As a die-hard Fallout fan, I’m struggling to figure out why every time I load up The Outer Worlds I’m filled with boredom and break out in hives…
https://youtu.be/Oxlflrh_Pzw
When I first heard about The Outer Worlds, I was genuinely excited! I had recently played through Fallout: New Vegas and thought Obsidian did such a great job with the story, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on The Outer Worlds.
But playing it is a different story altogether. It feels less like Fallout in space and more like a slightly more wacky Mass Effect. I think even more than that it feels like I’m playing through a pretty inspired and intricate Firefly fan-fiction. From the first companions I recruited to my ship I could already feel that Firefly influence.
I should probably say – I have nothing against Firefly. It’s a great show that I enjoyed – but I didn’t think it was the greatest sci-fi show I’d ever seen. Personally, I enjoyed Farscape over Firefly – but the reverence that Firefly gets, I think, has more to do with the fact that Fox canned it early and it wasn’t really finished. That always tends to make a fanbase much more rabid.
There’s also the fact that Obsidian has the player make a near carbon copy decision of one of the major beats of Fallout: New Vegas within the first 10 hours of the game. It kind of left me wondering if Obsidian had, in fact, made a new game or if they just pasted together their favorite media with story beats from their old games.
I know this sounds like I’m being unfair – and that’s the problem. I agree. I also feel like I’m being unfair. I have just about 10 hour logged on The Outer Worlds and everytime I load it up I feel bored before I even start. What’s wrong with me? Have I just not played enough? Do I just like the radiated wasteland of Fallout? Why won’t this game click with me?