Best Video Game Stories & Writing of 2019
Second Runner-Up: The Outer Worlds
Guides Editor Chris Jecks: Outer Worlds has clearly taken a lot of inspiration from the Fallout series. From lockpicking to hacking, the Tactical Time Dilation feeling very similar to VATS and even conversations with NPCs feel eerily familiar. Where it doesn’t feel like a carbon copy, however, is in its narrative and writing which sets it apart as one of the finest RPG stories to release this year.
The premise is simple, you’re a member of the Halcyon Colony, unfrozen from your cryosleep in space to try and save them. Turns out someone wanted to leave the colony frozen in space forever, so it’s down to you to track them down and uncover the mystery.
Where Outer Worlds’ story and writing truly shine, however, are the ways in which the corporate-dominated world is talked about by the NPCs. The manner in which Outer Worlds’ planets are all focused on the idea of corporate overlords and a lack of rights for workers feels very much like an ominous look into our future if we don’t change paths and allow our consumer-greed to take control.
It almost acts as the perfect backdrop to paint yourself however you see fit. You can side with the corporations, almost acting like their mercenary, getting things done for your own personal profit, or you can be a bastion of hope for the little people in the galaxy. It’s these relationships you build and the manner in which people talk about their plights that strengthens your resolve to get things done. It’s a rag-tag space adventure with a serious, driving narrative.
It’d be wrong of me to write this blurb, professing my love for Outer Worlds’ writing without touching on THAT personal quest. The one with Parvarti. For those unaware, Parvarti is a companion you meet very early on in the game. While I’ve already spoken at length about Ashly Burch’s fantastic job voicing Parvarti, the core depth of this character truly comes from the exceptional writing.
Parvarti is asexual. She doesn’t lust for an intimate relationship, and the way she talks about this with the protagonist when faced with the potential for romance is so sincere and true-to-life. She toils over her words, gets carried away when she gets a positive response, and gets philosophical when things look bleak.
This personal quest may have been the one that really stole the show in Outer Worlds, but each companion has their own instance of this that helps you learn more about them, and enjoy more of the excellent writing at the heart of Outer Worlds.
