You may have heard about speed runners beating Obsidian’s new game The Outer Worlds in under 30 minutes. I genuinely am not sure how they do this, but I have officially spent 24 hours in the game and still haven’t visited at least three locations. This really shows how crazy this game really can be, giving you the choices to do so much. How everyone’s play through can be so wildly different from each other.
I have been really enjoying The Outer Worlds. Having spent 24 hours in the game now definitely shows this. My other games have been taking backseats, including the new Call of Duty and Apex Legends.
The game feels so much like Fallout 3 or New Vegas, exploring every nook and cranny. Trying to find as many secrets as possible and reading a ton of computer logs that can pertain to a quest, or can be completely useless. Even those useless little stories make the world feel so interesting.
I really enjoy the companions as well. Even the kind of shitty Vicar Max. You find him on the first planet, and he’s kind of like a priest or something like that, but an ex con and kind of a douche bag too. So far though his companion quest is actually pretty interesting. Tracking down some french guy to read a book. Okie, that sounds stupid, there’s a lot more to it than that. Still though, I’m intrigued.
Like many people, Parvati is my favorite companion. Her quest is just so wholesome and sweet. Basically getting her a girlfriend. It’s really cute. Plus her skills helping with tech stuff is super useful to have.
I’ve already recruited all of the available companions at this point. I think I actually have all of them now. You get them all rather quickly in the game, which is nice because it gives you time to get to know each one of them. They’re all a lot deeper than you initially think.
The choices in The Outer Worlds is pretty great too. I’m obsessed with just trying to make everyone as happy as possible. So trying to find the middle ground for every single issue is definitely what I strive for. So far it totally seems like it is possible with having high speech skills.
Sneaking seems kind of pointless for the most part. I haven’t had a single time where I thought sneaking around enemies was easier than just mowing down everything in your path. Only time I ever snuck around was when I’m looting NPC houses and it’s technically stealing or whatever. Speech skills definitely seem like the most important skill. I’ve also heard that being incredibly stupid is also pretty fun though.
A few things I’m disappointed in though are the perk system and the slow time mechanic. The perk system doesn’t seem as diverse or even as interesting as a lot of RPGs that you would compare it to. I have a hard time picking a perk every time and it’s not because I don’t know what’s beat for me, it’s because none of them seem important at all.
The slow tome mechanic is exactly like the VATS system in Fallout 4. Doesn’t stop time entirely, just slows it down and lets you aim shots a little easier. It actually feels pretty useless. I’ll use it every once in a while when I actually remember it, but I have never had a fire fight I couldn’t handle without it. There is also a dodge thing you can do and I genuinely don’t think I have ever actually used it in battle. It feels pointless.
So after 24 hours of play time, The Outer Worlds is definitely my game of the year so far. Exploring different worlds is super rad, choices matter, and the side quests feel meaningful. Really fun characters are everywhere in the game. I really enjoy the little stories within the world that are just in there for you to find or not. There are a few gripes, but I can easily overlook them because the world is so interesting and I am having so much fun. I really hope I spend at least another 24 hours. I don’t see myself replaying it again right away, but it will probably become a yearly thing for me, just like Fallout 3 or Alan Wake.
Have you been playing The Outer Worlds at all? What are your impressions of the game so far?
The Tired Obsidian 
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