Watch out, Bethesda; the boys are back in town, and they’re taking aim, this time with space ships and laser guns.
After years of making smaller indie-style video games, Obsidian announced their return to big budget video game development in spectacular fashion. At The Game Awards on Thursday, a trailer was unveiled for The Other Worlds, Obsidian’s new single-player first-person sci-fi RPG. The game is reminiscent of some of their older works, but in a stunning new setting: space, the final frontier.
After awakening from hibernation on a lost colonist ship, players will explore Halcyon, a far-away colony on the edge of the galaxy, and tackle a corporate conspiracy that threatens to destroy your new home. The Outer Worlds promises all the hallmarks of an Obsidian game that fans have come to love.
The game’s Steam page mentions a player-driven story filled with important choices that have players crafting the future of Halcyon, companions to team up and fight with, and a wide world to explore, with mentions of a space ship hinting at possible space flight. Screenshots also show Obsidian’s trademark complex conversations, a feature that has grown rare in the days since their older big budget RPGs such as Fallout: New Vegas.
Speaking of Fallout: New Vegas, in many ways, The Outer Worlds appear to be taking aim at Bethesda and their recent work with the Fallout franchise. For context, Bethesda and Obsidian did not part on the best of terms after Fallout: New Vegas; the game placed just one point shy of a benchmark Metacrtic score that would have secured a hefty bonus for Obsidian. Much of the criticism levied at Fallout 4 can be linked back to fans of the previous New Vegas release, which seemed to set a bar for the franchise that Bethesda has struggled to meet. The seemingly endless issues plaguing Fallout 76 have further weakened confidence among consumers that Bethesda can do the franchise justice.
The Outer Worlds seems perfectly placed to take advantage of Bethesda’s woes. The announcement trailer made a point of highlighting that The Outer Worlds is “from the original creators of Fallout,” as well as “the developers of Fallout: New Vegas.” The newly-released screenshots seem to back up that fire. One of the most prevalent criticisms of Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 is the greatly-simplified conversation choices compared to past Fallout games, including New Vegas; one of the first screenshots of The Outer Worlds showcases a deep, meaningful dialogue system with many choices, front and center.
Furthermore, one of Bethesda’s next projects is named Starfield, which appears to be a space-themed game. With The Outer Worlds coming out first, it’s as if Obsidian is trying to put out Starfield before Bethesda can. Whenever Bethesda’s game does release, it will now surely be compared to Obsidian’s work.
Welcome back, Obsidian. You’ve been missed.