The Outer Worlds

 PC
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. Cubed3
    Nov 16, 2020
    70
    The problem with this isn't that it is a bad game (far from it), but the fact that it failed to reach its true potential… or maybe the expectations were simply too high, because there's nothing here that anyone can point to and say that it is terrible. Sadly, there's almost nothing that's great either, apart from the role-playing element and the quality of writing. The gunplay? Ok. The exploration? Decent. The plot? Fine. The dominant feeling here is of a game that is good enough so that you won't hate it, but also not as good for it to be the flawless classic that it could definitely be - but again, that's probably those darn high expectations speaking, because flaws or no flaws, The Outer Worlds shouldn't be missing from any RPG collection.
  2. GRYOnline.pl
    Oct 23, 2019
    70
    There is much to complain about The Outer Worlds - it is mediocre from a technical standpoint, has tons of outdated features and its story and companions are acceptable at best. Fortunately, Obsidian's new title is a well-made RPG - this is a game for those who enjoy being a nameless hero who either saves the world or destroys it without any reason whatsoever, wasting time on pointless side-quests just for the XP.
  3. PCGamesN
    Oct 22, 2019
    70
    Obsidian’s RPG fulfills its potential, but only in fits and starts. Sure, its worst moments are only ever as bad as workmanlike RPG-making, but they make the stretches between some instances of genuine greatness a little more disappointing.
  5. PC Invasion
    Oct 22, 2019
    70
    An enjoyable adventure, but one that hews a little too close to its FPS Fallout roots.
  6. Slant Magazine
    Oct 31, 2019
    60
    On some level, Obsidian has succeeded at rendering a hellscape of vapid consumerism through the mechanics of the Bethesda scavenge ‘em up, but the game’s anti-corporate ideals clash with how the only way to move forward is to indulge in all the excesses of that hellscape.
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This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
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In Progress & Unscored

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  1. Ars Technica
    Oct 22, 2019
    It's the best open-world adventure of the year. [Ars Technica Approved]
  2. Polygon
    Oct 22, 2019
    Each area is like a dense little croissant. The environments are bustling with people who feel like they’re a part of a cohesive society. For a capitalist dystopia where people work themselves into their rent-controlled graves, it’s not too bad to explore. And it’s frequently hilarious, if you don’t mind some incredibly dark humor. [Polygon Recommends]
  3. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Oct 22, 2019
    The Outer Worlds is alright, innit. It’s good fun. Sit back and let the orange and neon wash over you. Boo the cartoonishly evil corporations. Exhale through your nose at their Diet Toothpaste. I bet I’ll play it again, in fact. But you can tell it could have been great, if it had taken a few more risks. Real space cowboys take risks, don’t they?
  5. Vice
    Oct 25, 2019
    A frustrating yet rewarding game of bad starts and good endings.

Awards & Rankings

42
#42 Best PC Game of 2019
7
#7 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2213 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,336 out of 2213
  2. Mixed: 495 out of 2213
  3. Negative: 382 out of 2213
  1. PiotrGracz
    Oct 25, 2019
    10
    When it comes to mechanics, the game resembles games from Bethesda. Everyone wondered before the premiere whether the game would be as good asWhen it comes to mechanics, the game resembles games from Bethesda. Everyone wondered before the premiere whether the game would be as good as Fallout New Vegas. I could write to you: The Outer Worlds is even better than New Vegas, better than Fallout 4. It's a real RPG, not an adventure game with RPG elements. Obsidian showed Bethesda how to do role-playing games.… Full Review »
  2. pagepro
    Oct 28, 2019
    4
    First I must ask. Are the people giving this a perfect 10/10 playing the same game? This game is far from perfect. In fact it is far from evenFirst I must ask. Are the people giving this a perfect 10/10 playing the same game? This game is far from perfect. In fact it is far from even being a good game. Nowadays all it takes is for a game to be good is to not have too many bugs and micro transactions. The Outer World doesn't have micro transactions and there are very few bugs (one game breaking bug on the last mission) but that does not make this a good game.

