The Outer Worlds. Great dialogues, mediocre everything else.

Game: The Outer Worlds.

Release: 25 october 2019

Developer: Obsidian Entertainment (best known for Fallout: New Vegas, and it shows).

Publisher: Private Division (which also published… Kerbal Space Program).

STORY

I have yet to touch the DLCs. Only main storyline.

You are The Stranger, one of the several survivor of the spaceship "Hope" kicked awake by a seemingly mad scientist that gives me big dr. Emmet Brown (BTTF) vibe.

Through some complication, the one contact you're supposed to meet is killed, and now you have to pilot his ship named The Unreliable trying to uncover the deep conspiracy inside the colony that are teeming with capitalism while simultaneously finding a way to awaken the rest of "Hope's" crew.

You decide who's in the wrong, is it the mad scientist or is it the capitalism rooted in Halcyon? or is it something else entirely.

I honestly not very invested in the main storyline, I'm more engaged with the sidequests and companion's quests which are more interesting in my opinion. 7.5/10 for the main storyline, but 9/10 for the companions and sidequests.

GAMEPLAY

It's… probably the most boring FPS I've ever played. It's like a watered down Fallout. I honestly don't remember much. You can bring companions and their signature moves are pretty great to witness, but it's nowhere near Mass Effect level of relationship.

Come to think of it, I feel like the game kinda take some inspiration from Mass Effect. Spaceship, lively companion, great writings… too bad you can't have space sex.

The whole thing also lack varieties, weapons and armors look largely the same but with different stats. Eerily similar to the same problem that the first Mass Effect has.

And the world… the environments kinda doesn't entice me to go exploring, it's very linear despite the 'openness'. So many buildings in the city but the ones you can enter is probably only 2 or 3.

6/10 — I look forward for the next dialogue rather than the next combat encounter. Can't help but think that this game is an incomplete love child between Mass Effect and Fallout: New Vegas set in space capitalism.

GRAPHICS

Played this on a shitty laptop as usual, so everything cranked to low and looked like shit, so… no comment.

SOUND

Nothing really stands out, tbh. Also no comment.

HUMOR

The best part of the game, all that witty dialogues in New Vegas are here and more. One of very little games that actually made me laugh out loud from the writing. The options are displayed in full as your character is mute, and skills are also affect choices just like good ol' Fallout. On the dialogue aspect, honestly thinking this is a sequel to New Vegas.

There are also little jokes here and there that when I noticed, it gets a chuckle out of me. Like the ship's name "The Unreliable", the "Un" part is actually painted on top of the name, the ship is actually called "The Reliable"

8/10 — more fun than the combat.

Overall a 7/10. Fun for the dialogue, not so much for everything else. Also the lack of weapons and armors variety irks me for some reason.

Great potential for a much better sequel, hopefully with bigger budget now that Obsidian has been bought by Microsoft.