I found this game incredibly boring and dull. Honestly, play something else.

Playing this for the first time at the moment. I went into long guns and find them a bit boring now in the mid-game, will try to spec into heavy weapons.

The dialouge is what makes this game for me, so many fun lines and off-kilter characters.

It’s been a while but I remember liking the DLC more than the base game. If you own it you might want to give it a try.

The game’s maps are like walled areas of differing sizes so don’t expect open world or a sandbox. The cities are also walled and they differ in size so be prepared for that. I remember being disappointed with one city that’s built up and getting to it and finding out it’s about the same size as some others and there wasn’t much side content or exploration. The game’s writing is great and I think there’s various endings but I only played it once. There isn’t any romance with the companions but they’re well written l, there’s one in particular whose storyline I really appreciated as a queer person. Hope that isn’t a deal breaker for you as some Gamers have issues with things like that.

Overall I enjoyed it, just never felt like I needed to replay it like a Bethesda game, I play those once and do the things I want in it and move on.

Acid damage is the best damage type. Very few things are resistant to it, and even then it doesn’t make killing them any slower because it also applies a powerful DOT. There is basically no reason to use any damage type other than Corrosion unless you want to waste ammo and spend more time killing a single enemy.

Make sure to constantly upgrade your stuff. You can very easily run into bullet sponges that 1 shot you if you’re only leveling up your character and not your gear.

This is one of the few games out there where a low intelligence opens up new “stupid” dialogue. Highly recommend trying it out!

Man, I played this game a few years back and I had a pretty opposite reaction to most reviews I’ve seen.

PROS:

• The music and sound design were completely appropriate and fit the world.
• An initially interesting story setup.
• Some of the planets have a SUPER cool premise and are a joy to explore.
• The DLC adds some much-needed mild horror elements.

NEUTRALS:

• Achievements are implemented, but are mostly for irrelevant side activities. Do you like using a guide to figure out how to get all the achievements? Well, you will have to if that’s your thing.

CONS:

• This is not an adventure game, this is a puzzle game first and foremost. If you are not down with figuring out hundreds of vague Dark Souls-style lore blurbs scattered all over in order to work out how to solve environmental puzzles to progress, do not get this game.
• In the same vein, if you are not down with having a loop end before you’re done exploring an area only to have to trek all the way back there and go through everything all over again in case or because you missed something, do not get this game. This could be partially solved by having the logs you find on a planet permanently NOT GLOW any more after you had read their chain, or maybe a ship notice letting you know there were undecyphered texts on a planet still. I had to re-tread an astounding amount of ground just to make sure I wasn’t missing something.
• When your ship directs you to a planet that you need something from, the navigation on some of them is so obtuse that I found several places I could not find again even after dozens of visits to their planets. A map or better signposting would alleviate this.
• The characters were deeply forgettable, and you are constantly inundated with dozens of gibberish alien names so unless you follow a lore guide or take notes, you’re not going to figure out who did what. And speaking of…
• The story has a veneer of “pretty good sci-fi” but is told quite poorly. You will beat the game, get the incredibly lacklustre ending that doesn’t close out the story in any way, and watch one of many lore explanation videos that will make things click into place. The fact that the lore videos have SO MANY HITS is endemic of the fact that this is a narrative poorly delivered. You will find the lore in random order. If spread over multiple sessions like I played, this will mean you will not make some absolutely needed connections.
• Many things do not make sense within the context of the world and there is no reason for them to be happening at the time except for the hand-waving “It’s a video game” excuse, which breaks immersion. Why only now is sand being moved from one planet to another at the beginning of a cycle? Why only now is one planet being broken by lava? These (and other that I can not speak about due to spoilers) are not explained - the systems have existed for ages and would have (and should have given the environments they set up) occurred before this, but because it makes for a more interesting setup, it all happens now.
• The controls are… an acquired taste at best. Look at many of the negative reviews; many state the controls as an issue. There is a reason for this, even though I did become accustomed to them over time.
• Even this far after release, I had some severe bugs. Controls would get “stuck” and force a game restart, achievements didn’t unlock correctly, etc.
• I wound up quitting because I didn’t know what to do next and didn’t care to watch yet another video to figure it out. There were hundreds of text logs that may or may not have been useful, and no idea how to find what was missing to help me progress without consulting guides, and it became too much. I eventually realised that I was just throwing time into a hole with nothing to show for it. It genuinely felt like it wanted me to give up and I couldn’t help but oblige. I just… stopped. I hated it. I kept doing the same thing over and over and eventually realised that I wasn’t enjoying anything. I hate the very concept of repetition as a game mechanic unless executed well; this wasn’t executed well.
• Despite quitting, I have seen all the endings. The real ending is legitimately nonsense and is basically an appeal to emotion while leaving the reality of the universe behind. It abandons the premise with what can only be described as a narrative hug that does essentially nothing, but presents the veneer of “feel good.” It is nothing. It is empty. Everyone but me loves it for this, and I can’t figure out why.

CONCLUSION: Meh? I really don’t understand the adoration people have for this game. It’s a mediocre non-combat roguelike with about 3 hour of content they’ve spread over 15 hours. It feels very much like a case of style over substance. This game genuinely makes me sad. I really wanted to like it, but… ugh. It feels like work.

Pretty forgettable Fallout clone imo. Would just play that.

Or, if you’re like me and accidentally bought The Outer Worlds because you thought it was The Outer Wilds, go play that instead.

Nope, enjoy, I think you’ll have more fun just starting it. Just jump right into it and have fun.

I had so much fun playing the game. I actually played it a second time directly after finishing it, which I almost never do because I really wanted to see how it changed if I made a different major decision or two and I had so much fun playing it the first time and then just as much fun the second time.

I always see this game on sale for like $9 or something and I do not understand why, it’s a great game

Please report back and let us know what you think! I got a used copy recently but haven’t tried it yet.

You are my kin. I tried it on Gamepass and brushed it off as boring like 15 mins in. I see all the great reviews and I want to try it again but now it stings to pay $15-25 for it. Enjoy it.

Review I put together a while ago.

https://scratch-that.org/2023/12/05/heres-what-i-thought-of-the-outer-worlds/

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I wouldn’t rush it and go through every region on the planets with care so you pick up all missions, meet all the NPC’s as the game has several outcomes from the choices you make.

Speech is op. If you want a boring game max that and you can just walk through every trial

Closest thing we’ll ever get to Firefly: The Game.

Enjoyed the atmosphere, the dialogue, the music and the feel of the weapons when they are being fired.

Loved Ellie and Parvati as companions. Parvati’s story is so goddamned sweet and is the emotional heart of the game in my opinion.

Ellie is a redhead, so she’s automatically awesome.

I liked the kid, bit don’t remember his name. Kind of generic and forgettable.

Nyoka has great dialogue during fight scenes, but again, kind of forgettable and her side quest was boring. But the voice actor did a great job with her.

The priest is a twat and I’ve literally never picked him up again on any new play through.

In conclusion, hella’ fun, but not open enough for more than two or three playthroughs. Once you’ve explored all the options, there’s not much to do anymore.