What I mean by old time\America is the architecture and design of the game world. They are obviously going for some 1930s art deco style, kinda like those Dishonored games. I just happen to hate that style and architecture, and it makes no sense to be in a game where it is supposed to be futuristic. You'd think they would have been able to come up with something new and that fit the setting better.
The graphics and visuals are pretty bad just in general though, here is what a review that otherwise was glowing about the game said:
https://www.rpgsite.net/review/9110-the-outer-worlds-review
"Despite all the good there is in The Outer Worlds (and that’s a lot), there is an elephant in the room- the presentation. There’s just no escaping it, The Outer Worlds is not a well-presented game. Character models are all underwhelming, textures are unpolished and the sound design is okay at best and flat at worst.
This is a big shame because artistically The Outer Worlds actually has some great ideas, it’s just let down by lacklustre visuals. It’s like a Range Rover being powered by a Reliant Robin. Just take a look at the loading screen artworks for an idea of what The Outer Worlds wants to achieve. Saying that, in my playthrough I actually didn’t run into any substantial bugs. There were some occasional UI glitches, but nothing that made quitting out of the game essential and nothing that detracted too much from the overall experience. Considering how buggy some of Obsidian’s previous releases have been, this was a nice surprise.
There are some other smaller areas that The Outer Worlds doesn’t quite deliver on as well. The lack of a third person camera is disappointing and makes customisation almost entirely pointless. The range of armours and weapons are also pretty bare, which is a little confusing considering the game’s focus on branding, although that is somewhat made up for by the obscene amount of consumables that can be collected.
The presentation being lacklustre should in no way be a dealbreaker though. Obsidian have crafted a smart, witty, deep RPG experience..."
Back to my opinion --- About the colonization thing - that is far more interesting a topic than "corporations are evil!" in my opinion. But I don't think the game is really about that, just based on trailers and reviews I have seen. It seems mostly semi-humorous take on evil corporations exploiting people, which I find very boring...I find any game involving corporations as a focus or theme pretty boring, to be honest.
