The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds is an action role-playing video game played from a first-person perspective. At the beginning of the game, players create their avatar (dubbed the Stranger in-game) and are given six attribute points to distribute across six categories (strength, dexterity, intelligence, perception, charm and temperament). These attributes determine the character's baseline ability in combat, stealth, and engaging in interactions with other non-playable characters (NPCs). For instance, a character with points in strength has additional inventory space, while a character with points in charm and perception gains additional dialog options.

Players also choose from one of 15 aptitudes which give minor gameplay bonuses. The chosen attributes and aptitude cannot be changed after character creation but players will get more attribute points as the game progresses.

S. President William McKinley was never assassinated. As a result, Theodore Roosevelt didn't succeed him, and the great business trusts of the era were never broken up, leading to a hyper-corporate, class-centric society dominated by powerful megacorporations. In this timeline's future, following a global war and the invention of faster-than-light travel, various corporations began sponsoring the colonization of outer space, often terraforming alien planets with varying results.

Thousands of Earth residents would sign up for the chance of a fresh start in a new star system. The art, architecture, and technology of the colonies display a unique blend of Art Nouveau, Old West, steampunk, and dieselpunk aesthetics.

The Outer Worlds was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the developer behind Fallout: New Vegas. Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, two creators of the Fallout series, served as the game's directors. Both worked together at Interplay Entertainment and Troika Games before departing for other studios. Cain joined Obsidian in 2011, and when he was given the opportunity to create a new intellectual property for the company in April 2016, he invited Boyarsky to join him as his co-director.

A prototype was put together six months after development began, showcasing the three pillars of gameplay: combat, stealth and dialogue. The team wanted players to build and optimize their character as they see fit, so the team did not introduce any character class. The upgrade system allowed players to create "hybrid" characters who excel at two of three ways of gameplay (combat, stealth or dialogue). Originally the player character had access to special abilities, though they were later moved to companion skills so the companions would be more involved in combat and as a way to further highlight their personalities.

The Outer Worlds received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for most platforms, with the exception of the Nintendo Switch version which received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. The Switch version was criticized for its downgraded visuals and technical limitations.

Many critics noted its similarity to Fallout games. Sam Machkovech from Ars Technica wrote that the game was a "dizzying, dense shot at reclaiming the indisputable glory of Fallout: New Vegas". Adam Rosenberg from Mashable also remarked that The Outer Worlds was essentially a Fallout game but one with its own distinct sense of identity. The free-form character building was strongly praised by critics for allowing each player to have a distinct experience, encouraging them to experiment with different gameplay styles, and increasing the game's replayability.