The Outer Worlds
/ £29.99 inc VAT
DEVELOPERObsidianEntertainment/PUBLISHERPrivateDivision
T
he Outer Worlds’ premise is basically Fallout 4 in
space. It mimics Bethesda’s massively popular
RPG in every meaningful way, be it combat,
dialogue, environment design or questing. That isn’t
necessarily bad, but sadly it sticks far too closely to the
Fallout4 templatewithonlya fractionofthebudget.
Theresult is an inferior imitator of a four-year-old game.
It’s set in the Halcyon Colony, a star system in the far
reaches of space controlled by a conglomerate of
corporations known as the Board. You play a wannabe
colonist whose transport ship ran out of power en route,
leaving you frozen in cryostasis for the best part of a
century. You’re eventually defrosted by an eccentric
scientist called Phineas Wells, who wants your help
thawing out the other colonists as part of a plan to take
down the Board. So begins a planet-hopping adventure
through the Halcyon system.
The writing and dialogue are snappier than Fallout 4, with
more entertaining characters and a sharper satirical edge.
Halcyon is a hyper-capitalist society that has brainwashed
its colonists into bright-eyed, plastic-smiled retail skivvies
who work themselves to the bone for meagre wages under
contracts so punitive that, if a colonist friend of theirs dies,
they’re responsible for covering their funeral costs. Quests
have a pleasing array of potential solutions too, with your
decisions potentially affecting the fate of entire towns.
/VERDICT
TheOuter
Worldsisa
lesserfacsimile
ofFallout4 with
noideastocall
itsown.OVERALL SCORE
60 %%
OUTERWORLDS
+ Funconcept
+ Goodwriting
anddialogueINNERDEMONS- Clunkycombat
- Boringprogression
system - By-the-numbers
questing
Elsewhere, however, it all feels perfunctory. The Outer
Worlds closely mimics the look and feel of Fallout 4 but its
world lacks the scope and depth to make those systems feel
meaningful. Combat, for example, has the same sluggish,
slightly floaty feel as Fallout 4, but lacks the tactical depth
added by V.A.T.S. Meanwhile, the small maps lack much
opportunity for exploration and discovery. Consequently,
quests often have to be condensed, with NPCs sometimes
asking you to retrieve objects that are literally in the next room.
The progression system also has little interesting to offer,
being almost entirely based around minor increases of
passive abilities. Loot is seemingly endless, with every
building crammed full of items that you’ll constantly hoover
up, but rarely actually use. Meanwhile, your party characters
are well-written and empathetic, and converse with each
other as much as they speak to you. However, they also
spendmostoftheirtimeoff-screen,trailingbehindyouin
away that creates an odd sense of disconnection.
The Outer Worlds does its job to a basic standard, but
does nothing to stand out. If you played all of Fallout 4 and
were still left wanting, The Outer Worlds will scratch that
itch. Otherwise, there are plenty of other virtual worlds
worth exploring before venturing into the Halcyon system.
RICK LANE