Support NeoGAF

[semiconscious]

The day before this was announced, I received an email from Xbox advertising a new line of The Outer Worlds merchandise (shirts, posters, etc). Between this announcement and that email, I suspect they are trying to build interest leading up to a gameplay reveal/new cinematic trailer for the sequel.

thank you. &, suddenly, everything becomes clear...

a short, unpolished, mediocre, obviously unfinished rpg that was released at full price. i wuz robbed (even at sale price)...

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Good for Obsidian. I played and finished The Outer Worlds when it first came out and thought it was a decent game but nothing great (8/10).

The writing and characters were a little on the woke side, and it was obvious the writers and artists had an agenda to push and thus every encounter and outcome was predictable and even felt a little juvenile, kinda like Woke 101 for newbies. Hopefully Obsidian tones it down with The Outer Worlds 2 and focuses on an interesting story, with a less obvious woke agenda to push and the story is more nuanced. It will also be interesting to see what Obsidian does with a larger budget this time around, now that they have Microsoft's backing.

Yeah right, I’m not holding my breath. Microsoft backing + bigger budget = safer and more woke. Would love to be wrong about that.

 

[Mitsurugi Reiji]

I loved it. I know some people who hate some of the woke stuff in it, but I found it to be a really fun and easily consumable experience.

I had fun with it, it's Fallout-esque. Not gonna win any awards or anything but if the next gen package with all the dlc drops under $20 probably worth a get. I think the non next gen base edition is on gamepass if you have that.

If you want literally every dialogue to be a variation of "dude capitalism lmao MORTY I TURNED MYSELF INTO A CAPITAL", sure.
It's a bland game that shows the Bethesda formula doesn't work without physics.

It is overwhelmingly boring. Absolutely dreadful.

Lot of mixed opinions on this. Maybe sequel can get better but Tim Cain isnt there anymore.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

It's 5M units sold through and probably a lot more than that played it.

I see it now! Thank you!

 

[Fart Knight]

Only the dlc is good

 

[JohnnyFootball]

i loved this game as it gave me the Fallout fix I had been craving for ages, but it did wear out it's welcome towards the end.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Heard this one is too bland? is it worth playing?

It is hella bland. I went in very optimistic. Quit after a few hours. It goes down in history as one of the most boring games I have ever played.

 

[Games of Today]

But how many people actually played it?

And is it better than Starfield?

 

[mckmas8808]

Glad to see this.

 

[winjer]

And is it better than Starfield?

Yes.

 

[Laptop1991]

I really enjoyed the Outer Worlds and i'm looking forward to the sequel, doesn't surprise me, really good enjoyable game.

 

[Faust]

Heard this one is too bland? is it worth playing?

It is worth playing if you can ignore the awful writing, terrible character models, and insultingly patronizing/heavy handed symbolism.

The only thing going for the game is its art direction.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

It is worth playing if you can ignore the awful writing, terrible character models, and insultingly patronizing/heavy handed symbolism.

The only thing going for the game is its art direction.

I see how that stuff can turn people off, but it's still a solid game. The fact that you can keep up the running joke that you, the character, are indeed Captain Alex Hawthorne is one of the funniest roleplaying experiences I've had in a game.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

And is it better than Starfield?

Nah I thought it was nowhere near as good as Starfield. It felt bland and woke in a lot of the same ways that Starfield did, but at least Starfield had much more varied and expansive gameplay.

Starfield I agree with most of the criticism but I still had a lot of fun in my 60 hours. Outer Worlds honestly I beat the game but I can barely remember anything about it (and that seems to be a common sentiment here).

 

[Havoc2049]

Only the dlc is good

I keep meaning to check out the DLC. Maybe I'll check it out after I finish up Starfield.

 

[LordCBH]

Really enjoyed this one. Looking forward to the sequel.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Nah I thought it was nowhere near as good as Starfield. It felt bland and woke in a lot of the same ways that Starfield did, but at least Starfield had much more varied and expansive gameplay.

Starfield I agree with most of the criticism but I still had a lot of fun in my 60 hours. Outer Worlds honestly I beat the game but I can barely remember anything about it (and that seems to be a common sentiment here).

