I replayed The Outer Worlds in preparation of The Outer Worlds 2

The Outer Worlds 2 releases on October 29th unless you preordered the Premium Edition in which case you can start playing tomorrow. So of course I had to make sure to replay The Outer Worlds 1 before the sequel happened. 

It hasn't been all that long since I discovered The Outer Worlds, it was just last year after all, but going back in felt extremely nostalgic. I considered doing a Board loyalty run but I love Felix too much and there's no universe where I'm okay doing what Akande wants me to do with Edgewater. I did it once to get the achievement, and never again. I even rerolled that save after the achievement had popped so I could save the town. 

Since it was my third time playing this game I decided to take a look at the modding scene, hoping that the modders would give me a way to finally, finally smooch Max, or alternatively just give me some more content, more missions, anything to make the game longer. But the state of The Outer Worlds modding scene on Nexus made me realize how very spoiled I am with Skyrim (and Bethesda games overall). Most of the mods there related to raising or removing the level cap, which Spacer's Choice edition already solved. I found nothing I wanted so went ahead and played the game vanilla again. 

As soon as I picked up Max he never left my party. I love this man. Every time my character picked a lock and he said "You're an artist, Captain!" or "Brilliant as always!" my heart melted. His gratitude when I talk him down from straight up murdering the guy who betrayed him always makes me all sorts of happy. Max is the perfect amount of broken and trying to heal. 

Edgewater and Eridanos are my favourite zones of the game. There's something special about being dropped into the first area and have it have such a big impact on the rest of the game, rather than just ending up a footnote where you learned the ropes. This little backwater town ends up being extremely important in many different aspects. Especially in the context of Gorgon. And having it look like that, giving me Morrowind vibes while also being both familiar and inherently alien. It's just so perfect.

And then Eridanos, a combination of a detective story and dystopian sci-fi, while being breathtakingly beautiful and just so absurd, all at the same time. It's uncanny and creepy and hilarious all at once. 

Meanwhile Scylla is a footnote, Monarch is a drag, Byzantium is lowkey the most boring place in Halcyon, and then there's Gorgon. I feel like Gorgon tries to capture the same spirit as Eridanos, but to me it fails so hard at that. Yes, what we find out is disgusting and horrifying, but once you gain access to Gorgon it's pretty much par for the course where Spacer's Choice and the Board are concerned. 

This game hits all my notes, I just wish it would be longer and bigger. I always finish it feeling disappointed that it's already over because I'm nowhere near done. Would I play a massive open world open-ended game set in Halcyon in the exact same style and with the exact same vibe? Yes, yes I would. 

I considered going through it all once more after I hit that ending screen yesterday. I still had time left before the sequel would drop after all. Instead I chose to go spend some time with my other favourite Obsidian boy - Aloth Corfiser. But not before I went and read some more fanfiction featuring Max. 

Why are you never real? The shifting states you follow me through, unrevealed. Just let me go or take me with you. So let's make trouble in the dream world, hijack Heaven with another memory, now I make the most of the turning tide, it just split what's left of the burning silence.