The Outer Worlds preview — The Fallout: New Vegas successor you've been waiting for

When the first extended look at The Outer Worlds debuted at E3 2022, it captured the imaginations of a lot of fans, and non just because of the striking visual aesthetic.

Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the company backside Fallout: New Vegas, the game seemed to harken back to that previous RPG title. It'due south been a while since the studio tackled an open up-world RPG, and newer Fallout efforts like Fallout 4 failed to capture the humor and well-crafted story beats that Obsidian introduced in its entry. Obsidian had worked on games since New Vegas — groovy games, in fact, like Tyranny and Pillars of Eternity — simply no open-world RPGs.

After the narrative disappointment of Fallout four and the overall failure of Fallout 76, at that place were people (myself included) that harkened dorsum to Fallout: New Vegas. The game stands out amongst the Fallout franchise because information technology focused on morally grayness factions that gave the player the choice to not merely create alliances simply to concretely establish their character'due south philosophy. Information technology helped to personify the roles players wanted in a globe that left room for a wide range of playstyles.

The Outer Worlds squad talks Microsoft acquisition, Fallout influences, and RPG choice

I recently had the chance to play a couple hours of Outer Worlds as an issue in Los Angeles and while information technology seems cheap to compare it to New Vegas, the similarities are apparent and welcome (it doesn't help that Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain, who were on the original Fallout squad, are co-directors on Outer Worlds). It's not a re-create though: Outer Worlds is set to be its own thing, with more room to play around with your graphic symbol's personality and to take on the quests set up earlier you lot. In the limited time I got to play the game, there were multiple areas to uncover and explore, people to speak to, objectives, and fights. There was and then much to practice I worry my notes won't fully capture the big flick.

Yet, some things are articulate. The companions, NPCs, and dialog options are varied. Your journey is loose, the loot is plentiful, and the narrative details, which tell of a world every bit gray as the i in New Vegas, are peppered throughout. If this playthrough taught me anything, it's that getting your hopes up for another Fallout: New Vegas, or just a distinct RPG with a unique backstory and artstyle, might exist the correct way to get.

A new RPG

The Outer Worlds

Have on the universe

The Outer Worlds is Obsidian Entertainment's latest, and information technology looks to be the spiritual successor to Fallout: New Vegas a lot of usa desire, with varied gameplay, beautiful environments, and a complex option system.

Getting started on Monarch

The playthrough starts you off on the planet Monarch in forepart of a giant, lit-up sign with iv settlement names on it. You could go in any direction and hitting something dissimilar, just one of your companions, Nyoka, has a chore for you. In the companion quest Star-Crossed Troopers, you're tasked with going to unlike burial sites to collect medallions, which you have to bring to specific location to bury. The but problem is that the encampment where she wants to get is being guarded by a mantiqueen, one of the planet's larger creatures. You likewise demand to track downwards two of her comrades who tin can figure out how to lure the mantiqueen out, merely who take also been missing in action for a while.

There'southward clearly a lot to do even in the downtime between the main story.

Like in companion missions from other games, you lot tin choose to accept information technology on or not. Developers at the playthrough said that nosotros could accept the mission or just mess around on the planet. I personally wanted some structure (and typically accept every side quest presented to me) so I agreed to help. As I learned playing Outer Worlds, the dialog options, whether you lot wanted to take the mission or not, offered a diverse range from sincere and supportive to snarky and disrespectful.

I decided to accept on the quest for the sake of the playthrough and started walking towards an objective mark on the UI. Over the relatively brusk journey my crew ran into multiple fights (more than on this subsequently). We found Nyoka'southward friend's gravesite and collected the medallion, but had to move on to the second part of the quest and runway down the missing comrades. Just ane person, an antisocial information banker named Hiram Blythe, had the respond so we had to go to the relay station where he was located. However, he wouldn't give up the information until we took out the marauders that were camped exterior his office.

This is typical video game quest fare, but how deep this quest got and how many steps at that place were became detrimental. At that place was and so much to keep track of, so it became a matter of going with the flow and following quest markers. I felt out of the loop, and the journal wasn't as helpful in recapping information equally it should've been. This is a relatively small gripe though, and it's something that can be tweaked before release.

Throughout my playtime I traversed Monarch, spending nearly an hour fighting nasty beasties and marauders, and interacting with other memorable characters. There's clearly a lot to practise even in the downtime between the primary story. I get-go ran into a group of marauders fighting, interestingly, a mantiqueen and some lower level mantisaurs. She was tough, simply relatively like shooting fish in a barrel and quick to eliminate. This eliminated a lot of the tension involved with Star-Crossed Troopers, only in that location was a lot more to practice. I ran into multiple mantiqueens over my playtime, including a Mega mantiqueen who was way more difficult to fight, but however went down with the aid of my companions.

