The Outer Worlds - success or disapointment?
Hello, guys. Do you remember the definition of RPG? RPG - roleplaying game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Thank you, Wiki. As you may know, in the last decade, we got a lot of so-called RPG games. Considering that most of them are not true RPGs, developers make it a little bit tricky, writing in game descriptions that they have only elements of RPG settings. A clever move that allows different studios to attract more audience to their products. But true RPG lovers can easily tell you that this gaming genre is almost dead, and we can witness only elements, nothing else. But today we are looking at something that wants to save this gaming direction and bring something special. The Outer Worlds, or as some call it, Fallout in space, will be measured today, and I will try to give you the answer - is this a true RPG or another mimic.
A great journey for a little man.
As you may understand, today we will compare The Outer Worlds with Fallout. And I can tell you that most references will be to the first two classic parts and Fallout 4 as the most recent game in this franchise. Like always, you may create your character from the very beginning. Customize his appearance, voice, form, choose perks and skills, and useful stats which will help you to communicate with other NPCs, shooting, stealth, etc. Just like in classic RPGs. In the modern gaming era, RPG has become synonymous with character leveling. If in your game you can add stats, upgrade your character with new gear, or reach a new level, this automatically becomes RPG. No, guys, please don't put an equal mark between leveling and RPG. Leveling is just a part of RPG gameplay that lets your character become more skillful in the game process by developing himself in different situations developers put players in. That was just a little remark; let's get back to the game.
A companion protects you in battle
After your character is created, you will be given a big and hard-to-achieve goal. The game is separated into several chapters where you have a main goal, and in the process, you may find smaller tasks which you can execute, so-called main quests and side quests. In the modern era, players are bored reading long dialogs or getting into NPC's problems. Just tell me what to do and place a marker on the minimap so I can go and shoot some bad guys or kill several rats and bring back their tails. I am sure you have come across such tasks, which have so much sense and importance that you will never remember who and why gave you such a quest. In The Outer Worlds, the dialogs were made at a pretty high level. NPCs have emotions, they communicate not only with your character but also integrate into your dialogs with other NPCs. Every side quest has a long and often interesting story behind. One day I came from work and could spend about 2 hours playing the game. Considering that The Outer Worlds is shorter, I made zero shots because I got into dialogs and different stories of NPCs on a huge spaceship. And I wasn't disappointed; on the contrary, I really liked them.
Opportunity to make a different decision
During the game, you should make decisions, and not always they are obvious and easy to decide what is best. Even on the first planet at the end of the chapter, you should make a choice between the so-called corporate town and settlement where lived those who were against the ruling space government. And you can't simply separate these two communities by calling the first of them bad guys and the other good. In this game, authors tried to show players not black and white colors but make everything with a gray shade where looks can be deceiving. The final goal will be to save colonists from your spaceship or join the corporation and settle down with their main plan, the Lifetime Employment Programme. During your journeys, you will meet all possible factions, and you will be involved in their conflicts and problems and considering how you behave and what decisions you make will depend on their attitude. After walking through The Outer Worlds, I got the feeling that I was Superman because I could help almost everyone in this universe and more or less keep a neutral position where I could, and many times I was pushed to think about what is right and what consequences will bring my decision. As you may get it, this is a super positive side of this game
Could The Outer Worlds be called an RPG fresh breath?
Well, without many doubts, I can say - yes. I have played many games where RPG elements were announced, but in most of these projects, the player was led by the hand through the story without even the possibility to change anything. Of course, it is easier for developing studios to create one plot without any variety of different ways to change the surrounding world. It took a lot of time and knowledge to create a world that could react to your actions. Obsidian made this as best as they could. The story takes you and makes you follow the plot twists. The universe where action takes place is created with a lot of sarcasm and black humor, making fun of modern trends and people's mindsets. You may feel it through reading messages and letters where people are scared about totally absurd things, where work is a privilege, not a duty or human choice. In this world, you may become an outcast just because your thoughts are different from the government's policy. And what makes it all more caricatured is that almost everyone realizes what is going on but still tries to play their role with bad acting.
This time I could not talk about a bunch of backtracking, but it was still cool to get back to old locations and find NPCs who gave you tasks and ask them about different events. Many times I saved and loaded to find out what will happen if I go a different way and make different decisions. What he or she will tell me and how they will react or maybe after another conflict this character will just disappear or even die? This interest that grows inside is something special because in recent projects, I didn't get so deeply into the plot or problems of non-playable characters. I remember one quest where you could try the role of a psychotherapist helping one of your teammates understand whom she loves and whether it is a forbidden love. I can say that I am a big fan of non-traditional relationships, but I was really excited about how I could help this girl. We even go to a bar, and I ensure her that the best way will be to speak with the person she is in love with. But as a player, you could make a totally different decision and play another role. What is most important in The Outer Worlds is you can really play a role you are close to. Developers gave us a big variety of choices in the persona you want to be. In many situations, you may choose not from two or three but five or six different variants, causing you to patiently think about what you really want.
Edgewater. The home town of Saltuna Cannery
A little spoon of salt
As you may understand, nothing perfect could be created, and one minus I found for myself is the action part and inventory. In my opinion, this game lacks unique enemies and weapons. Firstly, the game introduces what it's got, but in a short period, I noticed new enemies and weapons have almost the same models, and the only differences were stats, colors, and titles. You may encounter the so-called bandits on the first planet, and after spending dozens of hours, you will face them again on another planet but with updated skins and new titles. Well, generally, this was the only minus for me, but still, I had a great interest in creating my own perk and weapon build, sitting and reading what every perk can give me, and how I can strengthen my character to confront dangers on my way.
Is space Fallout actual right now?
If you have no problems with reading, and trust me, there's a lot of reading, thinking, and trying to live your character's life, this game will suit you very much. It will captivate you for about 20 hours of exploring, traveling, chatting, and fighting, and in the end, you may exhale and feel yourself satisfied, the same way I did. Maybe it is not a masterpiece, but who may tell what a masterpiece is, right? But still, this is a solid game with pretty graphics, non-irritating soundtracks, interesting characters, and storylines with unexpected twists, and what is more important for a true RPG, is a replay value. You may try yourself in many different roles, and every role will be laconically integrated into the plot. So our rank is high, and I highly recommend trying it out.
Hope I helped you make the right decision and choose The Outer Worlds. Don't miss it and see you very soon :)
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