The Outer Worlds - Review @ PCWorld

Hard to compare, it's two totally different games.
Based on what I've seen so far in Outer Worlds, technically and world/quests designwise both are on the same level if you ask me - but I always prioritize humor which means when the voting starts OW #1, GF #2.
If you ask which one of the two to buy, I say both are musthaves. Buy. Now.
 
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Do companions spend ammo? If they don't, you might as well give them both heavy gatling guns or something, and make them keep distance to you. That should keep them alive and well.

On that note as well, why don't the companions have visible stats? I give them weapons based on what "feels" right, but it would be nice to know if they actually have better melee/range capabilities and what weapons they're better suited for.
 
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Are Greedfall and Outer Worlds really that different, so that a comparison becomes difficult to do? Both are non-open-world, have companions to support the PC, and have real-time combat. The difference is probably much smaller than, let's say, between them and Disco Elysium.

Of course, the setting is different (Sci-Fi vs. "Colonial Fantasy"). And I'd expect that Outer Worlds is probably more on the humorous side of things, compared to the rather serious tone of Greedfall. (I can't remember a single intentional joke, so far.)
 
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Do companions spend ammo? If they don't, you might as well give them both heavy gatling guns or something, and make them keep distance to you. That should keep them alive and well.
They have unlimited ammo of their own and they repair their equipment on their own. Means, put on them anything you want, forget micromanaging it. ;)
On that note as well, why don't the companions have visible stats? I give them weapons based on what "feels" right, but it would be nice to know if they actually have better melee/range capabilities and what weapons they're better suited for.
You're overthinking it. :)
Forget mathematical stats, concentrate on leadership and perks (both MC's and theirs).
Remember that you can't switch SAM's equipment.
Are Greedfall and Outer Worlds really that different, so that a comparison becomes difficult to do? Both are non-open-world, have companions to support the PC, and have real-time combat. The difference is probably much smaller than, let's say, between them and Disco Elysium.

Of course, the setting is different (Sci-Fi vs. "Colonial Fantasy"). And I'd expect that Outer Worlds is probably more on the humorous side of things, compared to the rather serious tone of Greedfall. (I can't remember a single intentional joke, so far.)
Yes they are really that different, just those things you mention:

- Both *are* openworld of unlocking areas type. The difference? From the moment you step on the island in Greedfall, you can unlock all existing areas by just reaching the connect-points (similar to Baldur's Gate), while Outer Worlds has "hardlocks" on maps where to unlock a new one you need to either solve a main story quest or a sidequest.

- You can't be companionless "lonewolf" in Greedfall till the end of the game. In Outer Worlds you can be solo all the time. Companions in Greedfall can help or ruin a dialogue outcome and your relationship with them can go positive, negative or romance, in Outer Worlds there is no companions relationship statistic nor will they ever affect the outcome of your "negotioations" (except boosting a bit some stats, but it's always MC's choice).

- In combat Outer Worlds companions have their ultimate skill to pwn hostiles and save you tons of ammo while using any weapon you equip on them where you can micromanage if they'll use only ranged or melee. Or both. In Greedfall companions won't attack any hostile you freeze in stasis and you can't equip them just anything but only things they "like".
Also, Greedfall doesn't have time slown and weak spots on trashmobs system.

It's not only what I wrote, that's just a part of differences between those two games, but I'm saying the two are simply not "same shit different wrapping" and it's very hard to compare them.
Still, both fill the emptyness on the market after Bioware and Bethesda moved their business into mmo+phone cesspool. Thanks to all the differences between the two that cover pretty much all what's desperately needed in the singleplayer RPG market. Except hairworks, but well, Cyberpunk will take care of that in the next year. ;)
 
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Are Greedfall and Outer Worlds really that different, so that a comparison becomes difficult to do? Both are non-open-world, have companions to support the PC, and have real-time combat.

