Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division have together unleashed their The Outer Worlds launch trailer on the internet. The anticipated role-playing game features a space-faring setting and a flair for comedy, as illustrated in the zany promo video, but what’s most interesting of all is how it shows the level of choice that players have.
Potential players are asked what kind of character they’ll embody in the video, whether that be a hero, villain, liar, brawler, addict, assassin, or… moon man. Set to the track “20th Century Boy” by T. Rex, the overall tone effectively serves to mirror the sorts of eccentric antics that are promised to feature in the video game proper.
If actions can indeed impact the game on such a significant scale as to see the player veer from the extremity of being a hero to being a villain, then The Outer Worlds will potentially be the kind of transformative experience that many past titles have promised, then ultimately failed to deliver upon. The “illusion” of choice is something often cited by the gaming community after having fallen victim to smoke and mirrors, so if that isn’t the case here and it really is possible to steer the protagonist in entirely different directions, that could go a long way towards cementing the title’s success.
As something of a spiritual successor to Fallout: New Vegas, having been developed by the folks behind that cult classic, it’d also help to abate a fanbase that was largely left disgruntled by Bethesda’s shift towards online play with Fallout 76.
Those looking to pick the game up at launch will want to prepare themselves for a sizeable day one patch. Weighing in at a not insignificant 18GB on PS4, Xbox One owners will instead need to endure an update more than twice the size at a stunning 38GB. The size disparity may well be due to the difference where enhancements for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X are concerned.
The Outer World will launch for the PS4, PC, and Xbox One on October 25, 2019.
