The Outer Worlds was a crazy science fiction roleplaying game in which the player takes on the role of the "unplanned variable" who unexpectedly finds themselves waking up in a foreign solar system divided by corporate greed. Naturally, they find themselves in the crossfire between various competing factions and make both allies and enemies while also making decisions that impact the future of the colonies.
The game could be described as being a combination of an homage to classic science fiction and a dark comedy about the dangers of unchecked capitalism, mixed in with a variety of roleplay opportunities and action scenes.
Of course, The Outer Worlds is hardly the first game of its kind but it did manage to produce an immersive, if very strange, world full of enjoyable characters and storylines. The game was well-received and there is even talk of a sequel, to say nothing of the DLC campaigns that have already been released.
After playing The Outer Worlds, one might feel interested in looking into other games with similar themes or mechanics. As it just so happens, there are a variety of science fiction games to choose from in which the player can act as an "unplanned variable" and impact the fate of their world- some of them by the same developer, Obsidian Entertainment!
5 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Though it may be starting to show its age now, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was a big influence on the RPG genre when it came out. Based in the Star Wars universe one thousand years before the films, the story sees the player character caught in a long and brutal war between the Jedi and Sith orders and, like The Outer Worlds, becoming the unplanned variable who makes the choices that determine its outcome.
In this case, the player gets to choose between the light and dark sides of the force, making choices that affect their alignment. Depending on how they solve problems the player can either end up a hero of the Jedi order or the new Dark Lord of the Sith.
Knights of the Old Republic is structured very similarly to The Outer Worlds, being framed around the player acquiring a ship and traveling between different planets that each has their own storylines and characters.
4 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
The sequel to Knights of the Old Republic once again sees the player, now an exile from the Jedi Order, literally waking up in the middle of a war-torn galaxy and going on an adventure spanning multiple conflict-ridden worlds. Over the course of the game, the player encounters various competing factions and has to take sides — obviously choices that affect how the story plays out as well as the player's reputation.
They also build up a party of allies whose stories and character arcs are also affected by the player's decisions. If this sounds familiar, it might be because Knights of the Old Republic II was made by Obsidian Entertainment. Their experience working on this game certainly shows in The Outer Worlds.
3 Borderlands Series
While perhaps not as cartoonish, The Outer Worlds does show some notable influence from the popular Borderlands games, including some similar themes. The most prominent aspect of Borderlands in The Outer Worlds is the idea of a world hijacked by unchecked capitalism resulting in what can only be described as corporate dictatorships.
The Outer Worlds is fond of making dark humor out of the way corporations act when they are made into governments, to the point of mandating citizens buy their products, wear company colors, shoehorn blatant product placement into movies, even saying your favorite song can only be one of the official company jingles.
This is a theme that has been prominent throughout Borderlands, which has several corrupt corporations with way too much power, but it is especially prominent in Borderlands 2, where antagonist Handsome Jack has seized control of the Hyperion Corporation and basically uses his position to set himself up as Pandora's dictator. By Borderlands 3 corporations are literally waging wars against each other and punishing civilians for not buying their overly expensive products even when they cannot afford them.
2 Fallout: New Vegas
Another one from Obsidian Entertainment, Fallout: New Vegas once again sees the player waking up in a world torn apart by conflict, and being the unplanned variable that will determine its outcome. In this case, the setting is post-apocalyptic Las Vegas caught in the crossfire between two less-than-ideal factions.
On one side is the bureaucratic and capitalist New California Republic. They aren't the greatest but look pretty good next to the other side — the Legion, an attempt to revive the Roman Empire which includes all its worst qualities which include sexism, slavery, crucifixions. Adding to the chaos is a variety of other power plays being made in Vegas itself. The big question is who will come on top.
Although not a spacefaring adventure, Fallout New Vegas does feature a detailed world to explore and a variety of characters to interact with, and quite a few options. The player finds themselves in the position of making decisions that impact their relations with various factions, their overall reputation, and eventually the outcome of the big war, and they can choose to pick a side or take an alternate path.
1 Mass Effect Trilogy
Mass Effect was developed by Bioware, creators of the original Knights of the Old Republic, and they channeled a lot of their experience into the trilogy. While the various factions may not be as clear-cut as some of the other options on this list (and the player does not always get to choose who to side with), Commander Shepard does get to explore a variety of worlds with unique storylines and make decisions that have long term consequences — sometimes including which of her allies survive.
Along the way, she has to make difficult choices that sometimes lack a clear moral answer, but which end up affecting the rest of the galaxy.