Over the last decade and a half, RPGs, especially Bethesda RPGs have been a guilty pleasure of ours. Yes, I was known as the shooter reviewer for a variety of sites but when I wanted to unwind from competitive shooters, I chose RPGs to unwind. Despite Skyrim releasing in 2012, it was not my RPG of choice; in fact, I didn’t play it until 2020 during the covid lockdown. What was easily our go-to franchise was the Fallout series, specifically Fallout New Vegas. Despite Obsidian Entertainment creating Fallout New Vegas, we overlooked their latest game The Outer Worlds. Thankfully, we are getting a second chance thanks to The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition.
Before we dove into The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition, we decided to boot up the original version of The Outer Worlds. For comparison’s sake, we only played through the beginning city (Emerald Vale) and the beginning part of the Groundbreaker. For this first run, we decided to be chaotic evil and kill all those that we disagreed with. Easy to say, there was a trail of dead bodies behind us as we completed quests and explored the world we crash-landed on.
The game’s interactions and responses did have some bugginess to them, but after playing Skyrim and Fallout, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Our biggest complaint about the original game was the darkness of the levels despite having the graphics settings up, the texture of the characters, and the common occurrence of characters getting stuck in places they didn’t belong. The combat within the game was inconsistent with the hits only registering half of the time even when point blank.
Takeaways from the Original
When looking at the original version of The Outer Worlds, it is difficult to see why so many loved it. Despite the characters being more well-rounded, the bugs within the game felt worse than Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas combined. If you don’t mind a few bugs then it’s passable. The characters are more well rounded and the game responds to your decisions and adapts. Want to kill the mayor, go for it. Most characters outside of the party can die but there are consequences.
Maybe it was just the luck of the draw, but it would have definitely been a slog to go through the game with how things were responding.
The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choices Arrives
After completing our time with the original Outer Worlds, we decided to dive into The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice edition. Rather than firing first and asking questions later, we decided to see how the story played out, In fact, we decided to play through all the quests and see what unfolded even when the urge to kill an NPC emerged. Not killing the NPC resulted in us discovering something we previously did not know; it was like peeling an onion and seeing its layers.
When it comes to the game’s story it is as deep as the player wants to make it. Want to be a lone ranger killing everything in your path, go for it. Want to be the next commander shepherd and lead a team of unlikely heroes against an evil empire? Go for it. With The Outer Worlds, no matter which version of the game you play you can get an interesting story.
Graphics
When playing The Outer Worlds Spacer’s Choice on the Xbox Series X, we could notice a clear difference from the original. The lighting on the characters let along the world was like night and day. Spacers’ choice provided a more vibrant world experience allowing each item in the world to really stand out. The tree within the deserters garden shows each detail with a beautiful blend of colors.
Outside of visual appearances, The Outer Worlds Spacer’s Choice seemed to feature fewer game-breaking bugs. In our basic version of the game playthrough, we had multiple allies get stuck into doorways, and walls, or fall even through the level. With Spacers Choice, we only had a few instances where characters would get stuck in weird areas, typically when a door closed.
Character design also shines through with the enhanced edition. The amount of detail that players can put in to modify their characters feels vastly superior to its counterpart. Want to make a goofy character go for it. Players can take their time to design their characters as they see fit.
Controls
If you have played a Fallout game or an Elder Scrolls game, you know that there is a special gimmick. Like Fallout, The Outerworlds uses a slow-down mechanic to help players take out enemies. Rather than having an almost infinite time in Vats, The Outer Worlds uses a limited slow-down mechanics that recharge. The hit system within the enhanced version seems to detect hits better making enemies die more smoothly.
If you have ever played a shooter then you are used to the game’s overall mechanics. The button input on the enhanced edition seems to be more responsive than its predecessor allowing you to switch between targets easier. The button layouts feel like a blend of Fallout and Mass Effect, so if you are a fan of either you can enjoy the game.
Audio
Audio is probably the portion of the game we paid attention to the least and we must apologize for that. The game’s audio felt like a blend of Halo, Mass Effect, and Fallout; it honestly hit every science-fiction style while playing through. In a way, this is both good and bad. It makes the game feel familiar while also making it not stand out on its own merit.
The game’s voice acting also feels a bit hit or miss. Generic characters’ voices feel like they could have been ripped out from a different game and put into this one. Meanwhile, mainline characters feel sometimes hit or miss. Some of the main story characters have emotions while others feel like empty shells; this could be deliberate based on an overarching evil company sucking the souls out of everyone or can just be how the performances were.
Replay Value
Like many other open World RPGs, The Other Worlds allows players to choose their path. If you want to beat the game in under 15 minutes, you can. If you want to explore every inch of what the developers have to offer, you can. The game offers a variety of play styles and modifications to make each playthrough feel unique. The game offers the player a wide variety of options to make their playthrough their own.
If you are looking for a space-themed adventure, then this might be your spacers’ choice.
Verdict
The Outer Worlds: Spacers Choice improves an already good game and makes it even better. The only problem with Spacer’s Choice is when it was released. The Outer Worlds Spacer’s Choice was released on March 7th, 2023. The reason why this is a problem is that it came out at the same time as Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse and right after Destiny 2: Lightfall and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.
The game can be a lot of fun and with all the variables there are a lot of options for the player to experience. On the Xbox, the game runs smoothly, however, we can not recommend it on PC; for PC, we recommend sticking with the original for now based on watching others.
On console, The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice is a vast improvement to its predecessor visually and enhances the game’s overall performance. The dynamic weather and visuals will suck you in. The Xbox Series X version is an improvement.
A code for The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice was provided for review on the Xbox Series X.
