Xbox - The Official Magazine - UK (2019-08)

butthroughFallout:NewVegastoo:the

Obsidiancultclassicwhosegleefully

gibberingtakeontheformulawasstifled

byitsunwillingnesstofunctionasa

working,playablevideogame.

It’snota comparisontheteamis

shyingawayfromeither,describingit as

a “spiritualsequel”toNewVegasduring

itsE3showing,and“verysimilarintone

andfeel”.Thisisverymuchstraightsci-fi

ratherthanpost-apocalypse,though– or

perhapsevenpre-apocalypse,if you’re

determinedtomakea realmessofHalcyon.

You’regivena lotofoptionstobuild

yourcharacterasyoulike.Pickthelow

intelligenceattribute,forexample,and

you’llunlockdumbdialogueoptionswhich

areotherwiseunavailable.You’llalsobe

offeredcharacterflawsafterfailingcertain

tasks– Boyarskymentionsa flawcalled

‘Robo-phobia’croppingupafteryou’re

killedbyrobotsa fewtimes– inexchange

forextrabuffs.Asthegameprogresses,it’s

notjustyourstrengthsthatdevelop,but

yourweaknessestoo.

ThiswasoneofthegemsofE32019,

offeringa brilliantlyfleshed-outworld

anda darksenseofhumourthatshows

Obsidianhasn’tlostitstouch.Q

eoplearetalkingonthe

streetsofHalcyon,the

furthestcolonyfrom

Earthin thegalaxy.

There’sa strangerin

town,andthey’redigging

upsecretsaboutthecorporateboard

memberswhohavecontrolledHalcyon

since...well,longenoughforthemto

thinkthey’llalwaysholdcontrolofit.But

thisstranger’sprettyunpredictable.Will

theybea forceforgood,or,in trueRPG

tradition,anabsolutemaniacwhoruns

aboutdestroyingthingsona whim?

That’sthepropositionthatFallout

co-creatorLeonardBoyarskyandhisteam

atObsidianputforthwithTheOuterWorlds,

a role-playinggamewithBioShockvibesin

itscommentaryoncorporatecontroland

mid-centurystylings.That’sdespitebeing

setwayoutinspace,youunderstand,and

presumablyinthefarfuture.

Those1950swhispersinits

corporations’advertsandintheArt

DecoarchitectureofHalcyonalsocallto

mindFallout, anothersci-fiserieswhich

TheOuterWorldscancertainly

tracea lineagebackto.Not

justthroughBoyarsky,

ABOVEYour

characterhas

the futureof

Halcyonin their

hands...or at

the end of their

lasergun.

OBSIDIAN’SFAR-OUTRPGINVITESYOUTOSMASHTHESTATE

THE OUTER

WORLDS

QPUBLISHERPIRATEDIVISION/DEVELOPEROBSIDIANENTERTAINMENT/ETA 25 OCT 2019

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