The Outer Worlds Preview: A Familiar and Far Out Experience – At E3 2019

The Outer Worlds, Obsidian Entertainment’s newest open-world RPG, has already made quite an impression among players. Up until recently, very little gameplay has been shown, but behind closed doors at E3 2019, myself and our editor-in-chief, Austin Adamson experienced a behind-the-scenes demo of this anticipated title. Although this demo wasn’t too extensive, it was enough to get a pretty concrete sense of how Outer Worlds will be.

Because Obsidian Entertainment was the primary developer behind Fallout: New Vegas, there’s going to be a lot of comparisons drawn right off the bat. In a move that is probably for the better, The Outer Worlds is basically Fallout: New Vegas, in space. This is most noticeable in how dialogue trees are presented and how the skill system works, but it’s also apparent in some of the more subtle details such as the lifeless eyes of any NPC characters when you have a conversation with them, or in the fact that your NPC speaks in complete silence via text. While these are basic staples in the world of RPG video games, some of these features felt a bit dated compared to the more contemporary, albeit simpler, RPG Fallout 4.

Our demonstration began in a sci-fi, western-styled town on a harsh, hardly colonized planet. Apparently, the corporations that own damn near every colony attempted to terraform the planet, assuming that any flora and fauna living there would simply die off in the process. Unfortunately for them, the flora and fauna actually thrived in the new environment, and aggressively staved off any attempts at colonization. Lacking any huge corporate presence, marauders, bandits and general hooligans decided to settle down there.

Our protagonist and their two followers, represented on the HUD by the two health bar and character icons on the left-hand side of the screen, were prompted to speak to the saloon owner in town to see about a job. The woman who owned the saloon wasn’t too happy about another business tycoon named Clive across the wastes and offered to pay you to put a stop to them.

How we put a stop to this business kingpin is up to us. She offered a few ways to disrupt Clive. We could disrupt their production lines, destroy the place, or simply put a bullet into him. She didn’t seem to care one way or another, as long as the job was done. After a few more helpful tips about how exactly to get into Clive’s boarstwurst factory, through stealth, deception or guns-blazing, we were off.

On our way through the hostile environment to Clive’s compound were a few different types of bad guys. First were some marauders, who’d set up some blockades to presumably rob anybody unlucky enough to pass, followed by some of amped-up super creatures.

The marauders were easily, and quite flashily, dealt with. The Outer Worlds has what seems to be a pretty fun balance of tactical decision making and first-person shooting. Players can enter a slow-motion combat mode where they can analyze enemies and plan their attacks. Our character actually had a skill unlocked where we could aim at an enemy and see information about that enemy, and see if where we were aiming would maim, blind, cripple or kill our target. All of the weapons that we saw in the demo, a semi-automatic militaristic rifle, some sort of plasma shotgun, an electrified minigun and a toxic-looking blade, appeared to be unique and fun to play with. Our minigun had actually be modified through our character’s engineering skill to shoot electrified rounds, which are super-effective against mechanical enemies.

Combat appeared serviceable for a first-person, action RPG. I wouldn’t go around comparing the shooting mechanics to a smooth, fast-paced shooter like DOOM, but there’s certainly a noticeable upgrade from shooter RPGs of yesteryear. The slow-motion tactical ability seems to be a nice enough replacement for the VATS system and has some interesting implications for combat. Weapons are efficient enough that you aren’t punished for simply shooting and looting, but if planning is your cup of tea, you’ll have plenty of ways to do it.

The larger-than-life wildlife we encountered were interesting but deadly enough that we wanted to stay the hell away, and soon enough we arrived at Clive’s shifty food factory. While the player choice is always promised in these kinds of games, most of the time it doesn’t feel impactful. I can’t speak much to how decisions will affect the story, but at least in terms of mission structure and capability, it felt like players will play a huge part in how things pan out. Right away, we were presented with three obvious methods of infiltrating the base. We could find and equip a disguise, shoot our way in, or sneak in through the sewer entrance discreetly tucked away behind a waterfall.

During our demo we decided to sneak in through the waterfall entrance, bringing us to the ass-end of the Cystypig production line, literally. The boarsttwursts that Clive and co. produces come from the fatty cysts of the genetically modified Cystypig. It’s disgusting and indicative of the ridiculous nature of the game. Once inside the factory we found a terminal that would allow us to hack all of the patrolling robots in the facility…if only we’d invested skill points into our hacking skills. Like many RPGs and basically every Fallout title before Fallout 4, Outer Worlds’s skill system is a simple one. There are several different skills from the charm, lockpicking, hacking, lying and even once called “dumb,” on a scale of 0-100. Being particularly skilled in any of these areas can open up dialogue or world-choices that may help you throughout your journey.

Even though we didn’t have the ability to hack the robots guarding the facility, we had the lockpicking skills to gain access to the facility intercom. After picking up the intercom we could be our dumb selves, evident through a speech option, take our luck with a rather unconvincing attempt at clearing out the facility, or we could use our companion’s ability to lie to our advantage. While our protagonist wasn’t particularly strong in their ability to lie, one of our companions were, allowing us an option that we wouldn’t otherwise have. While lying through our teeth, we told the assembly line workers that “the king” wanted to have dinner with them. Presumably, this was a bad thing, as it caused the workers to quit on the spot and abandon their posts, allowing us safe passage to Clive’s office.

Even seemingly at the end of our little quest, player choice once again came into play. While talking to Clive in his office, there’s a lot that comes up that we’ve got to consider. We can betray the saloon owner, passing up some cash for a lifetime supply of boarstwurst. We could kill him there and then, as originally planned, or we could try and work out some sort of compromise. Our demo ended here, so we’re yet to see exactly how these choices play out, but it would seem that there’s a lot that can change from playthrough to playthrough.

For better or for worse, The Outer Worlds has a lot in common with Fallout: New Vegas and similar titles. There’s a nice coat of next-gen paint that’s been applied, but The Outer Worlds clearly shares the same DNA. Players don’t have an audible voice, NPCs seem incapable of emotion above the lips, and every transition from one outdoors to indoors is met with a load screen. While this all may sound like a bad thing, it’s oddly comforting. After sitting with it, I feel like I know what to expect from The Outer Worlds, and I’m excited.

The Outer Worlds has a bit of classic bloat and clunkiness, alongside a fresh coat of paint, engrossing worlds, and deep RPG mechanics. The Outer Worlds releases on October 25, 2019 on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.