The Outer Worlds | Review Thread

[KORNdog]

sounds like it's pretty great if a little safe.

i do think being bought out by MS has saved their ass because i have a feeling this is going to bomb pretty hard at retail. it's a new IP. It doesn't have a lot of hype built up around it. It doesn't have the fallout brand to help sell it despite its similarities. For regular folk Obsidian isn't particularly well known and have been out of the mainstream gaming loop for a while...and on top of that i imagine gamepass will cannibalise any potential profits they would have made.

 

[Cyanity]

sounds like it's pretty great if a little safe.

i do think being bought out by MS has saved their ass because i have a feeling this is going to bomb pretty hard at retail. it's a new IP. It doesn't have a lot of hype built up around it. It doesn't have the fallout brand to help sell it despite its similarities. For regular folk Obsidian isn't particularly well known and have been out of the mainstream gaming loop for a while...and on top of that i imagine gamepass will cannibalise any potential profits they would have made.

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I don't know, what other big AAA WRPGs are out there competing with this game right now? I think the game will do just fine.

 

[Theorry]

sounds like it's pretty great if a little safe.

i do think being bought out by MS has saved their ass because i have a feeling this is going to bomb pretty hard at retail. it's a new IP. It doesn't have a lot of hype built up around it. It doesn't have the fallout brand to help sell it despite its similarities. For regular folk Obsidian isn't particularly well known and have been out of the mainstream gaming loop for a while...and on top of that i imagine gamepass will cannibalise any potential profits they would have made.

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If MS didnt bought them the game probably wasnt gonna be on Gamepass. And this "bomb" thing is always weird because we dont know budget.

 

[vestan]

I just hope people like the OT. I always get nervous running up to posting a thread... it's only my second OT too but I do have so much fun designing them. After seeing vestan 's recent OT's it made me want to jump back into the OT making game - after been left a bit disheartened at Anthem after I did the OT for that. But hey - I'm super excited and happy with the reviews for The Outer Worlds so I think I'll have more positive memories of this OT for sure :D

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I'm excited! :)

 

[Breqesk]

sounds like it's pretty great if a little safe.

i do think being bought out by MS has saved their ass because i have a feeling this is going to bomb pretty hard at retail. it's a new IP. It doesn't have a lot of hype built up around it. It doesn't have the fallout brand to help sell it despite its similarities. For regular folk Obsidian isn't particularly well known and have been out of the mainstream gaming loop for a while...and on top of that i imagine gamepass will cannibalise any potential profits they would have made.

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with the mighty power of Taco Bell cross-promotion, The Outer Worlds will outsell God.

 

[Cyanity]

I think they count Karak as a content creator? And thats why he has a different embargo? Because streamers can start streaming in two hours.

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He mentioned earlier in this thread that this has happened with other game releases, and that he's turned down the opportunity to be one of the "day 1" reviewers in the past because the practice doesn't sit well with him.

It's scummy practice all around and one I hope the likes of Jim Sterling get around to reporting on.

 

[Lulu]

So excited for this and mw, gonna be a good weekend

 

[Deleted member 2379]

MS has owned the studio for over a year, are we really to believe MS had zero input or impact on the game as it currently stands? Did the game sit in an idle state since the MS acquisition?

It's their IP, it's the IP that made them want to buy Obsidian, they very likely helped with lots of QA, they allowed Obsidian to staff up, which of course will have had an impact on this game and not to mention any marketing bucks they throw at it.

I'd argue that MS has done more for this game than PD did.

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Based on reviews, I have a feeling that the game was essentially done but MS provided them with the security and capital to really dive in on polishing. Game sounds very polished and surprisingly bug free. Stand alone Obsidian likely would need this out ASAP the door for the cash.
MS gave the security to spend time refining the game.

 

[Karak]

He mentioned earlier in this thread that this has happened with other game releases, and that he's turned down the opportunity to be one of the "day 1" reviewers in the past because the practice doesn't sit well with him.

It's scummy practice all around and one I hope the likes of Jim Sterling get around to reporting on.

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It has ya and I am rarely ever told when this is the case. I have to investigate it and email a number of times to figure out something is up because, and this is me guessing, they hope you will sign embargos without thinking. Thankfully I happen to stop by Opencritic which has the review embargo times posted so I can usually even argue my case.