I agree that the games are quite similar.
Some more similarities:
  • Weapon/armor modification: Both have it with roughly the same amount of different effects to weapon stats.
  • Companions: In both you have a group of companions. You can travel with up to two at a time.
  • Movement: Both have fast travel options.
  • Movement: Both have stealth.
  • Combat: Both have sneak attacks.
  • Loot: You can loot everything. (In TOW you have to watch out a little to NPC in line of sight.)
  • Factions: Both have factions and your relation with them is tracked.
  • Dialogs: In both NPC dialog lines are fully voiced.
  • Dialogs: Both use skill-checks to enable / lock out certain answer options.
  • Game world: In both you have a safe house in every hub. (In TOW it's your ship.)
  • Plot: In both side quests are quite interesting.
  • Plot: Both main plots have a main task about finding medicine. ;)

But they're obviously different in setting, character progression, and general atmosphere. I'll try to point out some more differences:
  • Weapon/armor modification: GF uses different ressources to craft the mods, in TOW you can just buy/find mods and install them.
  • Weapon/armor modification: in TOW there is no significant change in visual appearance.
  • Weapon/armor modification: Skill-based in GF. In TOW it's without restrictions.
  • Game world: The hubs in TOW feel a lot more alive than in GF.
  • Companions: There is companion banter in TOW. GF has none.
  • Companions: There are romance options for the protagonists in GF. TOW has none.
  • Companions: There are camping sites in GF to switch companions and talk to them. TOW has none.
  • Movement: In TOW you can fast travel from any point. In GF only from travel points.
  • Movement: In GF there are skill ckecks for overcoming obstacles (climb, balance, squeete). In TOW you just need to jump.
  • Combat: TOW has actual ranged weapons (sniper rifles) while GF is rather short distanced combat.
  • Perspective: TOW is 1st person, GF is 3rd person.
  • Assets: GF heavily reuses assets, TOW doesn't.
  • Dialogs: In GF the protagonist is fully voiced, in TOW he/she is not voiced at all.
  • Plot: In GF the side quests modtly contribute to the main plot or main conflict. In TOW the do not.
  • Setting: In GF the protagonist is the well-known figure and has a very high position in one of the factions. In TOW nobody knows him/her.

Overall they're imho of roughly the same quality. (My personal rating for GF was 8/10.)

I'm only 10h into TOW , so take it with a grain of salt.
 
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So it's better than Greedfall? :)

Quality wise, kind of par, but Greedfall stands out a bit more ( more coherent art/well-it-doesn't-make-your-eyeballs-bleed, tone of the world, and companions).
Obs was always one of my favorites when it comes to mechanics and writing, they've heavily regressed in both. Tbh, I think Sawyer is the most competent person in the company, at the moment.
 
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You're overthinking it. :)
Forget mathematical stats, concentrate on leadership and perks (both MC's and theirs).

But...but...I LOVE mathematical stats. And thinking.
 
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Both are non-open-world

I'd call TOW open-world. While it's not a single large map, the environment is almost completely open, and you're not being herded in certain directions like in Greedfall. That's my impression so far at least.

I also disagree that the games are very similar. Regardless of how many elements they share, they play and feel very different. The only reason they're even being compared is because they were released so close to each other.
 
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Having played both GF and OW (although only half way through OW) I can't imagine comparing them. But then I see people who compare the oddest games at times.

Really one can, with some mental twists, usually find similar things in dissimilar things or vice-versa.

Anyhow I gave OW a 7.5 and GF a 10 in my own personal scorecard - which is simply everything in the game summed into the final "fun factor" for me.

I am enjoying OW a lot - especially the humor, story, lore, and companions - but it didn't suck me in as deeply as GF did. I think OW is overall more polished with better mechanics and more advanced on the technical side. But for all its oddities GF felt like something special.

Anyhow not dishing on OW as I am enjoying it plenty. I took .5 points off my fun factor as no romances, boo! Otherwise would give it an 8.
 
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Well, I'd say that, against common wisdom, you actually can compare apples and oranges. ;)

Based on peoples observations here, there seems to be sufficient reason to say that OW and GF are quite dissimilar. That's the result of the comparison, though, not a requirement for it.

Just being a bit pedantic, looking forward to OW. :biggrin:
 
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And then the first civilized human being I ran into called me on it. "You uh…you may not want to wear that armor around here,

Yes, this was a nice touch. And then … nothing comparable (so far as I've experienced two thirds of the way into the game) ever happens again.

The fact that it happens right at the beginning, when you've had the chance for exactly one armor upgrade which the majority of players will have done, makes me suspect that it's actually not reactivity but just a scripted line that assumes you will be wearing that armor at that point.

I'm enjoying the game, and honestly I'm more likely to finish it than longer games I admire more. But it's for sure a step down from Obsidian's past, and the fact that it seems to be better received than PoE2 will send a message to the company that lighter games are what players want.
 
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Yes, this was a nice touch. And then … nothing comparable (so far as I've experienced two thirds of the way into the game) ever happens again.

