My second came from taking too much damage against robots.Ĭouple all this with the difficulty settings, and you get a great deal of freedom in how you build your character. I got my first Flaw from falling from hills too often (something I could see happening in real life). I’ve long loved RPG design in which you take on disadvantages for a boost (I first encountered these in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons‘ 2nd Edition Player’s Option line). You take a few dings on stats in exchange for a new Perk. My favorite part of the skill system is Flaws. Other Perks reduce the cooldowns of your companions, give your discounts at vending machines, or help you carry more. You also get Perks every few levels, which enhance your combat skills or other abilities. Boosting Tech helps you pick locks, deal with computers, and other engineering feats. And it’s key to the some fantastic interactions. Dialogue options are one of my favorite aspects of RPG design, and seeing how these change situations - or better and worse - is satisfying. I put a great deal of points into Dialogue, giving me options such as Lie and Persuade when talking to people. The Outer Worlds gives you blocks of stats, such as Melee, Ranged, Defense, and Dialogue, and you pump them up as you see fit. I’ve long preferred putting points into stats/stat blocks to RPGs that just open up new powers as you advance (hi, Diablo III). For me, The Board shows the dark place some of the humor comes from. You’ll emphasize with some of them, and others will leave you shaking your heads at their stupidity.Īnd in the background, The Board - a group made up of leaders from each of the corporations in this sector - looms over everything, as people bend backward to please their corporate overlords or spit in their faces as they eek out a living while trying to pull free of their influence. This comes across as a commentary on those bad bosses we’ve all had in corporations, making one inane and ill-advised decision after another, and those poor sods (namely us) that have to deal with them. Or the researcher who discovers that raptidon enzymes can become a diet toothpaste thanks to the power of science … and asks you to help him save his notes from a facility overrun by the beasts and ne’er-do-wells. Another worker wears a moon-shaped hat with a ridiculous face on it, and he tells you in hushed, terrified tones that “you’d never would ask if you knew what it was like in here” when you ask if you can buy the head wear from him. Later, a Spacer’s Choice employee sounds like a pitchman even after you save them from the jaws of hungry raptidons (one of the aggressive fauna standing in the way of corporate expansion). The names of many of the corporations - such as Spacer’s Choice (does this ring a bell?) or Auntie Cleo (its logo reminds me of Mom from Futurama) - are little jokes. The de facto leader of an abandoned colony speaks like he’s still filling out TPS reports for his bosses. You find people all over the Halcyon sector (these are the colonies in The Outer Worlds’ corner of space) hewing to corporate lingo and jingles. The humor starts early, turning a joke about bureaucrats into part of building your character. Some of its jokes are easy one-liners dealing with your current situations, but most of it goes deeper, either developing into short bits (such as one about the use of serial commas, one that I felt was made just for me) or into a recurring theme of roasting corporate culture. The best part of The Outer Worlds is its humor. This didn’t stop me from enjoying it, and I look forward to returning to it as soon as I finish writing this review.Ĭheck out our Reviews Vault for past game reviews. Combat could be better, and the world is full of people who look like they were cloned from the same half-dozen archetypes. It’s a RPG with smart character-building and some satisfying dungeon design. I reviewed it on the PS4, and I found a wickedly funny skewering of corporations. The Outer Worlds is a role-playing game that comes out October 25 for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. But where Alien uses terror and bloodthirsty monsters to hammer home its message, Obsidian Entertainment and The Private Division deploy a quick wit and sharp satire to show what happens when mega-conglomerates, not governments, rule the final frontier. The two share a dystopian future in which corporations wield far too much power over the galaxy. Click here to start watching.Īs I played The Outer Worlds, I kept thinking about the Alien films. Did you miss a session from GamesBeat Summit Next 2022? All sessions are now available for viewing in our on-demand library.
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