 

[Messofanego]

That Eurogamer review is a bad review.

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Why?

 

[Mirabai]

The dude streams. Avoid his channel.

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if it only were that easy. Avoiding 1 channel and your done.

 

[Kasey]

Hopefully Obsidian can grow to a 300+ team after this one.

 

[Psychotron]

It has ya and I am rarely ever told when this is the case. I have to investigate it and email a number of times to figure out something is up because, and this is me guessing, they hope you will sign embargos without thinking. Thankfully I happen to stop by Opencritic which has the review embargo times posted so I can usually even argue my case.

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Not cool. Well I'll be sharing your video and doing what I can to get it out there.

 

[Yerffej]

if it only were that easy. Avoiding 1 channel and your done.

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Well, I don't see why singling him out makes any sense if you're aware that basically any game can get spoiled for you early nowadays.

 

[Sanctuary]

It has ya and I am rarely ever told when this is the case. I have to investigate it and email a number of times to figure out something is up because, and this is me guessing, they hope you will sign embargos without thinking. Thankfully I happen to stop by Opencritic which has the review embargo times posted so I can usually even argue my case.

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Is it strange that I read this with your voice? Anyway, it sucks how many hoops you seem to have to jump through anymore for reviews.

 

[Cyanity]

I really don't get why people keep riffing on the Eurogamer review. This seems to be the gist of it:

Much of my apathy for The Outer Worlds' conventions is a question of taste, of course, and there are plenty of RPGs that do the same things worse. But all the same, do we really need another one of these?

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You can't really blame a reviewer for getting burnt out on a genre, especially when a lot of reviews seem to agree that Outer Worlds plays it a bit safe. That safeness factor matters to some people, especially to anyone getting burnt out themselves. So no, I don't think the Eurogamer review is bad, and honestly? I think 90% of the people in here riffing on it didn't even read the damn thing.

 

[Pryme]

I really don't get why people keep riffing on the Eurogamer review. This seems to be the gist of it:


You can't really blame a reviewer for getting burnt out on a genre, especially when a lot of reviews seem to agree that Outer Worlds plays it a bit safe. That safeness factor matters to some people, especially to anyone getting burnt out themselves. So no, I don't think the Eurogamer review is bad, and honestly? I think 90% of the people in here riffing on it didn't even read the damn thing.

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A reviewer is supposed to put himself in the shoes of consumers.
Is everyone else supposed to be burnt out and jaded on a genre?

 

[spacer]

I really don't get why people keep riffing on the Eurogamer review. This seems to be the gist of it:


You can't really blame a reviewer for getting burnt out on a genre, especially when a lot of reviews seem to agree that Outer Worlds plays it a bit safe. That safeness factor matters to some people, especially to anyone getting burnt out themselves. So no, I don't think the Eurogamer review is bad, and honestly? I think 90% of the people in here riffing on it didn't even read the damn thing.

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A reviewer is supposed to put himself in the shoes of consumers.
Is everyone else supposed to be burnt out and jaded on a genre?

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That, and admitting that you're burnt out immediately adds bias to your review which basically invalidates it.

 

[KORNdog]

I don't know, what other big AAA WRPGs are out there competing with this game right now? I think the game will do just fine.

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sometimes it's not so much about competing products fighting for your time. just odds being stacked against a new release. there were no quality third person cinematic shooters out around the release of control either and yet that's seemingly not done great either. i dunno. it's just a feeling i guess. it's barely talked about on forums, and i haven't seen a single add here in the UK. most of the excitement i'm seeing are from people who are getting to play it for next to nothing on gamepass (understandably). but beyond that it seems like a bit of subdued release. hopefully not, since it sounds like it's a quality release (much like control). but quality sadly doesn't always mean success.

 

[texhnolyze]

I really don't get why people keep riffing on the Eurogamer review. This seems to be the gist of it:


You can't really blame a reviewer for getting burnt out on a genre, especially when a lot of reviews seem to agree that Outer Worlds plays it a bit safe. That safeness factor matters to some people, especially to anyone getting burnt out themselves. So no, I don't think the Eurogamer review is bad, and honestly? I think 90% of the people in here riffing on it didn't even read the damn thing.

