Stomping Through Halcyon

Being frozen in cryostasis only to wake up in a galaxy far, far away by a mad scientist is a science fiction trope that has been done more than a few times. Obsidian’s approach to this is as unique as their backstory is. Founded in 2003 by the developers of the original Fallout games after Black Isle Studios' closure, Obsidian has more than made a huge name in the industry for themselves. After working on games such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and even more famously Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian released a game in 2019 names The Outer Worlds.

Described as Fallout: New Vegas in space, The Outer Worlds is a unique and surprising masterpiece in a genre saturated with games that do not quite hit the mark and fail to impress. Luckily, that is not the case with this one. With the announcement of The Outer Worlds 2 at the recent E3 Microsoft/Bethesda showcase, I figured it was time that I did a review of the first one. This is great because I started playing through it again. I beat it once originally after it released when I was in Delaware training to be a train conductor. There wasn’t a lot to do other than study, so I caught up on quite a few video games during that time.

The Outer Worlds starts off with a genius of a scientist that’s on the run from the law, wakes you up to help save the colonies of Halcyon. Your standard RPG beginning at work. You magically fall into a world in disarray, and you are the only one that can fix it. Although, the tone shifts drastically when the scientist sends you down to the planet below in a drop pod that crushes the contact you were supposed to meet. This is where you find out that the open world of The Outer Worlds is dark and gritty, but also doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Obsidian prides themselves in giving their players the choice in playing how they want, within reason. All they do is show you the paths and allow you to follow the ones you see fit. One choice that comes to my mind is one that can happen fairly early in the game. You are given the opportunity to turn in the scientist that woke you from cryo-stasis. In doing so, this gives you access to a planet that would otherwise be locked until much later in the game if you chose to go morally “good.” This was a choice I went with during my last playthrough. In my first playthrough, I helped the scientist because deep inside I am morally inclined to uphold the law. I believe in order among all things. Sometimes that’s even my biggest flaw….

While traversing the game, you’ll encounter multiple varieties of enemies, befriend several companions, and increase or decrease your reputation with the in-game factions. All of which are staples of any game that Obsidian has the pleasure of making for us. Although not quite as big as some of the other games in their portfolio, The Outer Worlds stands out due to its retro-futuristic art deco aesthetics and gameplay. As I am going to try and keep my reviews spoiler-free, I will share a few of my experiences in this review. Without further ado, let’s begin.

Story/Lore Review: 10/10

Corporate powers have taken mankind to the stars to expand their businesses and profit margins. That’s what you will find out shortly after waking up from your cryo-stasis chamber. You were on a ship that is way older than the colonies you will visit and was deemed lost in space. Eventually, you will find that this was all a huge cover-up from the corporate overlords that run Halcyon. It’s up to you as the main character to decide if you want to save the colony and wake up your fellow colonists from their frozen slumber, or side with the darker powers to be.

Obsidian has done a spectacular job of creating the setting of The Outer Worlds. There is a lot of history to uncover while playing through the branching story. The side quests also let you peek behind the curtain of the factions that the game centers around. The world of this game is spectacularly well crafted. I cannot praise the level of attention that went into making this game. Even the downloadable content was an absolute joy to play and added to the atmosphere in their own unique ways. From the dark tones of the Peril on Gorgon DLC to the murder mystery of the Murder on Eridanos DLC, The Outer Worlds will leave you searching for more things to discover.

Gameplay Mechanics Review: 10/10

Like most RPG’s The Outer Worlds starts by giving you the considerably basic of tutorials. From there, everything else is up to you. If you’ve been playing games as long as I have, then you are already accustomed to how shooters work. Especially if you have played any of the Fallout games as I have. During your playthrough you will level up, expanding your skills and perks to increase your stats. On harder difficulties, you can even add flaws that will make the game more strategic. For instance, you can get the “Robophobia” flaw which decreases your perception, dexterity, and temperament when fighting the game's mechanical enemies. This makes you think about how you might approach the next set of enemies. In reward, you get another perk point or two to use. You don’t even have to take the flaws, which is nice!

