The Outer Worlds - Review @ PCWorld

Bobo · October 28, 2019

Also picked this up. Kind of agree, even with Lot of issues New Vegas had, feels like regression, for most part.
Why switch to levelled loot? Was done far better, in, well, ALL Obsidian/Troika games. Remember finding Boone's sniper rifle…worldbuilding, exploration, plus you got a great weapon for sharpshooter. Nothing like that here.
Only improvement is in more open level design ( even though stealth is kind of comical).
Feels like weird crossover between Borderlands ( but fails at worldbuilding, as it tries to be more serious at it), Fallout ( worse rpg mechanics and writing) and Bethesda ( too linear, restrictive, less interactive/"alive" world).
Time to retire, Cain&Boyarsky. You guys, too.

Drithius · October 28, 2019

Probably the best RPG I've played since Fallout New Vegas - though I have yet to play Kingmaker. The dialog is especially a breath of fresh air.

JFarrell71 · October 28, 2019

JDR13 said:
The amount of loot in the game is ridiculous. You just have to overcome any OCD tendencies and ignore a lot of it. I don't steal anything from buildings unless it's something I really need, and I don't pick up any weapons that I already have unless it's for repair purposes.

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?

There is a ton. The last couple of Fallout games were, for me, even worse because of how much of it is (literally) junk for crafting. I had an ex-girlfriend who preferred to watch me play most games of this type rather than play them, but she would get frustrated because I don't look in every trash can and fridge. "You might miss things!" Yes, I might miss more of the same crap I've found 1000x times already.

JFarrell71 · October 28, 2019

Bobo said:
Also picked this up. Kind of agree, even with Lot of issues New Vegas had, feels like regression, for most part.
Why switch to levelled loot? Was done far better, in, well, ALL Obsidian/Troika games. Remember finding Boone's sniper rifle…worldbuilding, exploration, plus you got a great weapon for sharpshooter. Nothing like that here.
Only improvement is in more open level design ( even though stealth is kind of comical).
Feels like weird crossover between Borderlands ( but fails at worldbuilding, as it tries to be more serious at it), Fallout ( worse rpg mechanics and writing) and Bethesda ( too linear, restrictive, less interactive/"alive" world).
Time to retire, Cain&Boyarsky. You guys, too.

There are lots of unique weapons. I've gotten at least ten of them.

JFarrell71 · October 28, 2019

Nereida said:
So you'd say that The Outer Worlds is the game you wished for?

Well, grats then. I can only envy you as I remain disappointed.

Note to Obsidian: include some 10mm pistols next time for Nereida.

JDR13 · October 28, 2019

JFarrell71 said:
There is a ton. The last couple of Fallout games were, for me, even worse because of how much of it is (literally) junk for crafting. I had an ex-girlfriend who preferred to watch me play most games of this type rather than play them, but she would get frustrated because I don't look in every trash can and fridge. "You might miss things!" Yes, I might miss more of the same crap I've found 1000x times already.

I find TOW much worse because of how implausible it is to me. There's way too much ammo and valuables just sitting out in plain view in an occupied settlement. Then there's the unlocked containers on the side of or behind nearly every building full of stuff. I think it's gamey and immersion breaking, but I'm sure the mainstream loves it.

Shagnak · October 28, 2019

JDR13 said:
The amount of loot in the game is ridiculous.

Yeah, I can agree with that. It's not a looter-shooter, so it just seems somehow off with the amount of junk you can pick up.

Other than that, I have no significant criticisms as yet. (I've finished with the starting world, and am currently exploring the space ship city that I can't currently remember the name of).

I've been concentrating on technical and conversational skills, and relying on my companions a lot in combat. I've managed to die a couple of times, but I can see how someone who has put some sensible points in combat skills will get a pretty easy ride. I'm quite enjoying lying my way through whatever encounters I can

Morrandir · October 28, 2019

Shagnak said:
Other than that, I have no significant criticisms as yet. (I've finished with the starting world, and am currently exploring the space ship city that I can't currently remember the name of).

It's called Groundbreaker.

joxer · October 28, 2019

JDR13 said:
You guys are acting like 7/10 is some obscenely unfair score. My first impression is about the same, and I agree with most of the things he listed.

It's not obscene, it's criminal!