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Yes, I do need another one of these. Every single year if possible. But that's not the case because the reviewer don't know what they're talking about. They're talking about games from a decade ago or so. We barely get this kind of full-blown RPGs anymore these days, especially in this scope.

 

[Raide]

I really don't get why people keep riffing on the Eurogamer review. This seems to be the gist of it:


You can't really blame a reviewer for getting burnt out on a genre, especially when a lot of reviews seem to agree that Outer Worlds plays it a bit safe. That safeness factor matters to some people, especially to anyone getting burnt out themselves. So no, I don't think the Eurogamer review is bad, and honestly? I think 90% of the people in here riffing on it didn't even read the damn thing.

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If they reviewer is burnt out/jaded etc, then it should be given to someone else to review. Of course someone jaded will give a downer review on something they feel they have seen all before and it is basically a negatively biased review even before it even starts.

 

[Proven]

MS provides them financial stability so that they can focus on the game, which is arguable one of the biggest problem plaguing Obsidian for years now.

Why does everyone try to downplay MS' role in this?

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There are some people that genuinely believe that now that Obsidian is under MS, that MS will somehow fuck this up and add a bunch of loot boxes and MTX to the sequel

 

[Raide]

There are some people that genuinely believe that now that Obsidian is under MS, that MS will somehow fuck this up and add a bunch of loot boxes and MTX to the sequel

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Plus shove it on Game Pass and watch as it dies. Evil MS.

 

[Danteyke223]

That Eurogamer article is fine, but the wording of the article comes off a bit pretentious.

Also people buy the game or play it on gamepass. Finally a product that is not a 100hour fetch quest game from Ubisoft

 

[Prine]

sounds like it's pretty great if a little safe.

i do think being bought out by MS has saved their ass because i have a feeling this is going to bomb pretty hard at retail. it's a new IP. It doesn't have a lot of hype built up around it. It doesn't have the fallout brand to help sell it despite its similarities. For regular folk Obsidian isn't particularly well known and have been out of the mainstream gaming loop for a while...and on top of that i imagine gamepass will cannibalise any potential profits they would have made.

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None of that matters though, MS will have brokered a deal with PD, they'll be taken care of. And MS have shown they're happy to back a sequel IF Obsidian choose to go down the same path. The future financiers of Obsidian care about MAU, which will almost certainly be a big hit for them in that respect.

 

[Turin Turambar]

I really don't get why people keep riffing on the Eurogamer review. This seems to be the gist of it:


You can't really blame a reviewer for getting burnt out on a genre, especially when a lot of reviews seem to agree that Outer Worlds plays it a bit safe. That safeness factor matters to some people, especially to anyone getting burnt out themselves. So no, I don't think the Eurogamer review is bad, and honestly? I think 90% of the people in here riffing on it didn't even read the damn thing.

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It's like a film critic saying "do we really need another... comedy? or historical drama? or action film? or scifi story?"

 

[Daniel Westlake]

That, and admitting that you're burnt out immediately adds bias to your review which basically invalidates it.

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lol

 

[Daniel Westlake]

It's like a film critic saying "do we really need another... comedy? or historical drama? or action film? or scifi story?"

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You don't consume a lot of film criticism do you?

 

[Cyanity]

That, and admitting that you're burnt out immediately adds bias to your review which basically invalidates it.

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Again, did any of y'all actually read the review? As someone who isn't burnt out or jaded, the Eurogamer review did what a good review is supposed to do - it described the game in enough detail to give me a fairly accurate impression of the game, and in turn, made me want to buy it! Here's another quote:

I don't hate The Outer Worlds. I guess what I hate about it is that it's sufficiently unhateful that you can spend 30 hours playing it without noticing.

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What this tells me is that Outer Worlds is a kind of chicken soup for the soul kind of game. Good, satisfying even, but maybe not brimming with spice. Aka the reviewer believes that they are playing a game that may ultimately be forgettable down the line. That's not irreconcilable bias, it's an opinion. And every single one of these reviews is, ultimately, the opinion of the reviewer. Let people dislike games, jesus.

