Exploring Your First Big Decision in The Outer Worlds

Hello, colonists! Brian Heins here, Senior Designer from Obsidian Entertainment, and I’m going to be your guide as we check out The Outer Worlds. In case you haven’t heard, The Outer Worlds is a first-person, single-player role-playing game in which you will decide how the story plays out. We will be looking at a bit of the game’s features as well as the town of Edgewater.

Edgewater is a backwater settlement located in the region of Emerald Vale, owned and operated by Spacer’s Choice. The people of Edgewater are hardy, loyal company folk devoted to working in the town’s Saltuna Canning Facility until the day they die, at which point they’re buried in the local Spacer’s Choice Cemetery — provided they’ve paid their burial fees. The Spacer’s Choice family takes care of its own.

Reed Tobson — Edgewater’s administrator — can help you find a power regulator to repair your ship. A staple in Obsidian games has always been a complex narrative with a variety of dialogue options, and The Outer Worlds is no different as you will have multiple options when approaching conversations.

Your character’s abilities and companions also play a part in conversations. For example, you may have the option to lie to someone if you have enough charisma, or potentially your companion is a skilled engineer and can help dig you out of a technical discussion that is way over your head.

Reed points you to a power regulator in the nearby botanical district. All you need to do is head down to the geothermal plant, cut off power to the botanical district, and take their power regulator for yourself. As often with the decisions you face in The Outer Worlds, this will not be an easy choice and you will see that the botanical district is home to a group of refugees led by Adelaide McDevitt.

Adelaide McDevitt was once Edgewater’s finest flavor specialist. Remember that limited edition run of White Chocolate Saltuna? That was all Adelaide.

Not a lot of people know what made Adelaide abandon her job and leave town. Today, Adelaide and a small band of loyal followers live together under the shade of a garden, surviving off the land and keeping to themselves.

Adelaide holds a bitter grudge against Edgewater. She wants to hurt Edgewater by destroying their power supply, and she needs your help to do it. With this information and a weighty decision to contemplate, you will make your way to the next objective — the geothermal plant.

If deciding the outcome of these settlements was not enough, the path to the geothermal plant is riddled with violent marauders and aggressive fauna. While it may be possible to avoid conflict using stealth, dialog, and other means, if you do end up fighting you will have a variety of options to ensure you remain above ground.

Depending on your character, you may opt for getting close and personal with a melee weapon or simply value taking cover with a rifle in hand. Either way, you should take advantage of Tactical Time Dilation.

Due to some minor brain damage from being suspended in hyperspace, your character perceives time differently. This allows you to slow down the perception of time which can drastically improve your effectiveness in combat. Depending on how you invest your skills, Tactical Time Dilation can be improved to provide unique combat possibilities like being able to cripple or blind enemies. It will also allow you to scan enemies and get detailed information about them.

Your path will lead you to the geothermal plant, where you will have to navigate around or confront various patrolling security bots, and ultimately decide the fate of Edgewater and Adelaide’s deserters. There are many ways to resolve this quest, and the options and possibilities you discover along the way are very much at the core of The Outer Worlds.

We look forward to seeing all the paths you take in your adventure when the game comes out on October 25.