Let's not beat around the bush here, The Outer Worlds is Obsidian Entertainment's successful attempt at showing the world that Bethesda isn't the only one who can make Fallout-style RPG games. The company previously worked with Bethesda to make Fallout: New Vegas, which is a fan favorite, back in 2010. Since then, Obsidian has been chugging along with titles like Pillars of Eternity and South Park: The Stick Of Truth, but, have they yet again managed to nail Fallout better than the company known for the IP ever could?
Yes and no. Obviously they've made a great game, considering they received multiple nominations for The Video Game Awards. But, to understand that answer a bit better, let's hop right into it.
10 Better: The World And Character Writing Overall
To start, the writing staff at Obsidian seem to be leaps and bounds better than the ones at Bethesda. One of the main reasons people love Fallout: NV so much more than Fallout 3 or 4 is mainly because of the writing.
Luckily, this high-bar remains intact in The Outer Worlds. These experienced Dev's have nailed their world-building of a nihilistic corporate ghetto this game takes place in. We find ourselves enthralled by every sidequest and new NPC encounter, and there are so many ways to roleplay good or bad and still succeed. Not to say that we don't also love the characters or writing in Bethesda's games, but it doesn't have the same charm.
9 It's Not: The Soundtrack And Lack Of Radio
We had to dig a bit into specifics for the negatives in this article, which is a good thing, but one aspect that was obvious right away was the soundtrack. But, that's not necessarily fair. Fallout 3 & 4 has such amazing music only thanks to the Radio system embedded in the Pipboy 3000.
Whether it was "Mighty Mighty Man," "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire," or our favorite "Butcher Pete," all of the songs on the radio were real bangers. In contrast, the only memorable music from The Outer Worlds is the title music, it's a good song, but one decent track can't possibly compare to a full OST or radio catalog.
8 Better: The Companion's And Their Systems
Every Fallout game has companions, even 1 and 2. These sidekicks have always changed with every game, sometimes allowing for multiple companions at a time, and sometimes the cast of potential allies would get even weirder. In Fallout 3, everyone loved Dogmeat, Fallout 4 had Valentine, and New Vegas had Rex...wow dogs really do make the best companions.
But from 3 onwards, the system sort of stagnated. That is, until The Outer Worlds. Now, companions give skill bonuses, can perform unique special attacks, and have their own perk trees! Though if you're looking for quantity over quality, Fallout absolutely still has TOW beat in that department.
7 It's Not: The Creative Aspect Of Perks
Don't get us wrong, Obsidian has really optimized the skill and perk system with their newest game. Giving players a perk every two levels instead of one makes it harder to build a "god" character, which is always good, and dividing the skills into categories lets players experiment in the early levels without fear.
Yet, where this space-faring game falls short is the creative aspect, the Perks are almost all boring. Fallout 3 especially is known for some hilariously weird perks like Mister Sandman, Bloody Mess, and the infamous Mysterious Stranger. And that's just from 3! But in comparison, Outer World's perks are all useful, but none are specialized or in any way creative, and that's a bit of a downer.
6 Better: The Newly Designed Perk And Skill System
But, with that said, we want to talk more about how insanely well-designed their level up system is. How did it take this long for a respec option to appear in one of these games? Also, the Flaws system is such a unique way to force players to choose between a permanent debuff or a free Perk. It's a real breath of fresh air. Finding out you've broken your legs enough times to proc the Flaw option to pop up is just so funny.
With Fallout, players had to decide what they'd specialize in almost immediately or they'd waste precious skill points, and they had to level up every skill individually, leading to some very lopsided builds that couldn't be fixed without mods or a brand new character.
5 It's Not: Reputation Isn't As Fun As Karma
The more we think about it, the more the new Reputation system kind of falls flat for us. It just isn't fleshed out enough. Players will lose reputation in specific companies every time they kill an NPC, but it's such a small amount. Plus, players still lose reputation, even if no one saw the NPC get murdered, which ruins any sort of "double-crosser" playstyle.
Lastly, the buffs and debuffs for reputation aren't varied enough. A high reputation just nets a discount, while a negative reputation results in factions shooting on sight. Both of these make sense, but only having one benefit/consequence feels short-sighted. It's pretty similar to the Perks honestly, this system is well designed, but just isn't creative enough.
4 Better: The Absurd Amount Of Quality Of Life Changes
Though, while Obsidian falls short of making every system deep and complex, they absolutely succeed at optimizing the systems they have included. We've already talked about the skill/perk system, but there are tons more examples. There are no more annoying lockpicking minigames, and players will lockpick faster or slower depending on their skill level.
Also, the Inhaler actually makes the hundreds of random consumables we pick up in every room actually useful—and all inventories can be sorted! These are just a few of the many, many things that Obsidian fixed after their New Vegas days.
3 It's Not: Unique/Science Weapons Vs Fallout's Named Weapons
Frankly, The Outer Worlds Unique Items suck. Why are they so bad? Quite simply, it's because they're un-modable. We can understand what Obsidian's was going for by allowing players to get things like a 6x scope or Corrosive damage way before they usually would be able to find said mods in the wild. But, players should've been able to add mods on top of them.
If a unique weapon comes with free Corrosive damage, just lock off the magazine mod slot! Easy fix! Then players could still add unique barrels and scopes. What's the point in a 6x scope sniper if we can't even put a muzzle on it? To compare, because mods/tinkering doesn't exist in Fallout, they have none of the drawbacks and are usually fantastic items overall.
2 Better: The Scenery And Overall Color Pallete
Fallout 3 is grey and green, Fallout New Vegas is red and brown, and Fallout 4 is desaturated as a whole (it's the art style). All 3 of these games have very limited color palettes. Of course, it's not like these two colors are the only ones on-screen at all times, this isn't a Deus Ex: Human Revolution situation, but they all absolutely suffered from a lack of diverse scenery and color choices.
Especially with Fallout 3, where grey ruined buildings made most of the game feel "same-ish". Outer Worlds isn't like that. Each planet is incredibly unique in its color choices, foliage, enemy variety, and even its overall size! They truly succeeded at making them feel like individual planets, and just look at those skyboxes!
1 It's Not: Stealth Is Just Poorly Implemented
Finally, Obisidian took a step back when it comes to stealth. Which, for anyone familiar with these types of games, is a huge deal. In the Fallout games, players could take the clothes off someone while they were wearing them, they could plant evidence on people, and even put live grenades in their pockets! Plus, Stealth Kills were amazing and it was always easy to tell if an enemy could see you. Skyrim mastered the hidden/detected UI icon alright? Just use theirs!
Meanwhile, in Outer Worlds, players can only pickpocket or lockpick. Yes, the game notifies us if people can see us lockpicking while we're doing it, but, at that point, we're already caught! Frankly, it just feels underdeveloped, and we're surprised that they dropped the ball on such a crucial mechanic.