Made by Obsidian Entertainment, The Outer Worlds was a surprising, new action-adventure IP to come out of 2019. Developed by the same studio that made New Vegas, it feels very Fallout in many ways, taking similar designs of struggling citizens in violence-ridden towns to space, though it received more mixed reception for its combat and rigid animations. This could be due to the budget's size, which is smaller than many of the AAA IPs that it would be compared to. But due to its success, the budget of the sequel will likely be bigger.
Many fans enjoyed The Outer Worlds' smaller scope, not quite as vast and overwhelming as Bethesda's Skyrim and Fallout 4, making the number of quests and areas to explore feel more manageable. If The Outer Worlds 2 continues this trend, there are ways a better budget can influence the quality of the game without simply making the world bigger or the play hours longer. Instead, Obsidian should continue to focus on its strengths: the world it created, the story that surrounds the player, and the characters that populate its universe.
No Romance in The Outer Worlds
Aside from occasionally being able to flirt with some of the stranger's crew members, there isn't any romance that can be had between the player and any characters, though they can embark on NPC-specific side quests. There are, however, some meaningful relationships in The Outer Worlds.
The player can profess their love to Parvati, who became a fan-favorite and is voiced by Aloy's Ashly Burch. Parvati is asexual, though she still develops feelings for people, including the Groundbreaker's Junlei Tennyson. Their blossoming romance sees Parvati working through personal anxieties surrounding her asexuality while confronting Junlei's straightforward and flirtatious nature. In the end, Parvati became the most loved companion among the Unrelaiable's crew members, feeling that her relationship with the captain was believable and the struggles she faces were genuine. She also serves as an unassuming catalyst for The Outer Worlds' main story, having personal ties to the cannery and influencing the player's overall decision at the end of that chapter.
How players have felt about the lack of romance in The Outer Worlds has been split. Some felt that it would've been nice to develop a romantic relationship with characters like Parvati, Nyoka, and Ellie, especially because of the game's openly queer nature. On the other hand, others were glad that romance didn't make its way into the story or quests at all, often distracting them from missions and main plots of other games where romance is more profound, such as the Mass Effect trilogy.
However, romance is rarely a requirement of open-world and action-adventure RPGs, if not missing entirely. For example, Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War are a couple of the most prolific AAA games of recent years, with gamers hotly anticipating each of their sequels. However, romance simply isn't a part of their plots, so people don't miss it the way they do with The Outer Worlds, which resembles titles like Skyrim and Fallout that do allow players to romance several of their companions but don't force it on them. It's simply a matter of if they choose those dialogue options. Unfortunately, many players were expecting it to be available, only to be disappointed in the end.
But romance is an important, fulfilling element of video games for many people, serving as a form of escapism from real life. That doesn't mean developers are obligated to put wooable characters and meaningful relationships in their games, but many find joy in this uncomplicated but wholesome aspect of games that they may not currently have in real life. Simply put, it's not harming anyone by having this well-developed option present, but gamers can freely ignore it if it's not their cup of tea.
The Outer Worlds 2 is currently in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.