The Outer Worlds

Game Pass Game of the Week

Number 4. April 28 2021

Game Pass is full of great games. Just this year the catalog was enhanced with the addition of EA Play and Bethesda. And there are more great games coming; I am anticipating the release of Second Extinction and Destroy All Humans to the service. This week, though, I am going to wind the clock back to the fall of 2019 and discuss The Outer Worlds.

The game was released well before the pandemic, which seems like an incredibly long time ago. It is an action role playing game (RPG) from Obsidian Studios. This is the studio behind Fallout New Vegas, a very popular game that established Obsidian as a fan favorite. With the Outer Worlds the studio ventures into science fiction and corporate corruption.

The Outer Worlds progresses linearly through a series of locations, usually planets or space stations. At each location, play has an open world feel to it. The locations are rather small, and travel is done on foot until fast travel locations are discovered.

The art style has the feel of a graphic novel. The environments are brightly colored and beautiful, but the graphic style is not realistic. The cartoony art style also keeps the characters out of the uncanny valley.

Combat is smooth with a variety of weapons and powers acquired through experience. Enemies level up with your character keeping the story challenging. That said, toward the end of the game, your character will get a bit over-powered.

Obsidian is known for character development and engaging stories. The Outer Worlds has a fun if trite story with just enough humor. The humor is subtle rather than being laugh out loud, like say the Borderlands franchise. The cooperate overloads theme resonates today without being too serious.

What I like

I must admit that I really liked the game and made every attempt to play every side mission as well as the main story line. I thought I had found every one, but never received the achievement that would confirm it, so I may have to go back and find what I missed. Outer Worlds completely stepped up the combat. The real time shooting is on par with many of my favorite shooters, including Borderlands (against which all shooters shall be compared).

I love the visual art style and the variety of locations. The companion characters you pick up along the way have interesting stories. These characters also help you with combat when enemy numbers are overwhelming.

What is just Ok

It is too easy. Sure, I could have dialed up the difficulty setting once I realized that I simply wasn't dying enough. But I shouldn't have to. I am a normal gamer, and should be sufficiently challenged on a normal level. The only fight I struggled with was the final boss battle, and even that was completed in a single seating without coming close to a rage quit.

I am not a fan of having to choose dialog options. Your choices matter, but I find it tedious to read through choices to figure out which one advances the story how I want.

What I am not crazy about

The game and it's universe feel small. This one really surprised me. The Fallout games, the apparent ancestry of the Outer Worlds, are grand in scale and scope. I thought the game was rather short too.

It's also disappointing that the DLCs are not available on Game Pass, even more than a year later.

All in all

Overall I really liked The Outer Worlds. I like the combat, powers, and weapons. I liked how your character progresses and grows throughout the game. The companion and other side characters add to the fun. The game is visually stunning. Some of the worlds explode with color and life. And I like how the game gives you freedom to explore each location. Like all my Game Pass weekly picks, this one is highly recommended.