The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition is the quintessential The Outer Worlds experience that I've wanted all along for my PS5. With the immense graphical upgrades, Halcyon and the rest of the galaxy look better than ever and visually immerse players in stunning spacescapes while you attempt to navigate a universe that's effectively ruled by corporate overlords. For new players who are also PS5 owners, the Spacer's Choice Edition is a no-brainer given the additional QoL upgrades and the DLC packaged together. However, those who've faithfully done their time in supporting Obsidian and Private Division's franchise from the get go may feel like they've been left in the space dust because of the lack of cross-generation save transfers.
In 2019, our Ben Sheene originally reviewed The Outer Worlds on the PS4 Pro. Ben’s review score of a 9.25/10 praised its stellar writing/worldbuilding, the gameplay choices, and the depth of character-building, and to that end, I absolutely agree with his assessment at that time. I myself invested a good 60 hours or so playing through it in Winter 2021 during one particularly cold spell, and I was very quickly pulled in to the capitalism-forward universe of Halcyon that featured gameplay reminiscent of one of my favorite Fallout installments that happened to also be developed by Obsidian.
I won’t rehash too much from Ben’s original review, but I do recommend that you read our review of the base game before continuing further. If I could add on to the review, however, it would be as such: As a fan of the Fallout series and Obsidian’s prior work, I would emphasize caution for those wanting a modern Fallout-like RPG while we wait patiently for Bethesda’s Starfield. In no way does The Outer Worlds advertise itself as a futuristic Fallout: New Vegas, but I can see how folks can assume it to be given similar gameplay mechanics, mildly branching story-driven paths, a familiar reputation/faction system, and UI. You shouldn’t go in expecting The Outer Worlds to be “as open as” a Fallout title. While the story itself is moderately linear, it doesn’t truly open up until around 12-15 hours in (depending on how much time you’ve spent on sidequests). If anything, I found myself appreciating the depth, rather than the breadth, of The Outer Worlds’ universe by the time I finished the base game after a good sixty hours. I can imagine some folks wanting outcomes with greater stakes (like the multiple endings of Fallout: New Vegas), but The Outer Worlds successfully teaches the player that there is no inherently good option when inserting oneself into decisions buried within grey areas held together by the red tape of capitalism and a reality of poor-decisionmaking.
Let’s now fast forward to 2023, where we find ourselves presented with The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition that has been updated for the next-generation consoles. Obsidian and Private Division have made considerable upgrades behind the scenes to The Outer Worlds to allow new players and veterans alike to experience the game as it honestly should be. However, if you’re a series-veteran, you’re probably wondering: Will, is it worth the upgrade?
Let’s cut to brass tacks: Yes. I wholeheartedly agree that the Spacer’s Choice Edition is worth it for current and new The Outer Worlds players. If anything, it’s the edition of The Outer Worlds that I’ve always wanted, featuring a better companion AI, less bugginess, much more immersive graphics, and more. Do I wish it had more? Absolutely. The Halcyon universe deserves so much more love that simply updating the game’s framework is the tip of the iceberg that is expanding the universe, and I’m left wishing for The Outer Worlds 2 to come sooner rather than later. If I had my druthers, it would come to the PlayStation ecosystem, too.
The Spacer’s Choice Edition is advertised as containing a reworked and improved combat and companion AI, and during my playthrough I noticed that Parvati, Vicar Max, and SAM’s AI has drastically improved. In my first runthrough with the base game, I would occasionally accidentally use Parvati’s Overload and Vicar Max’s Trickshot too late, or even in an incorrect fashion, missing a group of enemies and wasting their abilities. During this playthrough, Parvati would successfully target groups of Marauders and mechanicals, letting me clean up enemies easier than ever before. This is a breath of fresh air compared to other RPGs with companion AI who would often go rogue and/or become bullet sponges.
Speaking of AI, enemies’ behaviors seem to be improved to a noticable degree. I can recall several moments where enemies would clip through terrain and behave erratically: This seems to no longer be the case. I have yet to encounter anything game-breaking or immersion-breaking, but I did encounter one instance where reloading a save caused a single group of enemies on a side quest to become stationary, letting me pick them off with ease. This one errant occasion should not be interpreted as the game being a buggy mess, however, as there were no additional issues that arose during the review period.
One of my original quibbles with The Outer Worlds was its dreadfully long and frequent loading screens, even playing the PS4 version on my PS5. The Spacer’s Choice Edition has drastically reduced loading times to around 4.5 seconds on average. In my 15-hour playthrough, I can count on one hand the number of times where the loading screens were over 5seconds, and I’m pleased to report that reloading an older save is less of a chore than before. The Outer Worlds is a game of choice, and I often found myself saving and reloading my current progress to test out reactions to specific decisions, often becoming frustrated with sitting through a loading screen because I accidentally made the wrong choice. The proper utilization and optimization of the Spacer’s Choice Edition playing nicely with the PS5 makes it much easier to retrace steps and reload a save in case players like me are cautious with their approach in decision-making.
Playing on my PS5, I must say that the visual upgrades in the Spacer’s Choice Edition are substantial and showcase Halcyon better than I could remember. The added weather effects and volumetric lighting highlight additional detail of Terra 2 and Monarch, while the additional particle effects make the neon advertisements on the likes of the Groundbreaker and Byzantium shimmer and glimmer. I do not recall these effects being as lifelike and fluid in my previous runthrough, and I feel successfully immersed in the amount of detail the Spacer’s Choice Edition added to my most recent playthrough. I’ve often associated Destiny 2 as having some of the most stunning spacescapes and planetary panoramas of late; I’m pleased to say that the Spacer’s Choice Edition boosts the night skies to feature some amazing wallpaper-worthy screenshots comparable with that of Bungie’s loot-shooter. For those of you who’re comfortable with taking screenshots and messing about with the idle camera, you’re in for a treat. I do wish that there was a fully fledged camera mode, as that would have given console players the most agency in taking some stellar screenshots.
