The Outer Worlds by Obsidian Entertainment is more than just another Western role-playing game, it's the newest release from the excellent developers responsible for Fallout: New Vegas. In many ways, their newest title is being heralded by the next Fallout-like franchise and with the long development times of Bethesda titles, having a franchise to satiate fans in the meantime might pay off well for publisher Private Division.
Let's look at 10 ways The Outer Worlds could replace the Fallout franchise.
10 In-between
Bethesda is known for creating vast open worlds that often trade stability or polish in favor of scope and depth. The thing that's unfortunate for fans of their games is that they often have 5+ year development cycles, much like the experiences Rockstar Games puts out.
This means that fans are often left yearning for more Fallout, and recently waited for years to play an utter launch failure in Fallout: 76. The Outer Worlds, as it has a smaller scope, could be the franchise that satiates Fallout fans between the big releases.
9 Living World
Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment have been good at developing and creating these living breathing worlds where players truly feel like their next adventure is right around the corner. One of the most impressive things a game developer can do is make the world feel as if it exists without you being nearby.
It's even more impressive when it's a post-apocalyptic world with fewer people. The Outer Worlds seems to be trading in nuclear fallout for space adventures but keeping the world as alive as ever.
8 Quality
The Fallout games, minus Fallout: 76, always land in this weird space where the collection of everything the game presents is so good and fulfilling that the bugs or issues that are common in the games are worth dealing with. They never really take away from the overall experience because the writing and characters are often so worthwhile.
The Outer Worlds seems to be carrying many of the same strengths and weaknesses of the Fallout franchise, and the length might make the issues less apparent.
7 Expectations
The Fallout name carries a lot of weight with it as the release of Fallout 3 set a new standard for Western role-playing games. Years later The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has taken that crown and fans are wondering if Bethesda will up their game with both The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises.
The great thing for Obsidian Entertainment is that even though their well-respected and lauded among Fallout fans, a new franchise means a new set of expectations, and at the end of the day fans simply want that humor and writing.
6 Focus
The release of Fallout: 76, for better or worst, showed that Bethesda as a publisher is willing to take unnecessary risks with their franchises to try and hit a gold mine. Many believe the reason that game failed is that the focus wasn't on making the best Fallout game they could, but trying to shove a square peg in a round hole.
Obsidian Entertainment understands what people loved about Fallout: New Vegas and their other games, which means that their focus will be in the right place.
5 Humor
When the initial reveal trailer for The Outer Worlds was revealed, fans quickly became enamored at the possibility of playing a new role-playing game from the creators of Fallout and the developers of Fallout: New Vegas. The trailer did a lot with its music and visuals, but it also nailed the humor.
The writing by Obsidian Entertainment is often witty and well done in a way that never feels annoying or overbearing. Being able to nail that humor for a new franchise puts that series in a great starting position.
4 Scope
A huge glaring issue right now for the Fallout franchise is that it's dealing with the stain that is Fallout: 76 and likely won't have another mainline title to win back over fans for several years. This is due to the scope of the game and what Bethesda has established for what players should expect.
Obsidian Entertainment decided to bring the scope down for The Outer Worlds and because of that fans could see new entries in the series every couple of years instead of having to wait 5+ years between titles.
3 Quests
When it comes to open-world or open-area games some of the toughest decisions are made on the map as players try and decide which quests they're going to be tackling. Some people prefer to do the main story and only see side content when necessary, while others will do every side objective they can before progressing the story.
Although The Outer Worlds isn't an open-world game, it will still feature the main narrative questline with a good number of side quests and missions to accomplish if you so choose.
2 Characters
The Fallout franchise is home to some of the most outlandish and eccentric characters you'll probably ever run into in video games. For years, the series has done a great job of providing the player with wonderful and various side characters that range from being part of interesting side quests to playing a part in the main narrative.
The initial reveal trailer for The Outer Worlds and all of the preview coverage is showcasing that those types of characters are alive and well in Obsidian Entertainment's latest outing.
1 Microsoft
In the last couple of years Obsidian Entertainment, developers of The Outer Worlds announced that they were acquired by Microsoft and would join Xbox Game Studios. This move has given the developer financial security and the budget to create the experiences they've wanted to tackle for years.
Though The Outer Worlds is being published by Private Division, look for Microsoft to provide all of the resources necessary for a remarkable sequel down the road. Xbox will openly welcome another hit series to its franchise catalog.