10 Yrs#
knalb
#1
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10 Yrs#
The Outer Worlds

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The Outer Worlds is a new single-player sci-fi RPG from Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division. As you explore a space colony, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the corporate equation for the colony, you are the unplanned variable.
10 Yrs#
knalb
#2
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10 Yrs#
I usually don't usually only vote for games in my backlog but this is on my wishlist ad I decided if it wins I'll buy it. It won so here we are. I prob won't start it till tomorrow though
13 YrsF#
Everdred
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#3
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13 YrsF#
Awesome, I get to contribute this month.

I've been playing it for a bit, my game file says 8 hours but it's easily 12 with how much I've died. I'm playing on SuperNova difficulty, which I can't recommend. I'm so far in though, I want to try and see it through. This game has horrific load times on console. Every time you die you spawn before a lengthy load time because the game saves right BEFORE you leave any major area/city.

I'm enjoying the game so far though. I'm curious what everyone else will think. Initial reviews were very positive but I feel like the longer the game is out the more I hear complaints about it.
9 Yrs#
GamerAim
Squashed
#4
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9 Yrs#
Ah, the fruits of my labor have rewarded us all with The Outer Worlds.

Hubris aside, I started this one last Thursday. Will probably not play it more until tomorrow.

I'm about 24 hours in, according to the in-game tracker. Already over the Main + Extras people have recorded. But, in a game so close to release, I think it's natural to be weighted by people who beat it fast. Because, those who take longer haven't beaten it yet...

It's a good game. I love Parvati, who is basically me IRL. Really love who my PC is turning out to be so far. Some good, honest choices to be made about what I value most. But also Parvati and Max are the best. Love 'em both in their own ways.

So far, not as good as FNV or Mass Effect. A bit disappointing, but I'm not done yet (just got to Roseway after Groundbreaker) and it's always getting a bit better. Even if it doesn't become one of my favorites, it's a great game in every way. Probably won't be back to this thread until I finish, in case of spoilers.
9 Yrs#
Eries
#5
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9 Yrs#
This game already cracked me up during character creation. They actually recorded several unique lines of dialogue for all your skills and some of the comments were laugh out loud funny.

I´m 6 hours in on normal difficulty. I´m playing a high intelligence silver tongue character with a science background who steals everything that isn´t nailed down and is also a sarcastic smart ass.
I´m also telling everyone that I´m Captain Alex Hawthorne of the Unreliable every chance I get.

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12 Yrs#
pongsifu
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#6
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12 Yrs#
I'm actually kind of disappointed by the game so far (13 hours in). It has the core aspects of a game I would love and Obsidian is good at RPG writing, but there are just things about it that drag it down and not pull me in. Examples are the combat is super easy even on hard difficulty (and supernova has extra restrictions that I'm not going to deal with like permadeath for allies), there is so much free stuff laying around that you don't even need to sneak or buy things, there are unique items that show up automatically in your ship but you can't place items where you want and overall looting feels kind of hollow, the world isn't technically "open" it is mostly going from point A to point B for missions on a planet and even when it does open up there is very little enemy variety and the aforementioned looting issues make exploration feel pointless anyway.

There are things I enjoy about the game but it isn't what I was hoping, at least so far.
10 Yrs#
AlphaOmega247
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#7
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10 Yrs#
Since the PS4 version apparently doesn't keep track of playtime (at least not that I can find), I don't really know how much time I've spent with the game, but my estimate is about 15 hours.

As is usually the case when I play games like this, I'm good to my crew and anyone I deem worthy of my benevolence. I try to screw everyone else over as much as possible. That bastard running Edgewater certainly got what he had coming.

I also like that there are many ways to solve just about every scenario--even something minor like gaining access to the security office on Groundbreaker. One of my friends used that camouflage thing to sneak into the area. I was a bit more direct in my approach, and just told the dude sitting at the front desk that I wanted a tour of the facility. A small bribe later and I was in.

And just like Eries, I have told every single person I've encountered that I'm Alex Hawthorne. I don't even think I've revealed my true identity to anyone on the ship (aside from AVA). I don't think this will have any bearing on the gameplay down the line, but I'm still committed to the lie. 😊
9 Yrs#
Eries
#8
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9 Yrs#
Replying to GamerAim
Parvati is so incredible precious and she might be my favorite NPC in the entire game. I just did the side quest where you go drinking with her and it was just so incredibly adorable. I especially liked Ellie´s commentary on the whole situation.

