The Outer Worlds released on consoles earlier this year, and players on the PC were eagerly awaiting their chance to get their hands on Obsidian’s new game. open-world RPG from the Fallout: New Vegas team and it’s well worth the wait. If you want biting social commentary and a player-driven RPG, this is your game. The Outer Worlds has now hit Steam and GOG, giving players on platforms other than the Epic Games Store a crack at it.
You take on the role of a lone colonist that was trapped in hibernation for years, before awakening in the corporate hellscape of the Halycon colonies. These bottom-the-barrel colonization efforts have been plagued by cost-cutting for years, and have developed into the kind of dystopian hyper-capitalism that would make Ayn Rand balk. When suicide is a crime termed “irreparable damage to company property” you know you landed in a hot mess. The game is written with a lot of humor built into the experience. The player even manages to crush the captain that’s supposed to help them get through this mess with his own ship. The ship’s AI doesn’t mind though, as you have been arbitrarily assigned the old captain’s identity. If you’re beginning to feel like you don’t matter at all in this universe, that’s the tone this game wants.
And with the new DLC expanding the story, there’s plenty more to find. For other versions of the game, you had to wait a bit. A Switch port was supposed to drop this year, but was pushed back to June. It’s out now though, and at a decent discount.
You really should play this game. The potent mix of gallows humor, biting commentary and engrossing characters makes this one of the best RPGs for a good long time. The game may have its issues, but it’s loved for good reason. We enjoyed it when we reviewed it thanks to the mixture of incredible writing and world-building, both of which made the experience feel more impactful. The one flaw that kept popping up with some decisions feeling a lot less worthwhile when the game just continues on without much changing is one notable ding in the game though.
Where to from here?
It looks like the first chapter of the Halcyon colonies may be over, and it was enjoyable while it lasted, but Obsidian isn’t done yet. We could very well see a sequel within the next couple of years. Rumors are already swirling that The Outer Worlds 2 is in the works. We will have to wait a least a couple of years before we see the final release though.
The Outer Worlds is out now on Steam and GOG, with a 50% discount that runs until November 6. For two weeks, the game will only cost $30 on PC instead of the normal $60 AAA price.
