Game of the Year 2019
Second Runner-Up: The Outer Worlds
Senior Editor Hayes Madsen: The Outer Worlds is the sort of wish-fulfillment you don’t often see in video games; a spiritual successor to Fallout New Vegas that everyone thought we’d never see. The passion behind The Outer Worlds is clear, and it makes for one of the most memorable RPGs of the year.
What I love the most about The Outer Worlds is that it knows exactly what it wants to be, and doesn’t feel the need to flesh things out with meaningless quests or tasks. It’s a compact RPG for all intents, and incredibly refreshing in the face of all the 100-200 hour epics we’ve seen lately.
Playing as an intrepid traveler who’s just woken up from cryosleep, exploring the Halcyon Colony is an utter joy. The Outer Worlds takes place in a universe where companies rule supreme, and the satirical writing around this idea is often hilarious.
A host of fascinating companions can also join you along the way, with the relentlessly kind-hearted Parvati being a particular standout.
The Outer Worlds encourages you to play however you want, with nearly every situation having multiple solutions. Maybe you talk your way out of a fight, sneak in undetected, or use your superior gunslinging skills to wipe everyone out. In fact, every single NPC in The Outer Worlds can be killed which, of course, can lead to far-reaching consequences.
The game also introduces a unique “Flaws” system, where you can take permanent handicaps in order to get an extra Skill Point. It’s an interesting risk-reward system that can alter the way you play the game.
Although it might not bear the name, The Outer Worlds is everything Fallout fans could have asked for. Tighter shooting and combat, fantastic party members, a supremely quirky world to explore, and plenty of moral choices to make along the way. It may not be the most ambitious RPG out there in terms of doing something radically new or different, but it does everything so well that it doesn’t really need to be.
