It’s around then that you start
to really understand how to play
the game in the very particular way
you’ve chosen – be it stealthy melee
specialist with some hacking on the
side, or dodging expert and crit-dealer
extraordinaire - and use some perks to
fortify those specialities. Maybe you’re
even tempted by flaws, which offer
a permanent debuff to one aspect
in exchange for an extra perk. These
are contextual too, so if you have
repeated fights with the space-dino
Raptidons you might (optionally)
develop Raptophilia and take -1
endurance, -1 temperament and -1
willpower for another perk.
Role model
To be perfectly honest, combat
isn’t The Outer Worlds’ raison d’etre.
It’s enjoyable, and bolstered by a
bullet-time mechanic explained
by your prolonged cryostasis. But
just as Fallout 4’s fights felt a bit
perfunctory without VATS, you get that
same sensation from combat here,
where weapon feedback and enemy
behaviour can’t realistically hold a
candle to the Borderlands 3s and
Metro Exoduses (Exodi?) of this world.
No, what The Outer Worlds does
best is that it invites you to a world
that feels whole, and fascinating.
It’s about talking to the downtrodden
citizens of Edgewater and realising
they don’t think they’re downtrodden.
Embroiling yourself on the space
station politicking of Groundbreaker,
a large base under no official
corporate control that must make
hefty compromises in order to stay so.
About meeting the freespirited, deep-
thinking Iconoclasts living in their
compound on Monarch, and deciding
whether they’re daft self-important
wet flannels or renegade visionaries.
And acting on it.
We’ve made many silly and bad
decisions throughout our playthrough,
and The Outer Worlds just runs with
it, no matter what. We didn’t have to(spoilers ahead) kill Edgewater Boss
Reed Tobson for talking to us with an
aloof demeanour, but when we did, his
employee Parvati was there ready and
waiting with the appropriately appalled
voiced dialogue.
It’s a familiar template that The
Outer Worlds builds itself around, but
the depth and wit within its universe
invites you ever-deeper. There’s social
commentary and late-stage capitalism
gallows humour all over the place, but
it’s the richness of its imagined future
that really holds the attention. QAW, SPACE
FRIEND
Joining you along the
way to offer their help
in battle, chip in
during conversations
and stand in awkward
places when you
need to get by are
companions, and
they’re an excellent
bunch. Their routines
can be tweaked to
fulfil different roles
during combat, and
although this feels a
little buggy at launch
they’re worth keeping
around purely to hear
their spins on
situations as they
develop. They might
even give the odd NPC
the glad-eye.“We’ve made
many silly and
bad decisions
throughout our
playthrough”
ABOVE Each
planet you will
visit is
distinct and
memorable.
LEFT You can
tell Obsidian
has had meetings
on what kinds of
plants grow in
each biome.OXM VERDICT
A vast, role-playing
epic, rich in detail
and with plenty to
say about our very
own world.8
FAR LEFT Not the
most graphically
advanced RPG
you’ll lay eyes
on, but it’s
still pretty.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 085