Upgrading your weapons and gear is as basic as it gets. You have a few slots on the weapons that you can add mods to, and you can level up your gear to match yours if you have the credits and materials. This requires a workbench to do so, but it is never hard to find one of those. Some weapons can be unique in their own ways as well. Take, for instance, the science weapons. There is a shrink ray gun and even a mind control gun that makes enemies turn on their friends. Both of which are relatively self-explanatory. My favorite is the Mandibular Rearranger, a melee weapon that rearranges your target's face with every swing!

Dialog in this game is also very robustly done. Every bit is fully voiced by an amazing cast, bringing life and richness to the story. With the right perks, you can unlock various other branches, opening more conversations that would otherwise be locked. With a high enough skill level, you can even persuade characters in the game to take different approaches to their problems. For instance, I was able to talk the manager of a company to step down and give the company up to someone who had the colony's best interest at heart. A choice I have done on a few occasions.

Every game mechanic you can expect of an RPG is here in The Outer Worlds. Crafting, looting, leveling up, fighting, and conversing. I give full marks in this aspect of the game. I am quite please with how it plays, and I don’t feel it needs to try to change the formula. I believe that Obsidian did a bang-up job designing the way the game works for the player. It’s not too complicated and as a father, I appreciate that about the games I can play at the moment.

Difficulty Review: 10/10

Like most games, The Outer Worlds has a range of difficulty settings. Story mode, which is the equivalent of easy, is just that. It allows you to play the game as a figurative god so that you can play through and experience the game for the story without diving into the sometimes difficult combat. Personally, I feel that is a waste of time. However, I can see the appeal for someone who doesn’t have a lot of time on their hands and just want to experience the game. If you just want to experience the dialogue this game has to offer, this setting is for you.

The middle two settings, normal and hard, are almost the exact same difficulty. Granted that in hard the enemies have more health and hit harder, that is where they make up the only major difference. In both settings, the enemies can down your companions but only you as the player can kill them off entirely. Hard also allows a maximum of four flaws to be excepted instead of normal modes, two. The flaws, however, are optional. These difficulties feel easy to me though. Luckily though there is a fourth difficulty setting!

The final difficulty setting adequately is named Supernova. If you remember Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4’s survival difficulties, then you already have an idea of what Supernova entails. In this difficulty, the player is required to eat, drink, and sleep to maintain level stats. Otherwise neglecting these functions will cause stats such as perception to decrease. You can also only heal crippling body conditions by sleeping. Enemies also not only hit harder and survive more but can also kill your companions in this mode. To top it off, auto-saves are limited, and you can only save at your ship. Keeping with the realism, you will only be able to fast travel back to your ship as well.

I am a hard mode enthusiast when it comes to games. If it has a difficulty setting, I play on the hardest difficulty possible. I’ve played and beat Doom (2016), Doom: Eternal, Wolfenstein, and countless others on their hardest difficulties, and playing The Outer Worlds was no different. My only complaint is that even its Supernova difficulty felt somewhat easy. Maybe it’s just because I’m a veteran player and the other games I mentioned have a bigger focus on their difficulties? Either way, there were still times where I was decently challenged. Especially towards the very end of the game during my first playthrough. There is a robot that took me hours of dying and trying again to beat. Still, the difficulties in this game are perfectly balanced.

Graphics and Sound Review: 8/10

I will start off with the sound of The Outer Worlds. I have played many games where the soundtracks and effects are far from what you might expect from their respective game genres. Whether it is a lack of it, or over the top. This is not the case for The Outer Worlds. The atmospherics and background music really makes the game stand out from the rest. The Outer Worlds has this wild west in space vibe that you can really hear when walking through places like Edgewater or Monarch. It’s very pleasing to the ears and makes you want to listen to the soundtrack outside of playing the game. Which I have done!

Now, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have issues with the graphics of Halcyon. Don’t get me wrong, the game is absolutely gorgeous, but like all games, there is bound to be an issue or two. Things such as the ragdoll physics not really working like it should and NPC’s clip through the ground or walls when they die. I’ve run into a few instances like that. Or their bodies will convulse on the ground and shake constantly until they finally fall flat on a surface. These are minor issues you see a lot in first-person shooter RPG’s. I just was expecting more polish, I guess. This isn’t something that will stop me from playing it again though.