There'due south simply a lot of gameplay

Even outside of the quests themselves there's a lot to do. For instance, the varied dialog options were also bachelor in conversations with other NPCs beyond your companions. Talking to the guards at the gates of settlements, for example, can be cordial or vaguely threatening. At 1 indicate I had the opportunity to punch a detail quest-giver NPC, who was giving me creepy vibes with his creepy mustache and his creepy drug-mule quest, and I took it. Information technology felt very adept. These interactions are meant to eventually affect your faction standings, although I didn't get to experience how that worked in my playthrough.

Information technology'south unclear how many hours of gameplay will be available in Outer Worlds just judging on all of this, it's bound to be a lot.

I put a lot of my character points into conversation skills like deception and lying, which gives you more dialog options in certain situations. They're not available at all times, merely you tin, for instance, choose to deceive an NPC and continue boodle for yourself, or non divulge who y'all are. At that place are enough of opportunities to be dutiful, rogue-ish, a jerk, and everything in between.

This meant that I had less points in more practical skills, like one-handed weapons and defence, only there are a multitude of weapons to test out. I became a fan of two-handed weapons the mini-gun, which I used to gun down even the toughest enemies, simply I also picked up different specialized melee weapons, like a plasma sword, that had dissimilar furnishings on enemies. You also have a unique ability that's like to V.A.T.S. that allows you to slow downward fourth dimension during gainsay (this is explained in another function of the game).

As I traversed the landscape and fought bands of marauders and creatures like the mantisaurs and the raptidons, I picked up tons of loot. This world uses flake cartridges, or "bits," as currency and I was able to notice a lot of it on bodies and in boxes scattered around. Areas similar abandoned safehouses and relay stations offering more loot than what you get on the main path. Computer terminals scattered in these areas offer backstories for unseen characters that flesh out the world.

There's a lockpicking mechanic as well to collect premium loot and luckily it doesn't involve a minigame. You merely need the right amount of materials and the correct amount of points in your lockpicking skill to unlock college-level boxes.

Considering that I experienced all of this in a couple hours is outstanding, but a little intimidating. Information technology's unclear how many hours of gameplay will be bachelor in Outer Worlds but judging on all of this, it's bound to exist a lot.

The companions are swell if y'all tin go to know them

One of the biggest surprises in my playthrough was the companion relationships and what my brief time represented. Nyoka was my main indicate of contact here, and in that location was a lot to larn while interacting with her. It's piece of cake for NPCs to accept on the role of quest giver or exposition dump in RPGs, but it'due south piece of cake to tell that she has a layered life. She lived on Monarch and, every bit you learn, the corporations pulled out, leaving the world in shambles. She and her friends tried to aid out and support the citizens, only the place got overrun with marauders, which is the default human enemy you'll find beyond the game. She'southward a fast talker that doesn't have crap from anybody, but she'due south been hurt. She wants a modicum of construction in her life.

You tin can apply their special attacks during a fight, which mostly but wait cool but don't make likewise much of a visible impact.

Later y'all have a discussion with her about whether it was better or worse for the planet that the corporations left. I disagreed with Nyoka when she said, "Progress requires structure. Nobody's gonna build a sewer piping or a road if they don't got a boss telling them to. The hierarchy'southward necessary." I responded, "People were perfectly comfortable shitting in holes before we had sewers."

Information technology'due south unfortunate that your experiences with Nyoka are so varied when there's actually another companion, Pavarti. Yous don't get to learn much about her except that she has a behemothic lightning hammer. I assume in the full game you'll get more experiences with her, but the playthrough didn't offer any.

The companions are super helpful in fights. I didn't bank check to see if they were on an auto manner, just in each encounter, Nyoka and Pavarti ran in, guns blazing, and took out the bulk of the enemies. You can utilise their special attacks during a fight, which generally just look cool just don't make likewise much of a visible impact. Sometimes, all the same, they ruined an assault by running alee of me when I wanted to do more sneaking.

Bottom line

There's a lot about Outer Worlds that we still don't know. There's a lot of mystery backside the master questline, other companions, other planets, and merely how much game is out there. If my relatively cursory playthrough is whatever indication though, Outer Worlds is shaping up to be a game that'due south going to suck upward many hours of your life.

Fallout: New Vegas fans volition be pleased Outer Worlds manages to include the standout design mechanics from the older game while also calculation new elements to continue information technology fresh. Having all of that alongside an eye-popping artstyle, varied and loose gameplay, and solid and plentiful environmental storytelling sets upwardly Outer Worlds to exist the appropriate New Vegas successor for Obsidian.

A new RPG

The Outer Worlds

Have on the universe

The Outer Worlds is Obsidian Entertainment's latest, and it looks to be the spiritual successor to Fallout: New Vegas a lot of u.s. desire, with varied gameplay, beautiful environments, and a complex choice system.

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