The legendary Obsidian Entertainment has announced their new title The Outer Worlds and fans are ecstatic. The game is a first-person RPG with a dark comedy feel in a sci-fi universe. It is set to be published by Private Division and was showcased at E3. Although players were not allowed a demo, the developers did walk them through a 20-minute section of the game and introduced some fundamental mechanics that will shape its future.
The directors of this new title created Fallout so big expectations are set for the continuation of the companies work. Obsidian hopes to use the power of player choice as the primary focus of this game and will be making it a conversation-heavy RPG. Almost all of the E3 demo dialogue trees features a skill check and multiple options leading to multiple results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGLTgt0EEqc
The player awakens from a long period of cryosleep on a remote colony planet. Quickly you become acquainted with this alien world and learn to use what Obsidian called “tactical time dilation” which is similar to VATS from Fallout allowing players to slow time during combat.
The game is set on a group of moons and planets that are known collectively as Halcyon. The trailer suggests a heavy anti-corporate story inside of the game, but the end seems to be up to player decision making. The game, like other Obsidian projects, features the gun first option but also allows for a stealth or diplomacy outcome to a lot of scenarios.
The feature that caught most players off guard at the E3 demo is the new flaw system. As players make decisions and have things that affect them in the world, they can gain a flaw. In the demo, there was a moment where the player took a lot of damage from a mechanical source. This triggered a new fault to appear called “Robophobia” where damage from mechanical sources is increased.
As players collect flaws, they get a chance to gain new perks and the game balances out the two giving new chemistry to character customization. To be good at something might require repetition and with that the gaining of a flaw if you fail, or a perk if you are successful.
The game won’t be as large as Fallout: New Vegas , but it certainly has the same feel that players have come to expect from Obsidian. With a new adventure on the horizon, many are looking forward to the questionable in-game choices that become available when the title releases on October 25th.