All the weapons have their own looks and sounds, the armor is unique and interesting, and the non-playable characters have their own distinct looks. This is what the gameplay trailer promised, and The Outer Worlds delivered. Upon playing this game again, I hope that the sequel will not change the way this universe feels. Otherwise, I think that it would be a disservice to the world that Obsidian created with this game. I’m going to be patiently waiting to find out, even if it will be a few years from now until I do.

Controls Review: 10/10

As the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t break it.” The controls of this game are almost what is considered standard for most shooters. I played this on my Xbox One X and most recently my Xbox Series X, so the controls were the exact same. You have your basics, B to crouch, A to jump, X to interact, and Y to change your weapon. The right trigger shoots and the left trigger allows you to aim down the sights. You see where this is going, yeah? The controls were responsive and well done. There are no complaints from me. I also play with the ease of an Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, but that’s a completely different article altogether.

Replayability Review: 10/10

RPGs are a form of game that gives players choice in how they want to direct the story. With this, it allows games to be replayed with the possibility of having events happen completely different from what you may have done in the previous playthrough. With The Outer Worlds having multiple endings, you could potentially do something different each time you played. It’s a mix and match formula that encourages experimentation. That’s why I feel that The Outer Worlds deserves its ten out of ten for replayability. You may not be able to replay it for eternity, but at least a few times after your first run to achieve different results.

Pausability: 10/10

The Outer Worlds, like many RPG’s, goes straight into an inventory management screen if you press the select button on the controller. And an actual pause menu when you press the start. Unlike a lot of the games in today’s generation, the game pauses in the background when any of these menus are brought up. So, The Outer Worlds has a legit pause that stops the game. If you have a wife that needs something done around the house, or you need to wrangle the kids, that means you can set down the controller and step away if you must. If you are like me, this is probably going to try and be avoided at all costs.

Spousal Approval: 5/10

Now, my wife never is really interested in the games I play. Which is something I do not mind. However, if there is something she does not approve of or is not fond of, I am let known what her feelings are. For instance, when the quarantine started, I ended up playing both newer Doom games. Both of which she did not really like because of all the blood and gratuitous gore. I also ended up playing all three of the Fable games in which she enjoyed a lot more. The music and the British humor appealed to her more than most games I tend to play around her.

Luckily, my wife did not have much to say this go around about The Outer Worlds. This is because I rarely played any of this while she was awake or at home. I played this game while I was up late with my newborn. There were not a lot of daylight hours of this game being played. With that being said, the score for this is neutral. The missus had nothing either good or bad to say. I assure you that I would let you all know if there was anything otherwise.

Dad Enjoyment: 10/10

As a new father, The Outer Worlds was a breath of fresh air from an otherwise busy day. Working all day and then taking over baby duty has been rough, but extremely rewarding in the video game world of things for me. As both my wife and the little girl slept at night, I was able to devote a few hours to the video games I have been missing so much. The Outer Worlds was among the many that I started and kept playing until completion. All while watching over and feeding my baby.

I thoroughly enjoyed running through this game again. It has been hard to play anything with a narrative, partly because it is hard to focus on dialogue when a baby is screaming next to you. Or when you also have responsibilities that need to be accomplished around the house. So, when I got to play The Outer Worlds, I absolutely loved every second of it. It made the time I did spend with the game very meaningful because I did not want to miss everything. I wanted to soak up as much of it that I could. It will probably be a long while until I will be able to do that again.

Community: 10/10 by Default

Now, this is a category that was hard to figure into this review. The Outer Worlds is strictly a single-player game. So there really is not a community to speak of. However, the game itself received very favorable reviews from multiple sources. I was not the only one to think that this game deserved all the praise that it has gotten. So naturally, I kept this at a ten out of ten by default. With great reviews and positive reception, there wouldn’t be any reason to give this anything other than a great community review.

Giga Gamer Dad Final Review Score: 93/100

With an “A” grade nearly across the board, The Outer Worlds is a game that should not be skipped over. With its stunning and detailed world, this game truly found a place in this genre. I cannot recommend playing this game enough. It will scratch that RPG itch if you happen to get them as I do. Pick this game up on Xbox GamePass if you do not feel like shelling out the money for it. As a busy father who got to play it, I promise it will not waste your time or disappoint.