The fact that it happens right at the beginning, when you've had the chance for exactly one armor upgrade which the majority of players will have done, makes me suspect that it's actually not reactivity but just a scripted line that assumes you will be wearing that armor at that point.

Why would you assume it's scripted? I haven't tested it, but I'll bet you $1000 that it's NOT scripted, and that if you're not wearing Marauder armor, they don't say that. The seeming fact that this is the only such occasion in the game in which NPCs remark on what you're wearing (which has been my experience as well) is not the same thing as it being a scripted line.
 
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a scripted line that assumes you will be wearing that armor at that point.
How about no. A couple of examples:
Steal a card from a congressman and he'll be confused asking himself where did he put it instead of giving it to you. That's an easy one and just like other cards in the game he could have had two to avoid this hassle? Okay…
Lie to an ex-wife but then don't choose your next lines carefully and she'll see through your lies.

OW has some advanced dialogue branching I've never seen elsewhere. If you do catch a logic breaking moment, please do share. I'm trying to find one just for fun. But can't. Betatesters and QA did the fantastic job.
I took .5 points off my fun factor as no romances, boo! Otherwise would give it an 8.
No MC romances, but yes sidekick romances. So add .1 at least.
Make it .2 as yes also AI romances. :)

Greedfall aside, how about comparing OW with Beth's Fallout?

 
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I don't get why some people feel like they have to pick up every single thing they come across. Do you do that in real life?

If I could sell every item I picked up for just a single dollar each, my car would be loaded every day and I'd never go back to work!

I pick it all up, constantly in the game and love it :)

I find the loot game fun and probably what I'm mostly playing for. I haven't played enough to decide on anything else yet.
 
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Go over to the Nexus and get the visuals mod - that removes that horrible chromatic aberration, much better looking now.

As for my opinion of the game, the more I play, well it's missing something. I don't know what it is. But I still really like it, and can't put it down. I didn't expect it to be as good as NV, and it's not, but it scratches similar itches.

Tbh, I wouldn't recommend Hard difficulty for most people. I almost always play games on Hard, but with this game I actually find it frustrating.

I usually play games on normal to avoid frustration/save time in life but I think combat would have been too boring without playing on hard, I haven't switched it down to normal at all since I started and I'm not personally finding it frustrating. Having two companions really helps, and their special moves as well.

Overall it's a really well designed and polished game with many quality of life improvements built in. How that translates to how special/fun that is for people will vary.

8/10 for me. I said that about Disco Elysium recently, which started great, but I really lost interest in that one hard and wouldn't rate it so high. Not a comparison comment either, I just enjoy this game more.
 
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Yes, this was a nice touch. And then … nothing comparable (so far as I've experienced two thirds of the way into the game) ever happens again.

The fact that it happens right at the beginning, when you've had the chance for exactly one armor upgrade which the majority of players will have done, makes me suspect that it's actually not reactivity but just a scripted line that assumes you will be wearing that armor at that point.

I'm enjoying the game, and honestly I'm more likely to finish it than longer games I admire more. But it's for sure a step down from Obsidian's past, and the fact that it seems to be better received than PoE2 will send a message to the company that lighter games are what players want.

There are other people that react to you wearing marauder armour in the same village, so no, it isn't scripted. That's obviously why marauder armor is tagged as such in the armour descriptions while other suits of armour don't have tags as far as I've seen.
 
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Most of the equipment does have a faction popularity noted in it's description.
A spoiler/hint of a sort - you'll need some specific factions equipment in a lategame sidequest. Assuming you're not reviewing fastrunning the game don't sell everything. ;)


Go over to the Nexus and get the visuals mod - that removes that horrible chromatic aberration, much better looking now.
Absolutely true, that effect is horrible and I have no idea why is it Applied by default in the first place.
Posted already elsewhere, while the game has no option to turn it off, you don't need a mod to disable it:
There is however some consoley whatnot eyecancer giving effect called chromatic aberration you'll want to disable and there is no ingame option for that, so you need to edit an ini file:
https://www.thenerdmag.com/how-to-disable-chromatic-aberration-in-the-outer-worlds/
In folder: Users/(Username)/AppData/Local/Indiana/Saved/Config/WindowsNoEditor
File: Engine.ini
Add [SystemSettings] to the bottom of the file, if it isn’t already there
Under [SystemSettings], add r.SceneColorFringeQuality=0
 
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