With The Outer Worlds, Obsidian is giving players an unprecedented level of freedom. The developer wants you to play The Outer Worlds however you like. It’s part of the DNA of the game with promotional materials telling you that you can be a Saviour or a Scourge. And Obsidian really means it. Early on in my hands-on session, I came across an NPC who needed my help.
Wounded and needing medical attention, I offered some assistance and in return, he offered me a weapon. I promptly shot him with it and carried on. This scenario has multiple ways of playing out, each of them viable and all of them allowing the game to continue.
Which is how The Outer Worlds separates itself from other RPGs. In most games of this type, there are fail states. Usually, you have a modicum of freedom to do what you like, but the main sequence is carved in stone.
Not so with The Outer Worlds.
The Outer Worlds Missions
In your Journal in The Outer Worlds, you’ll see a list of all current and completed missions. You’ll also see a list of ‘Botched’ missions. These are the missions in which you go against the objectives, murder NPCs and generally do the wrong thing.
An example might be that you’re sent to rescue a character and instead, you murder them and the person who sent you to find them. You’ll continue on with the game and will be able to loot their corpses, though you mightn’t get the same rewards as you would for completing it properly.
The Outer Worlds gives players the freedom to do what they want and be who they want. A representative from Private Division told me that in some instances, there are some characters who will be protected by bullet-proof glass or rendered unkillable in other ways.
However, they assured me that you will still be able to murder them later on.
Going around murdering everyone won’t be without its consequences though, and not just mission rewards and loot. The Outer Worlds includes a reputation system and murdering someone from a faction is going to negatively impact the way that faction views you.
If you murder everyone, every faction is going to hate you and they’re all going to be gunning for you. It’ll make exploring a lot more combat-heavy and it’ll make the game far more hostile.
But, if that’s that way you want to play, Obsidian is providing for it.
It will be available for PC, PS4 and Xbox One on October 25, 2019. It will release for Switch at a later date.
