Ready to discover Obsidian's new work? Here is our review of The Outer Worlds with all our impressions
Pillars of Eternity. Neverwinter. Fallout: New Vegas. Come on, you will have tried one of these titles in your gamer career. And if you haven't tried it, you've at least seen it in some gameplay. We are also satisfied with having heard of it, if you can't get better. If none of the above are true, choose one of these titles and come back here to read this review di The Outer Worlds only when you have finished it. Finished well, which does not mean following the plot down to the titles of what.
Obsidian Entertainment made the video games we mentioned earlier; the same Obsidian Entertainment that thank goodness in recent years has worked, and then published with Private Division, on The Outer Worlds. It is an action-RPG of the past, which in every single aspect reveals and confirms the love of the development team for this particular videogame genre. We could come to define it as a spiritual legacy, at least in recent months, but it is hoped that sooner or later there will also be a sequel. We tell you about The Outer Worlds in this review. In the same we will also try to highlight some (few) defects, mainly due to the lack of time and funds.
A spatial plot
We are in the future. A future a bit '60s, a bit' contaminated by dystopian cyberpunk, and still a bit 'from a genuine science fiction context: there is everything, in short, for a spatial texture. The Earth has embarked on a lively colonialism in the universe: on planets even very far from ours, or on satellites, small cities and real metropolises have been born, controlled by a management that still belongs to the starting planet. We move from Land to these colonies through interplanetary journeys lasting even tens of years (they will also return later, in The Outer Worlds), taking advantage of the cryogenic freezing of the crew. Until one of the ships, the Hope, is lost.
Hope has been adrift in space for years and years, never reaching its destination, without someone from outside coming to rescue its frozen guests. Finally, a mad scientist succeeds: he awakens us (or you), protagonists of the adventure. A viandante of which the player has already proceeded to choose gender, skin color, haircut, in a generic but profound one editor to RPG pure. Once back in action, the story begins. Our task is to awaken all the other crew members who are still in the cryogenic cells as well. But the materials to do this are quite rare, and scattered on the various planets of the terrestrial colonies.
It starts with a little planet with atmosphere and vegetation similar to the terrestrial ones, where the settlers have founded a small town intent on respecting the deadlines for the corporation: you work a lot, you sleep little, you get sick a lot. And getting sick is synonymous with weakness, because it undermines the well-being of the entire community, it makes it more difficult to meet deadlines. A group of rebels, intolerant of this lifestyle, has gone to live on the opposite hill, thus creating a tense situation. In all this, the marauders inhabit the surrounding areas, without the law being able to do anything about it.
Who will you side with? With the methodical, precise, apathetic director of the city? With Adelaide, the wise leader of the rebels? And what method will you use to convince one or the other: dialogue? Violence? The lie. The choice will always be yours… and the consequences of the actions taken will always weigh on your shoulders.
Obsidian quality - Review The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds is a miniature version of Fallout New Vegas, and set in space. For the rest, everything that was present in that precise episode of the Bethesda saga, always remembered with affection, is also in the new production of Obsidian Entertainment. With some limitations. For example: The Outer Worlds it is not an open world. And again: it is not possible to get engaged with the main companions of the adventure (there are six and will be recruited during the unfolding of the narrative). The technical and graphic limits of the production are equally evident, but mostly due to a precise stylistic and artistic direction: the one that makes The Outer Worlds immediately recognizable to fans of the titles that we have repeatedly referred to in this review.
If Obsidian Entertainment had had more time and more resources, The Outer Worlds would have really been worthy of competing with the size and content of New Vegas. If it cannot do so, however, it is also because the gaming market has evolved ruthlessly in recent years. Open worlds have now become such a constant, that even with small dimensions like those of The Outer Worlds a title can shine with its own light. This happens when every little aspect is treated in a maniacal way, brilliant result of a careful work of craftsmanship.
Il gameplay di The Outer Worlds – Review The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds is a first person action RPG: The player explores never-before-seen worlds, meets their inhabitants along the way, fights with numerous enemies to become stronger. There are weapons of all kinds: rifles, pistols, melee items. The weaponry they can be repaired, disassembled, upgraded with certain perks (additional boosters). Almost every aspect, every object, every dress can at least be modified or varied, even if not aesthetically. There are no game classes for the character, but they are compensated with points to be spent on certain traits and with specific abilities.
Each time you level up, The Outer Worlds grants 10 skill points, for example to invest in ranged combat, persuasion, burglary skills or hacking. Each two levels instead awards a point to spend on new skills. For example, some allow you to move faster, permanently increase health regeneration, grant more experience points from the eliminations of companions, and so on.
By pressing the R1 command of the DualShock 4, the player can stop time for a few seconds: at this moment you have to aim at the weak points of the enemies and fire with complete tranquility (and with a little anxiety). The focus recharges during the game session, and it is never possible to abuse it: better to keep it aside for the most difficult enemies. And the difficulty level is always suited to your needs: there is a mode to simply enjoy the story, a normal mode, and then two levels of incremental difficulty, the last of which will literally "put your hands in your hair" .
It is good to remember, again, that in The Outer Worlds there are always at least three different ways to accomplish the same task: your style of play becomes fundamental, and more runs will be required to really see everything the game has to offer. . It is worth it. Trust me.
We draw conclusions
Obsidian Entertainment has created a new, small miniature masterpiece. If The Outer Worlds had been "bigger" and had possessed a technical sector capable of attracting the indistinct mass of players, it would probably have been welcomed as one of the most important titles of the entire generation. Instead, it remains an operation based on nostalgia, but incredibly valid.
The proof that titles of this type, with these resources, and also with a dated technical sector, sometimes manage to entertain even more than the Triple A in circulation. All that is needed is a team that knows how to do their job. The Outer Worlds will take you hours and hours of gameplay, especially if you want to play it several times in a row to explore it in every little corner. Not doing so would be a crime.
9 A real bolt from the bluePoints in favor
- Interesting storyline and subplots
- Deep, varied, long-lived
- Lots of content
Points against
- Some excessive loading time
- Obvious limitations in the developer budget
- Sometimes excessive self-irony
