Review for The Outer Worlds. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X, the video game was released on 25/10/2019 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 05/06/2020
The Fallout series is, in the common imagination, an authentic overall anchor of fantasy, game in the strict sense and the concept of "universe": something to be inspired by completely, in some ways, to see what it means to baste a credibly post- apocalyptic despite insanely unrealistic. The Outer Worlds, the game we will be covering in this review, is a highly anticipated title for the reason mentioned above: is the product of Obsidian's labors and, de facto, the spiritual heir of Fallout: New Vegas. But will something that stands as a sort of Atlas that lifts the world succeed in lifting the very heavy burden?
The Outer Worlds is a first person shooter framed by a deep and vast rolistic sector. And it is precisely this, the first, important fact to consider: the title of Obsidian takes its cue from the recent past, from a way of doing that was in turn a projection into the future of the canons and "dogmas" of role-playing games of a few decades does. His playful movements, in fact, are based on a universe full of characters, dialogues and choices, which will essentially allow us to outline our character in the way we like best, choosing with which residents, factions and problems (and there will be many!) want to relate. Will we choose to be banned? Will we help people in need? The Outer Worlds is set up so that, in its wacky and futuristically retro universe, you are completely free or almost completely free as you choose what to do., where and when, in a universe so technologically advanced, but which seems to have stopped, in ways, customs and concepts, in the Old West. Humor included.
Of course, like any self-respecting Obsidian title, too The Outer Worlds will have an "alternative" main storyline, where the reality we know has taken a completely different turn (or maybe not?). The game world is, as mentioned, an alternative universe: in 1901 the American president William McKinley was not assassinated and, consequently, Roosvelt never took office. The stay in MicKinley's oval room created the right "humus" for mega-corporations, to be able to grow undisturbed and conquer, with a lot of money, the Earth but also and above all to dedicate themselves to the colonization of alien planets. This, as it is reasonable to imagine, has created a distorted society and not exactly founded on social equality. Our protagonist, specifically one of the colonizers sent to create a "new home" in the Halcyon system, will awaken from a long cryogenic sleep on a spaceship wandering in space, full of other colonizers: from there, it will be in spite of himself involved in all the (intricate) intrigues that the beautiful and profound plot of The Outer Worlds will make us admire, which will be largely oriented by our choices, and which will last about 20 hours, not counting the multiple endings and the great replayability given precisely from the aforementioned decision-making possibilities.
The first thing we will discover, probably in contrast to the heritage that inspires it, The Outer Worlds is not a totally open world but, rather, a series of large hubs to commute through our intergalactic spacecraft: in general, the game world of The Outer Worlds will be rich in detail and outlined by a good artistic and design characterization (probably, however less inspired than Fallout). Above all, the excellent work done by Obsidian will emerge from the details, from the overall characterization of society, from his lifestyle clearly divided between "ordinary people", who live in a situation of constant danger and almost always on the verge of survival, against those who embrace the "creed" of the multinaz ... er, of the mega-corporations, which will have very high privileges and living standards.
Of course, like any self-respecting role-playing shooter, The Outer Worlds will have a dense action component inextricably linked to a rather thick rpg sector: just as also done by the Fallout series, our character will gain experience from the completion of missions and objectives, as well as from the systematic elimination of enemies, also thanks to the help of NPCs scattered throughout the game world, of which we can recall with the combination of some keys, the useful skills in battle.
In principle, we will have access to a wide choice of paraphernalia, from more classic guns to hi-tech or laser equipment, which will in some ways remind us of the "futuristic retro" that we have come to appreciate in the Fallout saga. The combat system, mechanically solid, both at the level of actual possibilities (there will be area weapons, which will trigger conditions in the opponents, etc.) and as regards the effectiveness of the action, smooth and dynamic at the right point, even if rather "Slow" and that will return a feeling of the weapons a bit "old" compared to the average of modern shooters, will be partially buffered by a series of enemies who, except in small cases, will have a rather similar modus operandi and that will not reserve in large measure big surprises.
This is a visible sin (but certainly modifiable in the future) given the large amount of "offensive" possibilities that the title reserves for the player: for example, performing an attack in a specific point of our opponent's body will cause a condition extra beyond mere damage (e.g. a blow to the head will trigger confusion, to the legs will restrict movement, etc.). We will also have the opportunity to use a sort of "bullet time", or slow down time to be able to face enemies more easily, as well as highlight their weaknesses for a considerable tactical advantage in battle. Last, but not least, the possibility of using a side dodge which, on balance, is useful in many situations and, as expected, fundamental in battle.
Our character, in a way not too dissimilar to Fallout, will be built on six passive stats, that is, strength, intelligence, dexterity, perception, charm and temperament: nothing shocking, facade, if you have already ventured into any self-respecting role-playing world. Each "apical" statistic will directly affect "subordinate" abilities, ranging from skills in battle, but also to the ability to dialogue or stealth.
When we gain enough experience, we will naturally obtain the possibility of increasing certain skills: in addition, in the course of the game, we can also earn "phobias", here lies the first real novelty of The Outer Worlds, which will bring with them malus and bonuses based on several factors (including what we actually did during the game). In addition, every couple of "levels" obtained with the character, we will be able to gain an "advantage", that is a generic passive ability that will help us in different fields, from inventory management, to the use of weapons or to our athletic skills. . But the role-playing appeal also continues in the great work done at the level of dialogues: The Outer Worlds will allow us, as it has worked for a long time in the sector, to engage in conversations that are on average interesting and well written and that will almost always have a "sense" not only aesthetic, since, for example, they can lead us to the conclusion of a mission or to the learning of very important details for another task.
In principle, The Outer Worlds will be mechanically and content-wise, although it will likely suffer from a certain lack of character: a complete and satisfying experience for every role player but which stands as a monumental “what if”, if one dared something more to break out of traditional schemes. Technically speaking, the test of the game showed an excellent state of technical programming and artistic elaboration, although not without defects.
Archived the classic problems that the open world titles or almost (as in this case) have, between qualitatively wavy textures, some slowdown here and there, sporadic sudden pop-ups of props on the distance and small polygonal interpenetrations, The Outer Worlds is a valuable experience of technical and artistic depth. However, we are on a slightly lower step than that of a canon Triple A, especially as regards the aesthetic quality of buildings and, in general, of the outposts, which will often seem similar geometrically and aesthetically, although they will still remain a beautiful sight. overall.
By tying in hand to the world of Fallout (by the developers' own admission), the comparison between The Outer World and the aforementioned saga is essentially impossible not to baste: Fallout (obviously thanks to decades of development and labor files) offers a crazy and visionary world, personal and original in its "impossibility" but damn raw and real in its concrete internal movements.
The Outer Worlds, despite offering an excellent game universe, still seems a few steps behind in terms of overall consistency and qualitative "diameter" of the script. In addition, even on a purely aesthetic level, The Outer Worlds seems to want to beat, in some ways forcibly, the same path of human dissension, social and otherwise, albeit not linked to an apocalypse, succeeding largely but not completely.
The Outer Worlds is the first chapter of a (we're sure) very long series of video games that will be presented to the general public as a real conceptual alternative to Fallout. A vast world, a worthy script, dialogue, fighting and skills - the formula is complete. Too bad that, in principle, Obsidian does not put anything new on the plate, offering a rich experience but all too tied to tradition.
► The Outer Worlds is a Shooter-RPG type game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Obsidian Entertainment Private Division for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X, the video game was released on 25/10/2019 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 05/06/2020
