Not Obsidian's best work, but a solid role-playing game that is hopefully the beginning of a larger story. Played on Steam.
STRENGTHS
Wide level of role-playing. Stealth and diplomacy are as viable as combat. A good degree of non-linearity and sequence-breaking is permitted i.e, you can find a mcguffin before the quest-giver even asks for it.
Works out of the box and requires no mods to get running. Never coughed and died on me like New Vegas despite loving that game.
Combat can be a cluster-fudge but it strikes the right balance between player skill and RPG elements.
Has numerous changes to the WRPG formula I hope become commonplace. Inventory-management is easy, there are no inane hacking or lock-picking mini-games, you can respec your build for a small price, and companions never break your stealth.
TRAITS
~ You might have to tweak the ini, to avoid that signature Unreal Engine pop-in.
~ The game has 20 hours of content, about half the size of New Vegas. Rest assured it doesn't outstay its welcome nor does it end in an inconclusive cliff-hanger. It keeps itself modest and doesn't end with half the last act missing (KOTOR II), leading to a sequel that will never come (Tyranny), or have a major faction with meagre side-content (New Vegas' Legion)
~ The difficulty can be a bit too easy overall. I recommend Hard for a first-time player since you can even the odds of battle with two allies wearing top-of-the-line gear.
WEAKNESSES
- The last zone Byzantium is the one place that suffers from cut-content. Outside of some story-beats there are only a handful of rather lame fetch-quests.
- Some good looking vistas feel underutilized. Roseway is the prettiest zone but you can wrap up your business there in an hour with little incentive to smell the flowers.
- Some quests are a little predictable if you've played other role-playing games. There's the "Broken Pedestal" trope, the "Secret Clan of Cannibals", and the "Sinister Retirement Euphemism".
CONCLUSION
I would recommend The Outer Worlds when in the 30-40 euro price range. It's a solid role-playing game that hones a lot of Obsidian's conventions and aims to create a new setting out of whole cloth. As someone who grew disgusted with the direction of Fallout after New Vegas I welcome anything else that lets me skip a fight with a [60 Lie] skill-check. It is above all a modest game that doesn't hit the same highs of previous Obsidian games, but never sinks to the same lows like being bugged up the arse (Alpha Protocol) or having the 3.5 edition of D&D (Neverwinter Nights 2)
It's not the Best Choice, it's Spacer's Choice.
Not Obsidian's best work, but a solid role-playing game that is hopefully the beginning of a larger story. Played on Steam.
STRENGTHS
TRAITS
~ You might have to tweak the ini, to avoid that signature Unreal Engine pop-in.
~ The game has 20 hours of content, about half the size of New Vegas. Rest assured it doesn't outstay its welcome nor does it end in an inconclusive cliff-hanger. It keeps itself modest and doesn't end with half the last act missing (KOTOR II), leading to a sequel that will never come (Tyranny), or have a major faction with meagre side-content (New Vegas' Legion)
~ The difficulty can be a bit too easy overall. I recommend Hard for a first-time player since you can even the odds of battle with two allies wearing top-of-the-line gear.
WEAKNESSES
- The last zone Byzantium is the one place that suffers from cut-content. Outside of some story-beats there are only a handful of rather lame fetch-quests.
- Some good looking vistas feel underutilized. Roseway is the prettiest zone but you can wrap up your business there in an hour with little incentive to smell the flowers.
- Some quests are a little predictable if you've played other role-playing games. There's the "Broken Pedestal" trope, the "Secret Clan of Cannibals", and the "Sinister Retirement Euphemism".
CONCLUSION
I would recommend The Outer Worlds when in the 30-40 euro price range. It's a solid role-playing game that hones a lot of Obsidian's conventions and aims to create a new setting out of whole cloth. As someone who grew disgusted with the direction of Fallout after New Vegas I welcome anything else that lets me skip a fight with a [60 Lie] skill-check. It is above all a modest game that doesn't hit the same highs of previous Obsidian games, but never sinks to the same lows like being bugged up the arse (Alpha Protocol) or having the 3.5 edition of D&D (Neverwinter Nights 2)
8/10.