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Jan 21, 2024

The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition Review

The Outer Worlds gave us a fantastic RPG where you explored Halcyon and decided

The Outer Worlds gave us a fantastic RPG where you explored Halcyon and decided the fate of the space colony. The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition is a more polished version of the original, with better graphics and a level cap of 99. For players who have never touched the game before, it's a great way to get an improved version of the game.

For veterans coming back to Halcyon, there's not as much on offer. Apart from a better looking world and a higher level cap, there's nothing you haven't seen before. Unless you didn't pick up any of the DLC, the Spacer's Choice Edition doesn't add anything to gameplay. Configuring your character to be the best version of themselves is all there is.

The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition is available on PC, PlayStation 4/5, and Xbox Series X|S for USD 59.99. There is also an upgrade for USD 9.99 if purchased from the same store.

The story of The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition is exactly the same as The Outer Worlds. You control a recently thawed colonist of the Hope, revived by Phineas Welles. Phineas knows that Halcyon has a great problem, and only the colonists of the Hope can save the colony. Unfortunately, Phineas only has enough resources to revive you. You must help him gather the resources to save everyone on the Hope, while exploring all of Halcyon.

Apart from having all of the DLC included in the new edition, there's no major change to the story. Everything plays out exactly as it did in the original. The story beats don't change, you still decide how the story ends, and there are no additional side quests. It's still the journey of going all around Halcyon to revive the colonists aboard the Hope. The companions you recruit and the choices you make have not fundamentally changed.

It's the same story you’ve seen before, with no additional quests.

The core story and the DLC additions are actually good stories, which players will appreciate if they are playing it for the first time. If you never picked up the DLC, it's a good time to enjoy the additional stories. The only downside is that nothing has changed since the story first came out, and there's nothing else to do once you’re done.

It's a shame that The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition didn't add anything new to the story. While that doesn't hurt the game, it does make it less likely for players to upgrade if they haven't played it before. Going through the game to see the same story without any variation doesn't provide the most entertaining experience.

You can continue to enjoy the story in all its glory or revisit it out of nostalgia. But don't expect any large changes to the narrative. It's the same story, just as it was years ago.

The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition retains its first person shooter combat, where you can attack enemies with a variety of weapons. Different abilities, stats, and armor allow you to strengthen your character as you please. It's just like Fallout 4, though the level cap has now been increased to Level 99.

For players who felt stifled by the Level 30 cap, the significantly larger level cap is fantastic. Even though Murder on Eridanos raised the level cap to Level 36, you were still at risk of building a character poorly. With the level cap now raised to Level 99, this won't be a problem anymore.

The increased level cap allows for greater customisation.

Wasting EXP will be extremely difficult, and you can test out a variety of builds. The higher level cap isn't a free pass to create poor builds, as you will still struggle in the early game.

What the level cap does allow you to do is experiment with different builds once you are done with the game. Wasting EXP will not be a problem, and there's a purpose in continuing to go out and fight after the story is over. Players who want to build the perfect character will love the new opportunity to max out their stats.

That's the main draw for veterans of the series. New players will likely never get to that level cap when beating the game. Instead, new players will appreciate the smoother performance, which has no issues on the PS5. There are settings for performance or improved graphics, depending on your preference. Even if you don't run on maximum performance, the game still plays smoothly enough that you don't experience many frame drops.

The biggest change will be the visual graphics. Halcyon has never looked better, and it's a joy to explore your improved surroundings. Even if you have explored every nook and cranny, the updated visuals are amazing to look at. This also applies to weapon and enemy designs, making everything look better.

Despite the increase in graphic fidelity, performance hasn't taken a hit. The game runs smoothly while still looking great, which allows you to enjoy the game even more. Taking in the sights is great in the original game, and the atmospheric vibe only gets better in the new edition.

Halcyon has never looked better, and it's easy to appreciate.

Voices and other sounds have gotten a slight improvement too, but it's not as easy to notice. Sound quality is close to what it was in the original game, and you aren't likely to pick up on the slight improvements. But each character's voice comes through clearly, and everyone can be heard. Subtitles are still recommended for catching everything that is said, but they aren't mandatory.

Improved graphics are the new edition's greatest strength, but it's also a weakness. The original game didn't look bad, and if you didn't mind it before, the better visuals won't make a big difference.

The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition was reviewed on PS5 with a code provided by Tara Bruno PR.

Victor enjoys writing about games to help players who are getting stuck or need advice on difficult parts of the game. He is a big fan of RPGs but I also like playing games of other genres, and can easily spend hours on a single game.

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