Whenever I start playing the Outer Worlds I have trouble putting it down. I did all of the Groundbreaker and Roseway Quests in one sitting. I just landed on Monarch and forced myself to take a break.

I also just got my first flaw: I´m now more vulnerable to corrosive damage because I got vomited on too much.

I love this game.
13 YrsF#
Everdred
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#9
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13 YrsF#
I finished the game on Supernova today. I had to respec before the final area into a 100% dialog based approached because the difficulty spike was so crazy.

The gameplay is decent and the writing is fun but it's definitely missing something that I can't quite put my finger on.

I wanted the game to be difficult but they took the wrong approach. Since each companion has their own story line, I was constantly restarting because they were dying so easily. This is a game that could benefit from having various difficulty sliders and options. Disabling fast travel just added tedium and the food & water requirements were pointless.

I was closely combing through the world and completing all side quests for the first 25% of the game but as I started to reach burnout I decided to mainline the game.

I know my enjoyment was lessened by the difficulty I chose but I play most games on hard and really wanted to get lost in Outer Worlds.

According to the achievement at the time only 0.03% have beaten it on Supernova for Xbox.

In-game time 12:47. Actual time probably around 20 hours.

I'd still give the game an 8/10.
9 Yrs#
GamerAim
Squashed
#10
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9 Yrs#
Various notes (mild mechanics spoilers):

* I'm disappointed in the game's Flaws for three reasons. 1) The flaws are thematically uninspired, amounting to "weakness to [damage/enemy type" or "permanent [limb] damage." 2) They're mechanically identical to each other, and the game doesn't make it clear when it takes effect (had to Google when acrophobia takes effect). 3) The perks in the game are as uninspired and lame. They feel more like MMORPG or FPS perks. The game tries to evoke something similar to Fallout's traits and perks systems, but lacks any mechanical distinctiveness to make any of it feel fun or worthwhile.

* The world in general feels a bit bland, too. Not enough that I think it's bad, but it feels a bit too generic and uninspired, as other commentators have said. It's a great start, but I don't feel drawn into a living, breathing world. I think part of the problem is, it doesn't take itself seriously enough. Part of what made FNV great was the sense of a real, cohesive world. Farms and factions, townships and governments. TOW ostensibly has factions and governments, but thus far I've felt very little stake in any of it. I can't feel how it all might connect. It's like the game has a bunch of different boxes I can make choices inside of, but the consequences are confined to that small spot. I think a lot of us are feeling this and not knowing quite what it is.

* I think the loot is okay. I can't tell if the game is scaling loot to my level or if I'm just exploring higher level zones. It'd be nice if I had more freedom to explore the system from the start. I don't mind it not being one single open world, but it almost feels mission-based like Deus Ex, or Borderlands, rather than Fallout or other hub-based CRPGs. Anyway, back to loot, it's got enough variety that it keeps things interesting the way I want it to. Different looks, types, stats and unique items have the feel I want from loot. I think it could still use more differentiation - there's only 3 ammo types, for instance. Why do corporate colonies have branded items for other corporations? I want more distinctiveness in the equipment (even architecture) of different corporations, and finding those brands only where appropriate. This IS done somewhat - finding more Cloe in Roseway and Spacer's in the Vale - but it's still not perfect. The consumables have decent variety of effects, but after awhile they too start to feel samey. More like an immersive sim (see last month's Bioshock and Prey). Finally, I like collecting things for my companion dorms. It makes exploring more rewarding for me, and I don't mind not placing them myself (since they're gifts for my friends).
13 YrsF#
Everdred
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#11
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13 YrsF#
Replying to GamerAim
I was often thinking about Deus Ex: Mankind Divided while playing. I prefer almost everything about Deus Ex though (level design, consequences, world building, characters, etc.)
6 Yrs$#
lowdefal
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#12
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6 Yrs$#
Replying to AlphaOmega247
Since the PS4 version apparently doesn't keep track of playtime (at least not that I can find)

I'm not playiing on PS4 but it should be on your save file. Of course that's only time on that save ant not global time but most games work like that anyway.
10 Yrs#
AlphaOmega247
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#13
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10 Yrs#
Replying to lowdefal
Nope. The date/time that I performed the save is there, my character's name, the quest I'm doing... I think even my character level is there. But no play time. 😥 Unless I'm really stupid. And that's always a possibility.
10 Yrs#
AlphaOmega247
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#14
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10 Yrs#
Replying to Eries
I got a flaw for taking too much fall damage near the start of the game. I came to The Outer Worlds right after Borderlands 3, where there is no fall damage, so my proclivity for jumping off cliffs was a bit of a problem. I also got a flaw for getting mauled by too many raptidons.

