Obsidian‘s The Outer Worlds continues to look like an exciting first-person take on the company’s signature systemic, reactive RPG mechanics. The Outer Worlds gameplay is a familiar blend of first-person shooting, dialogue, and stealth but set in an outlandish, corporation-controlled space. The game is slated for release later this year on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Game Informer has been covering The Outer Worlds throughout the month of February, and a few recent videos have been showcasing gameplay. For starters, Obsidian’s Tim Cain and Charles Staples affirmed that combat would be nearly inevitable in The Outer Worlds. Staples is the lead designer on the game, and the two lay out the groundwork of the combat. Cain is serving as co-director on the game.
“I want them [players] to come away thinking that combat was exciting it was fun when it happened, it was a little scary—you could always die, there was always a chance you could die — but that if you basically thought about it and were tactical you could get through pretty much any encounter,” he said.
The game has a strong emphasis on companion characters, each with their own special abilities and perks. Companions are also able to pull aggro from enemies, keeping you healthy longer and able to line up more headshots. The Outer Worlds gameplay also features a time distortion mechanic, similar to Fallout‘s VATS system. Players can have multiple companions at a time, with up to two shown in the gameplay video.
Stealth and dialogue are also important facets of The Outer Worlds gameplay. Players can attempt to avoid combat through these options, although combat will almost definitely happen. Melee weapons, energy weapons, handguns, long guns, and heavy gun are all represented in the game. There are also a number of unique science weapons in The Outer Worlds. The game will have at least one of these weapons per class, and Obsidian detailed the shrink ray recently.
The Outer Worlds was announced at The Game Awards 2018, and was quickly compared to Bethesda’s Fallout games. Obsidian developed Fallout: New Vegas for Bethesda, and co-directors Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky created the original Fallout titles. Take-Two’s Private Division is publishing the game on Xbox One, PC, and PS4 later this year. Obsidian was also recently acquired by Microsoft in November 2018.
