Space Ace

Take a breezy tour of the Halcyon system in THE OUTER WORLDS.

- Tom Senior

On the edge of the solar system an old scientist runs through the corridors of an abandoned colony ship. He pauses before a cryostasis control panel and, of all the thousands of scientists and engineers he could thawed out, for some reason he chooses me: a janitor called Pippin with a twirly moustache and a wonky moral compass.

This is the beginning of a quirky romp across a solar system ruled by brutal corporations. The Outer Worlds is a light-hearted RPG that aims to emulate the Firefly fantasy. You fly from planet to planet, gather a crew of misfits, pick your way through a series of moral quandaries, and shoot people with laser guns.

The game’s aesthetics and dark sense of humour pitch The Outer Worlds against Bethesda’s Fallout games, but there are important differences. True, you have ray guns and companions who shoot enemies for you, but this game isn’t a sprawling sandbox experience. You hop between planets and space stations, exploring fairly large zones full of corporate employees staving off plagues and wild animal attacks. Each area is loaded with loot and sidequests, but it’s a tight and prescriptive RPG.

That’s not a bad thing, but in a world of 70-hour RPGs it’s best to set expectations. The Outer Worlds is a pulpy choose-your-own-adventure experience. If you don’t go in expecting a deep systems-driven sandbox, it’s a pleasure to go through.