Erm... I didn't care about the score there. It's the list of pros and cons that aren't really what I'm experiencing.

wolfgrimdark · October 28, 2019

I should have said I think the score is okay. Maybe I would do 7.5

I don't worry about hard combat since I always tend to build poorly specked out characters and pick armor/weapons over taste versus utility/function.

I admit I don't use many of the consumables as they last too short - I would prefer them to be far less common but last long enough to get through a combat encounter.

mbuddha · October 28, 2019

At the very least I would recommend playing on Hard to make things more interesting. I have been using the consumables. My stat for health regen I set low so it doesn't regen, so any of health regen consumables are useless for me, unless I get a chance to increase that stat. And I agree there's way too much loot. Soon I'll stop picking up most things.

JFarrell71 · October 28, 2019

wolfgrimdark said:
I admit I don't use many of the consumables as they last too short - I would prefer them to be far less common but last long enough to get through a combat encounter.

I never use consumables except for healing items in most games. Maybe Med-X occasionally in Fallout for Deathclaws and such. Buffouts, that sort of thing, I just collect them and never use them.

I do use them in Outer Worlds because of the inhaler system. So that's kinda nice.

JDR13 · October 28, 2019

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. Plus, it doesn't make the game more challenging in anything other than combat. It just bloats the enemy HP to the point where they can survive multiple headshots even when I'm stealthed.

It's also really annoying that companions can't use healing items. I guess the only way to heal them is to get your Determination skill high enough and then they'll heal whenever you use the inhaler (which makes no sense whatsoever). Seems like a step back from older titles, and I don't understand why they did it that way. I can survive most of the encounters myself, but Pavartie dies nearly every time.

TomRon · October 28, 2019

Agree on the loot issue, they could have turned that WAY down. Also agree on the perks being lackluster.

Other that that though, it's pure gold to me, and without a doubt the best game I have I've played this year. In the genre I would say it's the best I've played since NV, but can't say the competition has been very tough in my opinion.

Drithius · October 28, 2019

JDR13 said:
Tbh, I wouldn't recommend Hard difficulty for most people.

It's not that bad really - it incentivizes you to seek out the "weak spots" on enemies. I'm really keen on a second playthrough on Supernova actually - though the poor companion UI and permadeath thereof would definitely frustrate.

joxer · October 28, 2019

JDR13 said:
I can survive most of the encounters myself, but Pavartie dies nearly every time.

Ditch whatever her name is and put SAM in the party instead.
Uggh, you're still earlygame with only the nun and the priest as your sidekicks, right?

Capt. Huggy Face · October 29, 2019

The engineer girl does her bloody work quite well for me. I hardly have any combat skills…just enough to shoot people's body parts off. Dialogue skills and decent leadership. Decent armor, a Gatling gun and a couple of perks later, and she is tearing it up early on. Her melee ability is nasty.

Nereida · October 29, 2019

I had to stop playing shortly after I reached Scylla… I'm trying to force myself to play, but that's only making it worse. I'll see if I can find a way to get back into the game when some DLC is released.

It's not a bad game, in fact it's a "fine" game, but I don't feel the excitement and the tug for exploration, discovery and serendipity that Fallout games made me feel, despite their many other flaws. The Outer World's landscapes feel deserted, scripted and inert, and being an errand girl for every crew member isn't enough for me in a game that wants to imitate Fallout (not because I say it, but because the devs themselves are selling it as such). It's a shame because this game went from "GoTY candidate" to "throw it in the 7/10 game pile" material.

joxer · October 29, 2019

What are you even doing on Scylla. Testing your low level and pathetically low damage/armor equipment against overpowered trashmobs on iron mode or whatever not normal difficulty earlygame?

If you expected Fallout (any), and I wrote in another thread where some ignorant reviewer mentions Fallout that this game is not Fallout, no wonder you're disappointed.
Which doesn't mean the game is not goty. It is. All you need is to forget expecting Fallout. It's not in there.

Cacheperl · October 29, 2019

So it's better than Greedfall?

The Outer Worlds - Review @ PCWorld

Watcher

Magic & Loss

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

SGLF Founder

SasqWatch

The Smoker

Follower of Fenris Wolf

Sentinel

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

SasqWatch

Magic & Loss

The Smoker

Troll Aspiring to Responsibility

Nereida

Guest

The Smoker

SasqWatch