlds plays much the same way as New Vegas, or any other Bethesda-style RPG. You play as a voiceless protagonist in first person, there's a large open world to explore and bugs galore. Well usually, but no, Obsidian outdid themselves here. There are no game breaking bugs. In fact, I encountered zero bugs throughout my entire thirty hours of gameplay. Not. One. It's the most polished of this kind of RPG I've ever played, and maybe that's partly because of the open world. Instead of one giant open world, there's a handful of smaller open worlds all packed with content; dungeons, loot, secrets, and things you really shouldn't laugh at but will. Combat is nearly identical to Fallout; the big difference is the replacement for V.A.T.S. Instead of stopping and aiming at a specific body-part, you can slow down time (think bullet-time from The Matrix) for a few seconds, although as you level up you take perks to make this last longer and have additional effects. But you don't have to rely on combat if you don't want to.
While some combat is inevitable, I built a high charisma character who was able to talk my way out of most things. It got to the point where I could simply walk into a place I wasn't allowed, and then not only lie to the guard who would inevitably run up and ask me what I was doing, but I could make them apologize to me. It was hilarious. The humor in this game is outstanding, and I found myself laughing out loud several times. It carries over the pitch-black humor that the Fallout series used to be known for.
And finally, the companions really stand out. You can acquire up to six companions to join you on your ship, The Unreliable, you can bring two of them with you at any one time. All of the companions are unique with different personalities and combat abilities. They also add passive bonuses that can help with your build. While all of them are three dimensional and well written, I found my favorites to be the mechanic Parvati, and the priest Father Max; both for reasons I don't want to spoil.
To say I had a blast with this game is an understatement. Obsidian has made a better Bethesda game than Bethesda. To anyone who enjoys this type of game, The Outer Worlds has my highest recommendation, and I can't wait to play through it a second time with a low intelligence character.