 

[sredgrin]

It is perfectly valid to review a game from the perspective of being burnt out on something, as there is clearly an audience that probably feels the same way and wants to know if the game is the exception rather than the rule.

I disagree with their premise however simply because there's not really a whole lot of first person RPGs getting made these days. But if you are someone that had your fill of the Bethesda style games and wanted to know if Outer Worlds did more to pull you in than those did, the perspective is valid.

Just like not every game is for every member of the audience, not every review is for every consumer.

 

[captainmal01]

A reviewer is supposed to put himself in the shoes of consumers.
Is everyone else supposed to be burnt out and jaded on a genre?

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I don't want reviewers guessing what other people want, I want them to give their own opinion.

 

[Sera]

I think middling/negative reviews like the eurogamer one are important. Its not too negative or overly critical, its just stripped of positive hype.
people should be allowed to give negative reviews without being attacked for it
7/10 botw

 

[Daniel Westlake]

MS has owned the studio for over a year, are we really to believe MS had zero input or impact on the game as it currently stands? Did the game sit in an idle state since the MS acquisition?

It's their IP, it's the IP that made them want to buy Obsidian, they very likely helped with lots of QA, they allowed Obsidian to staff up, which of course will have had an impact on this game and not to mention any marketing bucks they throw at it.

I'd argue that MS has done more for this game than PD did.

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Now this is just flat out a stupid statement based on nothing except some weird reactionary attempt to defend the Microsoft against people on a forum.

 

[Yerffej]

If they reviewer is burnt out/jaded etc, then it should be given to someone else to review. Of course someone jaded will give a downer review on something they feel they have seen all before and it is basically a negatively biased review even before it even starts.

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In all likelihood, the reviewer wanted to do it and realized it isn't for him/her. I don't get reading into these things any deeper. Austin Walker is basically saying the same things in a lighter tone. It's a warm blanket to him, not anything that'll knock your socks off. Which is...fine?

 

[KORNdog]

If they reviewer is burnt out/jaded etc, then it should be given to someone else to review. Of course someone jaded will give a downer review on something they feel they have seen all before and it is basically a negatively biased review even before it even starts.

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that same thing you're complaining about is present in the positive reviews too though, only the bias flows in the opposite direction. someone who loved fallout-like games will have reviewed outer worlds more favourably. someone who doesn't like those games or have grown weary of them, will have reviewed outer world less favourably. both types of consumer exist and so both types of review are entirely valid.

not all reviews should be cookie cutter copies of each other. opposing opinions on all games is precisely what's missing in the modern review space.

 

[Cyanity]

I don't want reviewers guessing what other people want, I want them to give their own opinion.

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^

 

[spacer]

lol

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Explain whats funny about the part you quoted. Even out of context, it's exactly true.

 

[spacer]

Again, did any of y'all actually read the review? As someone who isn't burnt out or jaded, the Eurogamer review did what a good review is supposed to do - it described the game in enough detail to give me a fairly accurate impression of the game, and in turn, made me want to buy it! Here's another quote:


What this tells me is that Outer Worlds is a kind of chicken soup for the soul kind of game. Good, satisfying even, but maybe not brimming with spice. Aka the reviewer believes that they are playing a game that may ultimately be forgettable down the line. That's not irreconcilable bias, it's an opinion. And every single one of these reviews is, ultimately, the opinion of the reviewer. Let people dislike games, jesus.

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That's all fine and good, until you put a score on it. He admits to liking the game, except that because he personally feels bored with the genre now, it magically makes the game a lower score than what the apparent average is. In other words, "this game looks great, plays great, and I enjoyed playing it. Normally, I think I'd give this game an 8.5/10, but I'm so done with this genre lately. 7/10." You don't see the problem with that?

 

[Deleted member 224]

Skyrim is a pop culture phenomenon. As a series, Fallout sells gangbusters. The announcement of Outer Worlds was met with a ton of praise and hype. The game itself has an 86 metascore.

Reviewers can like/dislike a game all they want. But clearly we want more games like this.

 

[sredgrin]

That's all fine and good, until you put a score on it. He admits to liking the game, except that because he personally feels bored with the genre now, it magically makes the game a lower score than what the apparent average is. You don't see the problem with that?

