The Outer Worlds is a cruel twist on role-playing games lone hero stories

Midway through Obsidian Entertainment’s new role-playing shooter The Outer Worlds, I met a man miserably playing a corporate mascot, his head semi-permanently enclosed in a large, ghoulish moon mask. I spoke to him for several turns, hoping there was something I could do to help. But if there was a way to improve his life, he never suggested it, and I never found it.

This encounter feels like an encapsulation of my time playing Outer Worlds. Obsidian is perhaps best known for creating Fallout: New Vegas, one of the best installments of the post-apocalyptic Fallout series. Outer Worlds is clearly a spiritual sequel to Fallout, featuring a similar role-playing system, retro-futuristic aesthetic, and penchant for dark humor. But Outer...

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