The Outer Worlds developer Obsidian Entertainment is famous for its quality RPGs, having created Fallout: New Vegas, Knights of the Republic 2, and Pillars of Eternity. The game is also being led by Fallout creators Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain and so RPG fans have a lot of expectations riding on the game.

However, one classic RPG feature that The Outer Worlds won't have is crafting. In a new interview, game director Leonard Boyarsky explains that The Outer Worlds setting is a "utopia for corporations." This theme of capitalism is a large reason why the game won't feature crafting.

The game's lead designer Charles Staples explains that "We felt like doing a lot of your own crafting sort of took away from one of those themes that we were trying to hammer on quite a bit and get across." If players were able to make their own goods and avoid paying for them, it "lessened that message that we were trying to talk about."

The Outer Worlds shrink ray weapon

Staples says that the team still wants to allow "a little bit of customization" through weapon modding and armor. Obsidian has teased how extensive The Outer Worlds weapon system will be, detailing weapons like the shrink ray gun thatcan make enemies tiny and affect how much damage they take. Weapon modding will add an additional bit of flair and variety to the way that players engage in combat.

The Outer Worlds may be ditching crafting gameplay, but it will feature other well-liked RPG gameplay features. The game will have a Fallout: New Vegas style dialogue system, allowing players to respond to the game's NPC based on their character's skills. So, a charismatic protagonist may be able to flirt their way out of trouble but if they lack those skills, they may have to get in a fight.

The game will also have a pretty extensive character traits and fears system. If a character is attacked by a type of enemy on a frequent basis then they may develop a fear of that enemy. Players could choose that fear, gaining a damage nerf against that type of enemy but gaining a major buff in another area. With RPG game development veterans like Cain, Boyarsky and the team at Obsidian as well as features like this, it should mean that The Outer Worlds appeals massively to RPG fans.

The Outer Worlds is currently in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox, and set to launch sometime in 2019.

Source: US Gamer