Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division's action RPG The Outer Worlds exceeded the publisher's expectations and became a hit with gamers when it was released in 2019. Obsidian Entertainment has created some great games in the past, like the critically lauded Pillars of Eternity, but The Outer Worlds' commercial success came as a surprise to some. The space FPS offered gamers a bunch of bizarre and beautiful worlds to explore, with frenetic gameplay and plenty of decisions to make along the way in order to make the game their own. It was praised for its writing and world-building in particular, with its focus on a hyper-capitalistic and fairly dystopian interplanetary society providing lots of the game's satirical humor.
On the surface, The Outer Worlds has lots in common with other FPS RPGs, such as the Borderlands series or even Obsidian's own Fallout: New Vegas, but there were things that set it apart as well. The colorful sci-fi aesthetics added interesting aspects to the exploration, but it really was the game's particular brand of humor that elevated it above similar titles. The mixture of grotesque slapstick, darkly macabre comedic twists, and more sophisticated satire culminated in a really enjoyable and unique experience.
Introducing The In-Game World
The Outer Worlds sets the tone early on, practically from the first moment of gameplay. The initial introduction players get to The Outer Worlds is through mad scientist Phineas Vernon Welles, which is an appropriately madcap way to launch them into the world of the game, considering how the rest of it plays out. No sooner are players violently jettisoned from the ship where they'd been in cryosleep for decades, but they accidentally squash their smuggler contact and have to commandeer his ship, humorously called the Unreliable. As beginnings go, it's a fairly memorable one and helps to solidify The Outer Worlds' style almost immediately. If nothing else, players know they are going to be in for one bizarre ride.
Among the elements of combat that feel reminiscent of the Fallout series, or the scavenger human enemy types and decaying space colonies that have strong Borderlands vibes, The Outer Worlds manages to carve its very own niche in the sci-fi RPG genre. Its alternate history take on how corporations were able to dominate society and its complete irreverence for corporate culture are the foundations for its sometimes silly, sometimes thought-provoking humor, and they really help to make the game feel unique and in a world of its own.
The Outer Worlds' Anti-Capitalist Comedy
Great sci-fi stories take elements from the current society and extrapolate them into a future one. Not only is this a tactic to analyze issues present in everyday life, but it is also a way to exaggerate them for the purposes of humor. The Outer Worlds handles this perfectly with its evisceration of a version of the American Dream. In The Outer Worlds, colonists are lured to Halcyon with the promise of a better life and opportunities among the stars, only to be confronted with practical indentured servitude on planets with crumbling infrastructures and class-dominated societies. From the corporate red tape that players have to navigate, to the ridiculously ubiquitous Spacer's Choice brand, The Outer Worlds skewers corporations and human greed with deceptively light and kooky humor.
With broader themes of satire to smaller moments of comedic gold, The Outer Worlds strikes just the right balance between wider story arcs and witty one-offs. The humor isn't relentless, but it's apparent enough throughout the gameplay to act as a cornerstone for The Outer Worlds' action. There are humorous asides from NPCs and funny twists to the overall tale, but there's also a lot of attention to detail in the design of the worlds as well that helps to add to the comedic aspects. One example is the signs that warn employees not to bump their heads, as low-hanging pipes could be easily damaged by "skull impacts" and repairs will be docked from wages.
There's also a darker undertone to the humor as it criticizes the moral bankruptcy at the heart of a capitalist society, but this is often hidden under layers of hilarity that help to give The Outer Worlds its own unique take. The level of player choice also adds to this, as gamers can fully indulge in the corporate greed on display in Halcyon or sow their own brand of chaos as they work against the previously omnipotent Board. The Outer Worlds is a well-crafted and well-written adventure, and players are no doubt excited to see where the studio takes the series in its second outing.
The Outer Worlds 2 is in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