What's weird about Starfield's wokeness too, is that it's front-loaded. Like you get to New Atlantis and every military leader is a woman, and every doctor or scientist is a person of color. Later on in the game, this weird over representation chills out and feels a bit more natural.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

What's weird about Starfield's wokeness too, is that it's front-loaded. Like you get to New Atlantis and every military leader is a woman, and every doctor or scientist is a person of color. Later on in the game, this weird over representation chills out and feels a bit more natural.

Hmm to be honest I didn’t notice it mellowing out so much. Maybe New Atlantis was the most overt about it (with all the girlbosses + Matthew the soy white dude + old white man villain).

But in the Starfield universe it’s like there is no such thing as masculinity/femininity and no such thing as sexual attraction. Those concepts just don’t exist and don’t factor into anyone’s motivations or sense of identity. You could gender swap every NPC and it would barely feel like anything changed (aside from a couple girlboss characters now coming across as toxic male authority figures).

Everyone everywhere dresses in frumpy unisex clothing. There’s perfect ethnic + gender representation across all walks of life, even in street gangs and the “outlaw biker”-like Crimson Fleet. Nobody anywhere is trying to get laid or pursue a romantic relationship.

Even in the “Sin City” type place (Neon) there is zero sexual energy. No sex, no prostitution, everyone just goes to the dance club to put on some ugly clothing, take drugs, and enjoy a night of platonic dancing with friends I guess.



Anyway I think most of that is also true of Outer Worlds. Although Outer Worlds is a lot more preachy with its hamfisted “capitalism and rich people are evil” message.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Hmm to be honest I didn’t notice it mellowing out so much. Maybe New Atlantis was the most overt about it (with all the girlbosses + Matthew the soy white dude + old white man villain).

But in the Starfield universe it’s like there is no such thing as masculinity/femininity and no such thing as sexual attraction. Those concepts just don’t exist and don’t factor into anyone’s motivations or sense of identity. You could gender swap every NPC and it would barely feel like anything changed (aside from a couple girlboss characters now coming across as toxic male authority figures).

Everyone everywhere dresses in frumpy unisex clothing. There’s perfect ethnic + gender representation across all walks of life, even in street gangs and the “outlaw biker”-like Crimson Fleet. Nobody anywhere is trying to get laid or pursue a romantic relationship.

Even in the “Sin City” type place (Neon) there is zero sexual energy. No sex, no prostitution, everyone just goes to the dance club to put on some ugly clothing, take drugs, and enjoy a night of platonic dancing with friends I guess.



Anyway I think most of that is also true of Outer Worlds. Although Outer Worlds is a lot more preachy with its hamfisted “capitalism and rich people are evil” message.

The game does lack sex as a motivation for sure, but has that ever been a thing for a Bethesda game? I don't really mind it. Of course you won't get the really cool stories like in Cyberpunk and BG3, but you also get a focus on other things in the process. I can see why it's a turnoff for sure, and your take is a really great one to consider.

 

[Papa_Wisdom]

I got a full 1000G completion on this recently and although fun to begin with by the end I was wishing it away and ready to be done with it. The wokeness was didn’t bother me so much but it’s not fallout 3 or new Vegas. Ok if you can get it cheap.

 

[violence]

I started out liking it at the intro quest. Then faded off it. A sequel has potential. I did like the humor.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

The game does lack sex as a motivation for sure, but has that ever been a thing for a Bethesda game? I don't really mind it. Of course you won't get the really cool stories like in Cyberpunk and BG3, but you also get a focus on other things in the process. I can see why it's a turnoff for sure, and your take is a really great one to consider.

Yeah that is a good point, Bethesda games have always been like that to an extent. I don’t know why it felt particularly egregious in Starfield and Outer Worlds to me.

Maybe I’m just more attuned to it now that modern progressive values and 0 charisma girlboss characters are being awkwardly forced into every single entertainment product. Maybe it’s fatigue with the same familiar Bethesda formula for 2 decades. Maybe it just feels bland when I have The Witcher 3 + Cyberpunk 2077 in recent memory. Probably all of the above.