It’s time to slam that “forgot password link” on the Epic launcher and dust off your profile because the platform’s got another dinger for its free game of the week: The Outer Worlds, Obsidian’s 2019 space gilded age spiritual successor to Fallout.
The Outer Worlds offers a more contained take on a first person, Fallout/Elder Scrolls-style RPG, with discrete, open-ended zones that offer a set path through the story. It’s a structure similar to my sweet baby, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, which makes sense given who made both games. The Outer Worlds project leads Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky eventually found their way to Obsidian after the shuttering of their ill-starred studio, Troika, which made Vampire and two other RPG classics.
I like that The Outer Worlds is a more manageable RPG, one that you can absolutely finish even if you’re an adult with a job, and it does this without sacrificing depth and choice. I made a smooth-talking, sharply-dressed pistoleer, but this seems like a great game for a melee weapons character or out-there “science” build. The game also does a great job with some Fallout-style reactivity, with NPC towns changing to reflect your choices as you play, while also offering a deliciously long modular epilogue expounding on their fates.
Hell, I loved The Outer Worlds even though I picked the absolute worst way to play it: I was moving around a lot at the time and desperate for games on my Nintendo Switch, so I held out for The Outer Worlds’ many times delayed, incredibly muddy, low-res, and just generally booboo Switch port. Good things do not always come to those who wait.
That changes now though: I grabbed The Outer Worlds for free on EGS, ready to enjoy on my beefy gaming rig, and you can too. The Outer Worlds will be free on the Epic Store until April 11.
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