Pretty Okay--The Outer Worlds

I recently finished a full playthrough of the space RPG The Outer Worlds.  I love a good RPG and had read many positive comments about it having a few small slices of Mass Effect-like and Fallout-esque elements.  It definitely played off elements in both games, but I found that it fell short of the greatness of both of those franchises.

Marauders are a constant threat in The Outer Worlds.

The character I built was my usual sneaky, stealthy type, but this time I decided to also put a few extra points in dialogue related skills.  If I can have my character talk her way out of bad situations, I would much prefer that to killing everything in sight.  I completed all the sidequests that I found (I doubt I found all of them, because quest givers are not marked) and tried to explore as much of each area as I could.  The Xbox launcher doesn't keep gameplay stats and display them the way that Steam does, but I would estimate that my playthrough clocked in at somewhere between 50-60 hours.

Pros:
+ Vibrant, beautiful worlds to explore.  Many space-themed games can feel very samey, but I felt like the design of the zones were colorful and unique.  The flora in particular is well designed and gives each area a specific vibe.

+ The blend of steampunk/old-timey aesthetic with futuristic space worked surprisingly well.  I particularly enjoyed the many consumable items and their retro look.

+ Cast of unique crewmates to recruit.  This was one of the Mass Effect-like elements and I enjoyed building my crew and learning about their individual stories.  One feature that I really liked was the fact that as you completed crewmate sidequests, the bunk of each would change with items you found (or stole, in my case) that fit their personalities.

+ Choices.  There are multiple ways to solve the many problems that make up the main storyline and many sidequests.  Where there might be a choice that presents itself as a choice between two outcomes, there is usually a compromise option lurking somewhere under the surface.  I particularly like that these choices weren't your stock good choice/bad choice and each generally had some sort of drawback which made choosing that much more difficult.


Cons:
- Main storyline is weirdly paced and oddly uneven.  Your character is rescued from cryogenic containment on a derelict ship and then ends up on a mission to find chemicals that are needed to thaw out the rest of the people who remain frozen on the ship.  That's basically all the background that is given to you for much of the game.  The parts of the story that stand out are more related to the struggles of the individual colonies in the galaxy.  There's no information given about who the people on the derelict ship really are and why this search for chemicals is so dire until you are about 90% of the way through the game!  It's then that you learn about the major crisis facing the many colonies.  Even the ending of the game didn't feel particularly satisfying--you pick a side and then are basically told "now let's get to work to fix this big problem," and then you get an epilogue cutscene based on your choices that explains how the crisis gets fixed (or possibly not fixed, I suppose).  It feels a bit half-baked.

-No detailed character stats for companions.  Each companion has a set of skills and provides a unique skill buff to your character.  The companion detail panel only displays their highest skill and doesn't provide any detail about weapon skills--this was something that bugged the crap out of me.  In a way it is a good thing because it means that you can outfit any companion with any weapon type.  I suppose their overall weapon skill doesn't really matter, but it still bothered me.  I wanted to know which weapons they were skilled with and make choices aligned with those stats.  Maybe I'm being picky, but it bugged me.

- Armor selection is particularly thin.  There are quite a few unique weapons to choose from, but finding good armor is the real challenge.  I kept waiting to find something outstanding and never really came across anything good.

- Companions are a bit bland.  Each companion has their own unique backstory and eventually will request that you aid them on a personal set of sidequests.  I felt like with the exception of Parvati, most of the companions were half-baked.  You can talk to them and get info on their backgrounds, but it feels flimsy.

If I had to give The Outer Worlds  a letter grade, I would opt for a C/C+.  It's nice to see that there are still developers making singleplayer RPG's, but the weird pacing of the story made it feel a bit half-finished--like there could have potentially been another 50 hours of gameplay where you work to solve the major crisis that is presented in the story.  I think most fans of RPG's will be able to find something they enjoy about the game.  It was worth playing on Gamepass, but I wouldn't pay full price for it and am glad that I didn't buy it.  I can't say that I am planning on replaying it.