The Outer Worlds recensione
An annual path, the one undertaken by Obisidian Entertainment towards his latest creation: announced in 2018 e launched in 2019 for consoles and PCs, their latest effort arrived on June 6 also on Nintendo Switch. Let's talk about The Outer Worlds, a shooter that had done well in its first shelf release.
So why not try the second big hit with the Japanese handheld console version? Too bad that the development study was not successful in the enterprise. We explain why in this review.
The Outer Worlds review - Awakening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lu_puiy5mg
Those who have already got their hands on this title at the time of the release for PC and consoles, know well the events we face. The curtain opens on a world in combat: Halcyon and its colonies see the best human beings divided into factions, in an attempt to dominate others, or to claim values such as freedom and well-being.
Therefore, the hero of the moment needs to enter the scene. After decades spent in a state similar to the cryopreservation, the protagonist disembarks from the ship called superstitious The Hope, chooses which side to take and starts a path that aims to lead back Halcyon on the road to peace.
Does the name of this world, in Italian Alcione, remind you of anything? We do not take long to give you the answer: its origins are mythological, having baptized the daughter of Aeolus with that name, but we believe we have to put aside the Greek gods and brush up on some notion of astronomy, being in fact the brightest star of the constellation of the Pleiades.
So we wake up, but not together with our companions; the ship we were traveling on got lost, but everything seems to be firmly (or almost) in the hands of the dottor Phineas Wells. Once out of hibernation and disembarked, Wells's indications will become increasingly rare, until they disappear completely. From that moment, our every response to the dialogues and our every blow with the weapons we possess goes to define the person we are.
The Outer Worlds - Nintendo Switch
- An RPG with a dynamic plot: according to the best Obsidian tradition, your approach to the outer ...
- Your flaws make you great: One of the new features introduced by the outer Worlds is the flaw mechanism. A hero...
- Guide your companions: during your wanderings in the most remote colony you will meet a series of characters who ...
Know yourself by accumulating punti
Thus we begin a story made mostly of exploration, choices and relationships to keep or break in no time at all. Net of fighting, that become more and more interesting as we go, it is ours reputation and identity define much of the adventure, and so does the performance during the game. We can change paths at any time, adding points to different skills, but they are there basi placed initially to define ourselves in the eyes of the world.
“Getting to know us” is therefore fundamental, for understand what we stand for, how can we improve and when we are allowed to fire a shot in the head at allies and civilians. Yes, because the system of The Outer Worlds it does not allow us to interact with the sea water or with the dandelions growing in a prairie, but a bullet planted in a person's body does not go through them like a bug, but kills them instantly. The lines selected in the dialogues, such as the commands we give during the game, make us a pure mercenary or an ethically correct hero. The choice is up to us.
In addition to skill points, we also get bonus points to be assigned to armor assessment, weight management or combat skills, alongside a novelty inspired by Fallout's VATS: the Tactical time dilation, which allows us to slow down time, to have a few more seconds available, but allowing us to shoot in real time.
Game difficulty skyrocketing
At the level of gameplay, the numerous customization options for our character, from the character to the physical features, counting dozens of shades of hair color and complexion shades, passing through several other details that confirm attention to detail, touching the threshold of mania.
Of course, however, it's a real shame to be so meticulously defining your avatar, when the game is in the first person, ironically. Unless activate the Inactive Camera option, thanks to which you can observe your character while the frame rotates slightly (not without some bugs), approaching and moving away from you. However, no possibility of maintaining this view for long: as soon as you touch a single command, the game returns in first person, alas.
Le game difficulties are four, offering the player several possible steps of experience. From the emphasis on exploration and investigation of history, to increasing difficulty, all the way to level Supernova. This last modality requires us the need to respect ours physiological needs of nourishment and rest to survive, next to one limited availability of bailouts (manual and automatic), increased enemy power and more.
Our allies could also die permanently, and death is sometimes a condition deriving from our choices, as we anticipated. The Outer Worlds in fact, right from before determining the physiognomy of our character, calls us to choose the identity we assume in this story, also attributing several points to variables such as Temperament, Dexterity, Strength and others. Only in this way can we determine what
The Outer Worlds - Nintendo Switch
- An RPG with a dynamic plot: according to the best Obsidian tradition, your approach to the outer ...
- Your flaws make you great: One of the new features introduced by the outer Worlds is the flaw mechanism. A hero...
- Guide your companions: during your wanderings in the most remote colony you will meet a series of characters who ...
The details make the difference
There is little to say; from a technical and graphic point of view, the work done by Obsidian remains remarkable, ma from a quantitative point of view; the number of details entered, the objects we can interact with, the vastness of the game map are all elements that denote the fine workmanship accomplished by the team. The graphics are also very good during the cutscenes; since the beginning, we have been witnessing several minutes of well-curated scenes.
Let's not forget the drawings in the good old style amarcord which takes up the press communication of the fifties and frequently returns in the loading or suggestion pages. This attention placed in the graphics also emerges by leafing through the pages of ours menu, or observing the backdrops of "extraterrestrial" settings.
However, each medal has a second side; there engine power difference of Nintendo Switch, compared to PC and console, is immediately noted, both in the return of a less detailed panorama, sharp and "patinated", both in the loading speed of the backdrops, sometimes showing fatigue and slowness in focusing them. The differences are felt above all by comparing the same scenarios observed in the previous versions to the port: the color is less intense and the graphics are sometimes blurred, where previously they were clear. Thus the depth and warmth of the lights are lost, one of the most important features of such a particular setting as the space one of The Outer Worlds.
La sore note also makes itself felt in the rendering of the elements in the foreground, such as the numerous banks of grass that grow thick on the ground, where visual glitches are unfortunately not uncommon, or by observing the faces of the NPCs we interact with. It is not only a question of imperfections that are not very gratifying for aesthetics and for our eyes, but also from a practical point of view we find it a little more difficult to identify from afar ours enemies.
The situation is not getting much better connecting the console to the TV, where a larger screen width does not coincide with higher precision or better graphics success.
In conclusion
The Outer Worlds knows how to dare, also dusting off the atmosphere of New Vegas, the post-apocalyptic Fallout adventure that Obisidian clearly has a hand in. He has therefore added here a sprinkling of familiarity to a definitely colorful universe and with notable ambitions. If we know how to go beyond the mechanical difficulties of the game engine, we have a absolutely pleasant and enjoyable title, very interesting in all its primary and secondary quests.
The breadth of the game map remains a bit disappointing, as large as it is "useless", as it lacks any real elements of interest. Net of some imperfections, The Outer Worlds definitely remains a game not to be missed, to rediscover all the flavor that only a journey outside our atmosphere can give and now in a portable version, for those who will be able to compromise.
The Outer Worlds
Pro 
- Valid and engaging FPS
- significant amount of primary and secondary missions
- pressing rhythm
- thrilling backdrops
Cons 
- compromised game engine performance
- less detailed graphics than other consoles