I'm surprised I haven't been offered the one for corrosive damage, though, considering how much I've been spat upon.
12 Yrs#
pongsifu
Moderator
#15
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12 Yrs#
Replying to AlphaOmega247
You don't have to accept the flaws. IMO the negatives they come with are nowhere near worth the one perk point. The fall damage one was the first it offered me as well because I have the tendency to climb things and then immediately fall.
8 Yrs
Yunie241
#16
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8 Yrs
I just finished this last night. I did just about every quest I could find and I finished in about 30 hours. Overall, I absolutely loved it, as Mass Effect and Fallout are two of my favorite gaming franchises and this felt like a nice cross between the two. In spite of this, there are definitely a few things I noticed that kind of bothered me.

-I feel like Obsidian ran out of money or something while 2/3 of the way through creating the game. The first few hub areas have so much content and awesome stuff to see, and then things really suddenly get much tighter and more linear. On top of that, the story ramps up so quickly and jarringly that I can't help but wonder if the game was supposed to be a good ten hours longer, but Obsidian didn't have the money or resources to do it, so they cut some content and just jumped the player to the final mission of the game. I felt like I was really beginning to connect to the story just at the point that I got the whole "point of no return" warning that open-world games give you, and I felt like there needed to be more to justify how sudden that all felt.

-This game feels like Fallout: New Vegas, but that includes all of its flaws. Combat felt really stiff and unnatural, and I found that because I had already played New Vegas, I knew what stats to pump up in order to have the easiest time playing the game. Obsidian definitely has a bias towards certain stats over others, and it shows in this game.


Regardless, this game is my clear winner for GOTY and I absolutely adored it. No matter how much I enjoyed it, though, it can be difficult to play a game inspired by franchises I love, and all I can think is that I would rather be playing those games instead of this one.
9 Yrs#
GamerAim
Squashed
#17
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9 Yrs#
F:NV was a good game. Just a courier setting out to civilize the frontier, going on episodic odyssey to far-flung places. I actually made the mistake of granting Primm independence early on, before I'd totally allied myself to the NCR. At least I never had the opportunity to get a Legion quest - I made them hostile so early on, I never knew it was possible to work for them. Now that was a great game.

TOW captures the moment-to-moment gameplay of FNV pretty well, but it lacks a compelling big picture. It's like, there's all these factions, but I don't feel a conflict between them. I'm told there's conflict, but I can basically help everyone without worrying what anyone else thinks about it. FNV always felt like, yeah I can try to help everyone, but eventually I gotta pick a side. And I think that's helped by Hoover Dam. We knew there was a recent battle that we're still reeling from, and that a new one is impending.

I've seen others say that TOW's story suddenly ramps up at some point, and I suspect it's related to this general problem. There's just no gravity, no major conflict on the horizon. And the major story beats are few and far between, I think. Leave Edgewater, get to Groundbreaker, go to Monarch. But there's a lot of stuff to do in Emerald Vale, Roseway, Scylla, Monarch and Groundbreaker. I'll admit though, I'm about 30 hours in and barely explored Monarch, nor been to Byzantium yet (I have the nav key). Welles calls me so infrequently, I forget he's there. F:NV had you hearing about conflict between the NCR, Legion and New Vegas in every settlement. That robot guy seemed to follow you as well, creating a story link. The side-quests frequently reinforce the game's themes. "People are employees" isn't a compelling enough theme to connect everything by.


I have complaints, including a recent difficulty spike, but I do like the game. The gunplay is really great, though as I've said before, the guns themselves don't have much variety (I'm getting a lot of Mark 2 variants of existing weapons. F:NV was nice in that it just had different real-world or real-ish weapons of varying power levels). I just wish the game felt more...grounded.
10 Yrs#
knalb
#18
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10 Yrs#
Right Just finished my first session of the Outer worlds.

