"The Outer Worlds" Review

A sprawling interplanetary adventure, "The Outer Worlds" is meant to make you feel like you're an intrepid explorer of the star-strewn unknown.

The less you take into the saga, the more you're likely to get out of it. Walkthroughs and hand-holding will restrict you rather than help you along. Relying on your inner sense of wanderlust and curiosity is the best way absorb the game on the level it was meant to be enjoyed.

As a castaway stuck aboard a ship heading to the uncharted reaches of the galaxy, you slip into cryosleep and wake up decades later, finding yourself the apex of a conspiracy involving various clashing factions.

As the X-factor in the equation, it's up to you to decide who lives, who dies, who thrives and who shrinks away into the shadows before history can be written. The level of choice at hand is intoxicating, and sometimes paralyzing. You're best off leaving second-guessing behind and forging ahead wherever your whims lead.

Developers Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division commit fully to the single-player experience, rather than fracturing its attention on shoehorned-in multiplayer.

Choice-driven gameplay is at the forefront, with branching paths leading to varied endings. The variables at play make playthroughs different for just about everyone, encouraging you to come back and launch the quest time after time to see how things might work out differently.

Captivating visuals and sound design stretch Unreal Engine 4 to its limits, unveiling an impressive amount of creativity and iteration in character design, conversation flow and mission structure.

"The Outer Worlds" may not garner the mass appeal of the likes of "Borderlands 3" or "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare," but the robust experience it offers takes the backseat to no other game you're likely to play this year. To fire up the game is to transport yourself into another dimension, exploring your inner depths by reaching toward the great beyond.


Publisher provided review code.