The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds is a satirical sci-fi RPG in which the player wakes from hibernation aboard a lost colonization ship and finds themselves in the Halcyon system, entirely in the hands of corporations. Their advertising language, absurd employment contracts, and perfectly calm announcements that an employee is also company property make up the game's humor. Obsidian continues its tradition of RPGs with consequences here: practically every major conflict can be resolved in several ways, and the main factions can be supported, betrayed, or wiped out without the game punishing the player for taking an unexpected path.

Gameplay combines first-person shooting with an extensive skill system that affects not just combat but especially dialogue and the possibilities of trading, persuasion, lying, or intimidation. Special attention deserves the flaw mechanic: when the player is repeatedly hurt by a specific danger, the game offers them a permanent drawback in exchange for a skill point. Also available is time slowdown while aiming, along with a party of companions with their own quests and combat abilities that can be unleashed on the enemy at the right moment. The world isn't one big continent but several smaller, dense locations connected by your own ship, so travel happens across planets as well as orbital stations.

On Xbox One, the game runs without major issues and relies on a distinctive art style with venomously colorful vegetation and retro-futuristic equipment design that conceals a technologically more modest foundation. The music is understated but underscores the colonial kitsch of the advertising announcements well. Reception was very good, with a shorter length compared to big open-world RPGs and a lesser degree of adventurous exploration being frequent criticisms. But that tightness is a strength today: the game respects the player's time, has a high density of well-written dialogue, and can be completed several times with a completely different approach and ending.