The visual upgrades extend beyond environments, as the game runs (mostly) at a consistent 60fps in Performance mode. I did encounter some mild stutters and frameskips when rotating the camera too quickly, but it didn’t get in the way of enjoying everything else. I won’t consider the Spacer’s Choice Edition as being “buttery smooth” at this time, but I won’t rule out the potential for it to improve in one or two patches. If something changes, we will keep you in the loop and update this article.
Obsidian and Private Division have also done some work to play nice with DualSense controllers. The adaptive triggers are utilized well, giving players some satisfaction when pulling back the trigger of shock cannons, plasma rifles, and machine guns. There is some haptic feedback, too, but I would have liked some of the cutscenes to utilize rumbles. For instance, when the Unreliable lifts off the ground and takes off into the aether, I kept feeling like my controller was meaning to mirror the shakiness of the spacecraft. But, I’ll take what the Spacer’s Choice Edition offers, as having some adaptive trigger support is better than no DualSense support at all.
As an Outer Worlds series veteran, I was hoping to have the ability to continue my prior save in this upgraded edition, but I learned in the first sew seconds of opening the title that save transfers were not possible in the Spacer’s Choice Edition. Imagine my frustration with not being able to port my previous save from 2021 containing a good 60 hours of gameplay. For the purpose of this review, I could have taken advantage of my prior save in testing the new level cap and exploring all of the planets I had since explored. But alas, I had to start from scratch and fall in love with the Halcyon universe all over again. Having to start over is not the most ideal outcome, sure, but I realize now that replaying the game once again and enjoying retracing my steps is a sign of The Outer Worlds‘ success as a replayable title. Outside of making different decisions, I felt more free in building my character how I wanted while testing out other playstyles.
This also brings to question the value of new level cap of level 99, of which I fear it borders on the potential of diminishing returns. As a refresher, the base game’s level cap was originally level 30, and the two DLC installments raised the cap twice more to a final 36. With the Spacer’s Choice Edition, the additional 63 levels easily provide players with an incentive to continue modifying skill trees and adding power to their current character. However, it’s worth noting that much of The Outer Worlds is easy (even on the hardest difficulty), and there comes a point in your character’s late 20s where the amount of added stats offer players a ridiculous amount of passive and active power. That, combined with the right combination of two companions’ stat bonuses, can easily pass the hardest of skill checks and even give players access to perks that wouldn’t have been available otherwise. Furthermore, it is my understanding that The Outer Worlds lacks a grind (which is a good thing!). I find it hard to see a reality where getting to level 99 is possible and even worthwhile. I will say, however, that leveling feels easier in the Spacer’s Choice Edition, so perhaps I may be concerned about nothing. It will take me a good 30 more hours to complete the base game in its entirety, along with perhaps another 20 or so to complete the other two DLCs in this runthrough.
The convoluted pricing structure is confusing and doesn’t reward fans who’ve stuck with The Outer Worlds all along. Private Division has confirmed with DigitalChumps that the game in its entirety will be $59.99 USD at launch. If you already own the base game and the two additional DLC expansions, then the Spacer’s Choice Edition will set players back $9.99. If you only own the base game, you are not able to upgrade unless you purchase the DLC. Barring that confusion, the $9.99 upgrade is absolutely worth it for current owners if you are interested in starting from scratch and playing The Outer Worlds in the most visually impressive way thus far.
The aforementioned drawbacks should not dissuade current- and potential Spacers from picking up the Spacer’s Choice Edition. The Outer Worlds is a fantastic RPG to start playing for the first time as well as replay in 2023. For fans of Bethesda’s major IP (i.e., The Elder Scrolls and Fallout) and Obsidian’s Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds offers players a taste of a futuristic RPG that’s less space-driven and more capitalism-driven. It’s not quite Skyrim, nor does it claim to be a spiritual successor to the Fallout series, but its gameplay loop and incredible worldbuilding successfully hook players into exploring the world and meddling in inter-galactic affairs. Even more, I feel compelled to recommend this edition to current PS5 owners given the potential future of the franchise being confined to the Microsoft ecosystem. While I hope that the success of the Spacer’s Choice Edition on the PS5 persuades the powers that be to make the future sequel a timed XB exclusive for patient PlayStation owners like me, I’m envisioning the most-likely reality of only being able to play the sequel on my PC using a DualSense controller. Regardless, it remains one of the better (if not the best) open-world RPG on a next-gen console in recent memory, and the Spacer’s Choice Edition brings out the best of Halcyon for PS5 owners to enjoy the most.
The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition is the quintessential The Outer Worlds experience that I’ve wanted all along for my PS5. With the immense graphical upgrades, Halcyon and the rest of the galaxy look better than ever and visually immerse players in stunning spacescapes while you attempt to navigate a universe that’s effectively ruled by corporate overlords. For new players who are also PS5 owners, the Spacer’s Choice Edition is a no-brainer given the additional QoL upgrades and the DLC packaged together. However, those who’ve faithfully done their time in supporting Obsidian and Private Division’s franchise from the get go may feel like they’ve been left in the space dust because of the lack of cross-generation save transfers.
A review copy of The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition was provided by the publisher for the express purpose of this review.