I've just finished looking around the edgewater and off to do some quests

I had a bit of problem with framerate on my PC I don't know if that's due to the game or that I need to get an upgrade or not. I'll look into. The game never the less feels fluid enough and while I haven't done much yet I feel that it's whole game loop will be rewarding. I'll need to play longer to find out.

In terms of story so far it's feels kind of like an over the top look at capitalism in a sense. I know obisdian is more grey so I'll prob need to reach the deserters before making any more decisions on that fact but considering you get medical treatment unless your healthy just feels over the top atm. Again it's far too early to say and I'll need to dig deeper to fully flesh out how the game plot overall runs.
12 Yrs$#
JernauGurgeh
Beggar
#19
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12 Yrs$#
I've just reached Monarch and am about 20 hours in according to my save file, but I'm sure I've played it longer... maybe it only actually records it when you are exploring in the game, not faffing about in the interface with your stats, inventory and journal.

Anyway, this is a highly enjoyable RPG that's so effortlessly comfortable to play that it feels like I'm home.

I do think Obsidian have played it extremely safe and stuck very closely to the formula of the Fallout games, but I'm not going to deny that they've made a fantastic job of it, and have surpasssed Bethesda's efforts, and, in my mind, even their own Fallout: New Vegas.

One difference that I really appreciate is that it's not a huge sprawling open world with a myriad of quests, but a series of manageable areas of varying sizes. I've really gone off vast open world games because they can be overwhelming, and much prefer shorter guided adventures that have a decent degree of choice within their linearity, gradually opening up to a wider world to explore. You get a better sense of progression and short term accomplishment, I feel.

Also, both the writing and the voice acting are great, there's a refreshing lack of grimdarkness (though obviously the themes of corporate power and exploitation are serious enough), and all my companions are adorable. I <3 PARVATI
9 Yrs#
Eries
#20
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9 Yrs#
I did most of the side quests so far and explored a lot and now I´m 26 hours in, next stop: Byzantium.

I´m a sucker for games with a great story and character that are well rounded and likable. The Outer World checks all those boxes.
I could spend all day just walking around, smelling the flowers (or the sulfur), searching every nook and cranny for loot and talking to all the NPCs.
Fingers crossed that the ending doesn´t suck.
10 Yrs#
AlphaOmega247
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#21
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10 Yrs#
Replying to pongsifu
As a trophy whore, I was contractually obligated to accept three flaws so that I could get the trophy. 😭
9 Yrs#
Eries
#22
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9 Yrs#
I just reached the point of no return: I´m going to Tartarus to save Phineas. This game is definitely a game of the year contender.
9 Yrs#
Eries
#23
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9 Yrs#
I just finished the game in 34h 19m. I think I got a pretty good ending and I´m satisfied with it.
But I was almost not able to finish the game at all because I encountered a game breaking bug in the last level. Once I entered the door to talk to the Chairman the game just kept crashing and crashing. I fixed this by dismissing one of my companions, talking to the Chairman, reloading an old save and doing some tricky parkour to get to the elevator that would take me to where I needed to go.

It sucked big time and I feared that it would just crash again. That thankfully didn´t happen.

I only had three glitches in 30 hours and then I had to run into a bug that almost ruined everything.
10 Yrs#
AlphaOmega247
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#24
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10 Yrs#
Well... I fucked myself over early on. The first time I went to Groundbreaker there were these two guards from The Board harassing some civilians and I took it upon myself to kill them. I didn't think anything of it and went about my business, but toward the end of my time at the aforementioned location, I went to speak with Udom and of course, he was waiting for me in his office with like ten armed guards. And they opened fire immediately. They all died, of course, but apparently Udom sent word of my treachery to The Board prior to his untimely demise.

Eons later, I land on Byzantium, capital of The Board and naturally everyone there wants to shoot me on sight. So I was pretty much forced into accepting Sophia's generous offer of clemency in exchange for obliterating Edgewater's population. But the joke's on her! I didn't do anything else that she asked of me, and I'm not helping her with her subsequent request, either!
9 Yrs#
Eries
#25
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9 Yrs#
Actions in this game have consequences and I on the other hand didn´t kill anyone the game didn´t force me to kill. I thought I could talk my way out of more fights then I could shoot my way out and I was right.
The game is absolutely brilliant that it allows so many different play styles.