At launch this game would be a good value at $25 maximum. 4 years later Epic is charging $50, this is obscene.
The game feels like it was made with a bunch of default unreal 4 kits and mods. It has zero AI. Repeat, No AI at all. Any and all NPC interactions only happen once. Zero replay value. You can do all the stealth options and every other option at the same time with no repurcussions, nobody cares where you walk. The shooting is so easy and dull it has zero punch behind it, and you grind everything up instantly. The only thing I can remember liking about this game is Parvati, your sidekick character. And I don't remember anything else besides walking around a cyberpunk area with no one caring I snuck into every room and stole everything. I got about 80% finished before I stopped cause it was so boring. Save your money unless its on sale for 15 bucks.
Obsidian Entertainment is one of my favorite companies in the industry, simply because they make some of the most well-written and well-designed narrative RPGs ever. The Outer Worlds is arguably their most ambitious release and it was well worth the wait to get it on GOG. Where Mass Effect was Bioware's own version of a KOTOR sequel, The Outer Worlds is like Obsidian's own version of a KOTOR 2 sequel with some Fallout and Borderlands thrown into the mix and that mix is glorious.
Let's get this straight: do not go into this expecting New Vegas 2. Don't go into it expecting a full, open world, either. However, you CAN go into it expecting a deep, narrative-driven roleplaying sandbox full of interesting characters, a unique plot, great humor, a phenomenal art style, fantastic world building and a deep-seated sense of space frontier gunslinging goodness.
Let's get the weakest stuff out of the way: first off, the shooting mechanics, while serviceable, certainly aren't the best I've ever seen. This is an RPG, though, so that's hardly a major issue. I also feel like some of the companion features could have been more fleshed out. However, other than those two issues, I'd say The Outer Worlds excels in every other way, especially in the ways that truly matter.
From the ability to influence dialogue based upon your character build to the sheer level of freedom you have when playing through the game's story, this game is a true roleplaying experience. I never once felt like I was artificially limited in the way I pursue my objectives. Blend that with excellent writing and you get a narrative-driven RPG that should be a modern classic, on par with the greatest of its peers.
If you've ever wanted to just explore distant star systems, running around with a Han Solo-like swagger as you make your way through your stellar surroundings, this is literally the game for you. Obsidian did it again and this game absolutely gives me high hopes for the future of RPGs.
Unpopular opinion - this is an ambitious RPG that fell short of what could have easily been. The setting/premise is interesting at its core, but it was implemented in an extreme manner making it a caricature. It does have humor, but it is also harder to be immersive. The worst part is that it resembles a looter-shooter. There is loot everywhere, once again, taking me out of any possible immersion that an RPG game should have. The gun play and stealth are considerably basic. The highest level of difficulty has a lot of “difficulty by annoyance”, and there is a too big of a gap between the highest and second level.
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It's hard to know how to rate this game. On the one hand, everything is more or less in place. It's a servicable RPG. It has characters, it has quests, it has a variety of environments, it has various shootin' and RPG systems to interact with. It tries. I wouldn't feel right giving it a 2, in light of this. But the only reason it's not a 2.5 is the system only allows me to give full stars.
The graphics are...aggressively ugly. Just a riot of messy textures and garish colors. Rather than inspire awe at alien worlds, it just gives you a headache trying to make sense of the environment visually. There's no sense of mise-en-scene or environmental storytelling, they just gob assets into areas until they're overflowing with junk. Nothing seems to be placed with care, it feels rushed and thrown together.
The voice acting is...it would be polite to call it pedestrian. Some standouts, but most is cringe inducing. The writing vacillates between bland and an extremely strained attempt at "zaniness" which might punch some folks' humor ticket but frequently left me rolling my eyes. The goofy corporate angle is fun for five minutes and then is driven into the ground over the running length of the game. The companions, outside of one, feel banal and derivative. The story is ramshackle and never has any sense of momentum or emotional investment.
The shooting mechanics are flat, the weapons lack any sense of punch or power, the status effects are hugely annoying and visually hideous, the AI is one dimensional (stand around until one shot is fired, at which point they all throw caution to the wind and beeline the protagonist) , the bestiary is extraordinarily thin with the same 3-5 enemy types repeating on every planet, to be shot at with the same 5-10 weapon types. Shotgun becomes shotgun 2, assault rifle becomes assault rifle 2, etc. There are a selection of mods, but their effect in terms of gameplay is minimal.
Obsidian feels like a studio in something of a slow, sad decline.
