Like a lot of people, I’ve been spending a lot of the last half day or so poking around in The Outer Worlds. I’ve been excited for this game pretty much throughout its entire hype cycle from when it was first announced, and so far it has lived up to every single expectation I had. I knew it was gonna be good because Obsidian has never let me down before, but it’s still exceeded the hype in every way. The thing that has stood out to me the most, however, has been how invested I am in the story.
Futurama + Rick and Morty In An RPG
The most obvious parallel to The Outer Worlds is Futurama, with its futuristic sci-fi world ruled by corporations. It even features a protagonist that was cryogenically frozen and forgotten, though not for as long as Philip J. Fry was. It also has a touch of Rick and Morty’s humor, as well as a mad scientist that I’ve seen a lot of people compare to Rick. Altogether, it’s a sci-fi world that’s full of thinly-veiled shots at our capitalistic society, but also a number of great characters.
Excellent NPC Writing
The main thing that has grabbed me in The Outer Worlds is the writing for the NPCs. It’s been a while since I’ve cared about the stories behind a game’s NPCs as much as I do in this game. I used to love games with massive, complex stories like the original Fallout games, but I’ve gotten less and less interested in video game stories over the last several years. The Outer Worlds has brought me all the way back, though.
First of all, as you can see, it helps that the character models look great, as do the animations. This helps you connect with the characters. Beyond that, most characters are so compelling that I get lost in conversation with the majority of them. In fact, I had to make a decision early on that would negatively affect one group of characters and positively affect another group of characters (or vice versa), and I agonized over it more than I had for any in-game decision in a long time. It helps that your actions actually have consequences.
True Roleplaying
That’s right, The Outer Worlds is a true roleplaying game, where your character creation choices actually matter. For example, a charismatic character will have unique avenues available, as will a character well-versed in engineering and technology. Your decisions also impact the world in specific ways, meaning that you can’t please everyone. That means that you’re actually interacting with the world and making your mark on it instead of just checking quests off of a list in a game with light roleplaying elements.
Excellent Satire
On top of the incredible writing in general, the anti-capitalist satire is just pitch-perfect, and feels both timely and timeless. You truly feel like you’re in a corporation-ruled hellscape filled with people who have no choice but live as indentured servants. Despite all of that, the game remains funny and avoids being bleak. In other words, it’s just a blast to play, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a RPG to relight that fire inside them.
Play On PC Game Pass, Not The EGS
Unfortunately, The Outer Worlds is not available on Steam (yet), because it was another victim of the Epic Games Store’s anti-competitive strategy. That doesn’t mean that you have to support the EGS though, because you can play it on PC with PC Game Pass (or Game Pass Ultimate)! That means that you can start playing now without having to buy the full game. Happy playing!