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1st off, no, not really?

2nd, Eurogamer hasn't given scores out for like half a decade.

 

[Daniel Westlake]

Explain whats funny about the part you quoted. Even out of context, it's exactly true.

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Nah. It's what fools say when they get aggravated by "those mean ol reviewers!". The implication that the eliminating personal bias in the criticism of a media product is a worthwhile endeavor instead of being upfront about bias is goddamn hilarious.

 

[dancingphlower]

A reviewer is supposed to put himself in the shoes of consumers.
Is everyone else supposed to be burnt out and jaded on a genre?

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What? A review should be a person's experience with the game (which is never in a vacuum), not what they think other people would like/dislike lmao

 

[Cyanity]

That's all fine and good, until you put a score on it. He admits to liking the game, except that because he personally feels bored with the genre now, it magically makes the game a lower score than what the apparent average is. In other words, "this game looks great, plays great, and I enjoyed playing it. Normally, I think I'd give this game an 8.5/10, but I'm so done with this genre lately. 7/10." You don't see the problem with that?

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Hoo boy, deep breaths.

The Eurogamer review is unscored my dude

 

[spacer]

1st off, no, not really?

2nd, Eurogamer hasn't given scores out for like half a decade.

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You're right. M fault. I must have mixed up which one I was thinking of.

 

[Raide]

that same thing you're complaining about is present in the positive reviews too though, only the bias flows in the opposite direction. someone who loved fallout-like games will have reviewed outer worlds more favourably. someone who doesn't like those games or have grown weary of them, will have reviewed outer world less favourably. both types of consumer exist and so both types of review are entirely valid.

not all reviews should be cookie cutter copies of each other. opposing opinions on all games is precisely what's missing in the modern review space.

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Agreed. Personally, that is why I think reviews based upon a person's own preference really don't work for me. They only really target people with a similar viewpoint. I much prefer a good review that provides information for both potential sides and let's readers make up their own mind. Of course those type of reviews are rare.

 

[spacer]

I was thinking of the Italian one, specifically. but point taken.

 

[Turin Turambar]

You don't consume a lot of film criticism do you?

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Do we really need anoher society conscious personal drama?

The argument is equally bad with whatever the type or genre the film is.

 

[Karak]

Mine. Sincere apologies it is late. Out of my hands.
Rated it a Buy but it does have some issues folks should be aware of depending on what they are looking for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65bOLMVAXHU

 

[Theorry]

Coh is streaming now. 30k viewers even

 

[Thera]

I really don't get why people keep riffing on the Eurogamer review. This seems to be the gist of it:


You can't really blame a reviewer for getting burnt out on a genre, especially when a lot of reviews seem to agree that Outer Worlds plays it a bit safe. That safeness factor matters to some people, especially to anyone getting burnt out themselves. So no, I don't think the Eurogamer review is bad, and honestly? I think 90% of the people in here riffing on it didn't even read the damn thing.

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I "trust" 3 sites on gaming review : Eurogamer, RPS and Gamekult (french site).
Eurogamer and RPS both share the same problem ith the game and the journalist who is testing the game (not released yet) said on twitter that the game isn't on par with Obsidian past work, and player shouldn't preorders games based on studio name.

 

[BossAttack]

I just read the Eurogamer review and don't see the problem. It was well written and echoed seemed to confirm many of the concerns I had about the game. Now, I'm still playing Day 1, but nothing about TOW grabbed me with regards to its writing or setting in the previews. It just seemed like FO: NV in a Mass Effect type setting. It didn't look to be offering anything new and the writing didn't seem particularly cutting. That's fine.

FO: NV in Mass Effect coating is something I'm entirely down for even if it is entirely derivative. The fact is we don't get many AAA or AA RPGs of this scale anymore. So, I'll play whatever comes out. But, it's clear the game isn't some revolutionary new take with absolutely timely and cutting writing.

Mine. Sincere apologies it is late. Out of my hands.
Rated it a Buy but it does have some issues folks should be aware of depending on what they are looking for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65bOLMVAXHU

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Thanks Karak. Will watch now.