    It starts out somewhat interesting when you are a fresh adventurer and don't know where the story is taking you. You start imagining an amazing world and hoping that it keeps getting better. As you progress you suddenly realize that it isn't going to get better and never will. I won't put spoilers but lets just say that there is no payoff for anything you do. You can complete a main quest and your reward is just more of the same boring things you already have. There is never anything amazing that happens in this story either like the first time seeing Liberty Prime in action in Fallout 3. Nothing that will "wow" you.

    My biggest gripe is the writing. I found myself physically cringing at some of it. If you are a certain type of person you may enjoy the cutsie playful dialogue and the constant sarcastic statements that your main character makes, along with pretty much every character in the game but I couldn't stand it. If you are looking for a serious story that will intrigue and immerse you then this is NOT the game for you. You may think "oh its finally getting serious" then the next set of lines have you wise crack like something an immature grade school. Its downright awful.

    The gameplay is nothing to write home about and barely worth mentioning. There are only a handful of guns and they are all unsatisfying to use. I went the entire game with the assault rifle just spraying bullets at everything because sniping and the charged weapons just didn't feel fun in my opinion. Melee is a joke I didn't even bother with it. You have heavy weapons which I didn't bother with either as I didnt see any point. The game is so easy it doesn't matter what you decide to use or how you spend you skill points and perks. Speaking of which pretty much amount to a bunch or percentage increases. There is nothing fun about any of it. You will mostly fight the same type of enemy because there is no variety. I can count the number of different enemy types on my hands.Armor feels like an afterthought and the skills seem like they were placed on pieces at random. There doesn't seem to be any thought process that went into designing armor so I just used the set with the highest armor rating. There are only 2 pieces of armor by the way chest and helmet.

    You have companions and companion abilities but they are pretty much meat bags used to distract the enemy. The companion abilities force you into an un-skippable 10 second cut scene every time you use an one so I abandoned them quickly and just shot everything to death. The whole thing is a boring unorganized mess. By the last missions I was disinterested to the point where I didn't bother killing anything and just ran past the enemy. At that point there was no reason to loot anything or explore because the game is so linear that there is nothing to explore.

    I wasn't a fan of the artstyle, the characters, story or gameplay. The only reason I finished the game is because I felt obligated to having been swindled into thinking this would actually be good. The trailer said "from the original creators of Fallout and the developers of Fallout: New Vegas" is also false advertising. They are only the same in name. The original people who made those amazing games no longer work for the company. Overall this game is barely a 4/10 below average.    … Full Review »
  3. Metamayster
    Oct 26, 2019
    5
    I would say decidedly average. I came into this game excited based on the initial 20min gameplay video thinking this would be on par withI would say decidedly average. I came into this game excited based on the initial 20min gameplay video thinking this would be on par with fallout writing. Coming from a respectful company who wouldn't be excited?

    I gotta say though. That I got disillusioned pretty quick. There is a lack of overall art direction, interiors which could have had a more vivid inspired art style went with safe and functoinal. There's this weird mish-mash of different lifts from different video games.

    Floating damage numbers from Borderlands? Check
    Robots/machines extolling virtues of a product in a Bioshock kind of way? Check
    Text selection almost exactly like Fallout (including the awful role-play tunnels of 1. Yea that sounds great 2. aw you shouldn't have! 3. Well, gee I dunno, I guess?

    There's no option to be mean in some of the interactions! When you play the old fallout/crpg games, you could get in a whole lot of trouble over the things you said... in this one? You can almost spam any option and get to the end with no worries. It's too cookie cutter.

    I gotta say the level pacing is too off kilter too. Getting a level isn't really a reward, it's more of a 'alright, more points time'.

    I will say that I appreciated the setting and the premise for the story seemed promising, but I am having an awful time liking my companions and am not really feeling 'wowed' by the landscapes/graphics so far. It's a hard sell to continue! Makes me wish some of the good old crpgs came back but those were a product of their time/makers. Back when computer games were made mostly by the same demographic that played them. There's too much candy crap in this. I don't feel tough when I'm trying to defend someone's feelings in a video game and there's no real meat and potatoes to this.

    I'd hate to give it a 5/10, I'd say 8/10 for overall premise but 5/10 for how I felt after a good amount of time in it. Meh.

    In a 2019 game characters speaking with the visual quality of oblivion, or the weird janky art style that exists between    … Full Review »
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