Although I play this on the Xbox X and not a computer, I really like this game. It's not completely open world, but each area has stuff to do and choices to make that actually have meaningful impact on the ending.
This allows for replayability and I'm currently on my third play through and having fun since there are different factions in the game that will either like you or dislike you based on your choices.
I'm siding with factions I didn't side with before in order to see what the ending will be. It's also deep in a sense that you can open computer terminals and read log books and find out more about the story and I believe find clues as to what the plot is in the next game that as yet is still in development.
Outerworlds has its own issues between humans and corporations... much like our world. The characters are relatable and have deep layered issues which makes the game interesting and challenging, having to face your own personal issues, when you choose the wrong answer, but there's never a wrong answer is there?
Add to that formula a living world that doesn't try too much. The art direction is interesting, the local flora and fauna are surprisingly welcomed when traveling between areas if you are bored from too much fast travel. If you take your time, admiring the world, the game feels fresh after a long day.
10/10 for putting that much effort in dialogs, many multiple ways to develop your character, simple and satisfying graphics, great voice acting and great stories with tricky problems to deal with.
The Outer Worlds is an excellent RPG in the retro-futuristic setting with meaningful choices, intriguing plot, high-quality writing, diverse characters, and likeable companions.
The controls are responsive and rebindable, the visual style and its technical implementation are beautiful, and the soundtrack and VA are good.
My only complaint would be the itemisation - too many generic "Level X" items, too few unique ones.
No broken quest bugs, game crashing glitches or anything, for me, anyway. I hope it can be modded more, I'd like to see more of the galaxy after the downfall of Spacer's Choice (if you happen to go that route).
First off, let's be clear that 5 stars means that out of a random selection of 5 games among what you'd expect of this genre, this game is likely to be the best of them. I don't mean to say that this is a perfect game and there are better.
It is a first person action RPG, similar to games like Fallout, Cyberpunk, and Elder Scrolls. Stylistically, I think it most closely resembles Fallout, and I'm inclined to compare with that, because I consider Fallout to be a gold standard for this genre. If you're thinking about buying this game and haven't played Fallout (and thus this review isn't helpful), get Fallout 3 or 4 or Fallout New Vegas, instead. This is really a very similar game, and those are unequivocally better.
This game has the same building blocks as Fallout -- a big (semi-)open world, levels, attributes, skills, weapons, crafting, NPCs, quests and side quests, and a rich narrative with many possible endings. The game has a fair variety of weapons -- blunt melee, sharp melee, guns, grenade launchers, flamethrowers, plus some quirky (and powerful) "science weapons". Your skills really affect your style of gameplay. Perks and armor are less interesting. Your companions have pretty complicated personalities, each with a story/quest arc that contributes to an end-game narrative.
Some people complain that the game dries up about halfway through, and it feels true. This game has a shorter play-through than some games in this genre, and the majority of the game takes place on the first two or three of maybe 7 total areas. It feels like those additional locations could have gotten a similar treatment to the first few and doubled the play time. However, if you accept the fact that the first two worlds *are* the majority of the game, and the story moves a lot faster when you get past them, I don't think that's a serious problem, even though it feels like the pacing is uneven. You should be close to maxing your character at that point, though.
