When you ask a lot of older PC gamers about some of the greatest classic RPGs made for the format, the conversation will invariably turn to Fallout and how brilliant that game was. The team that brought that magic to life is largely the outfit behind Obsidian and their games. You’ve probably heard of them before and, if you’re a fan of Fallout’s modern games, you’re probably familiar with their work producing Fallout: New Vegas, largely considered a superior title by purists to most of Bethesda’s work.
The popular “what if” scenario that is constantly bandied about in the popular video game press is always some variant of, “why not let Obsidian make another Fallout game?” Heck, some people are even convinced that Bethesda is wary of doing that because of how popular New Vegas is.
Conspiracy theories aside, it looks like Obsidian is doing just that though not using the Fallout IP. The Outer Worlds, the game the company is currently developing, looks set to bring to life all of the peril and promise of a modern Obsidian Fallout game. But we should be careful before we get too excited. After all, this is an entirely new IP that will play by its own rules. Nonetheless, will The Outer Worlds be the Fallout game we’ve wanted for years now?
Well, yes and no, depending on how you look at it. In terms of Obsidian’s trademark style and execution, The Outer Worlds looks set to bring that in spades. As far as being in some way spiritually linked to Fallout, though, we have our doubts. For one, The Outer Worlds takes Fallout’s zany approach and kicks it up a notch. Plus, being its own thing entirely that isn’t tied to some kind of reimagining of 1950s America, The Outer Worlds is already showing off what can only be described as a distinct and unique art and gameplay style. Hypebeasts are emphasizing how the game will be different and, in some imperceptible way, somehow better than Fallout but that remains to be seen.
What The Outer Worlds will really do is put a highlighter on Bethesda’s current bibliography with regards to the Fallout series and by that, we’re referring to Fallout 76. Mark our words, if The Outer Worlds comes out and is triple-A quality from day one, everyone is going to take that as proof positive that Bethesda is a factory that pumps out the same old stuff using the same old broken engine. If that happens, then, yes, The Outer Worlds is better than Fallout, almost by default.
What we think will actually happen is that The Outer Worlds is going to be phenomenal but so much so that no one even thinks about Fallout or Bethesda when it drops. It is going to be its own thing from day one and anybody expecting the return of Fallout in some way will be sorely disappointed. But in a world of increasingly fewer and fewer unique titles released every year, that’s not a bad thing.