PlayStation 5 code provided by Private Division
Private Division and Obsidian Entertainment’s open-world RPG Outer Worlds was a big hit, for a genre that has included masterpieces like Fallout and Elder Scrolls. Seeing a newcomer in this field was great, and our review for Outer Worlds showcased how great it was. The definitive edition and next-gen remaster has now arrived in the form of the Spacer’s Choice Edition, featuring graphical enhancements for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S as well as bringing the complete game including DLC into one edition.
For newcomers Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition is available for $59.99, but if you have already purchased the game and all of the DLC it is a $10 upgrade. While atypical compared to the free upgrades offered for similar remasters (Cyberpunk 2077 and the recent Witcher 3 remaster come to mind), it definitely fits the game's theme of corporate greed and taking the cheapest route possible for maximum profit. Unfortunately, that theme continues throughout the Spacer’s Choice Edition.
Gameplay
Outer Worlds follows a character hero that goes on improbable ventures and meets up with a cast of diverse and interesting characters throughout their travels through corporation-owned space. The various corporations are known for their attitudes towards their products and their workers, and Spacer’s Choice is notorious for being the cheapest option that still technically works. The remastered edition is also called the Spacer’s Choice Edition, and I was shocked to discover that the name was so accurate it must’ve given the team a giggle.
While featuring enhancements and including all the DLC, the new edition plays exactly like the original, looks marginally better, and felt like the sorriest attempt to get a few extra dollars from customers and current fans. While touting improvements to combat and exploration, the only time it felt any different from the original was when standing still and looking at a vista as it was quite pretty. However, the combat and companion management feel the same, the exploration is marred by FPS drops and graphical issues, and the character’s mouths still sometimes didn’t match what they said. For an upgrade, it sure feels like they slapped some new paint on a rusted car and sent it to the car show.
To be clear, the combat and exploration don’t feel bad. However, for a supposed upgrade it feels no different from the original. While the original was charmingly janky, this jankiness has not translated well into the next generation. With the longest load screens I have experienced on PlayStation 5, the aforementioned graphical problems, and what felt like no real changes other than a “performance/quality” graphic switch (which felt like it had no effect as performance still stuttered and lagged outside of dungeons), I felt like I had downloaded the wrong game, but the box art on my dashboard clearly said Spacer’s Choice Edition.
Audio and Visuals
Outer Worlds’ art style depends on the area and planet but typically features bright visuals and interesting world items to fill out scenes. The Spacer’s Choice Edition is undeniably prettier, but some of these visual enhancements actually made me notice some of the bland textures throughout. Rocks look silly, walking through a pretty landscape becomes much less pretty when it drops frames and stutters while moving, and calling it “performance mode” when it struggles to hit 50 FPS when outside of dungeons feels like a joke.
The audio is still one of my favorite parts of Outer Worlds, and Spacer’s Choice Edition is no exception. Playing through I was constantly wowed by the variety of voice actors, funny lines, and background music that felt fairly seamless to the experience. While I didn’t do a direct comparison, it felt like there was less “fuzz” to the sounds in the Spacer’s Choice Edition, though that could also be me searching for those so-called improvements I kept hearing about.
What It Could Have Done Better
Jeez, where do I start? This feels like a joke upgrade, and the fact even players that had the game and all the DLC still need to pay $10 to play the same game with slight visual improvements and some buzz-word features like “haptic feedback” (that I barely noticed), “improved load times” (sure, but on a PS5 this was slow), and “improved battle coordination” (nope). Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition truly lives up to the corporation theme for Spacer’s Choice. This upgrade really should have been a free update, instead, I feel this is a bit of an insult to the quality of the original release and all the fans who have been playing it.
Verdict
If you loved Outer Worlds, bought all the DLC, maxed out your characters, and still check out the wacky worlds within, you would enjoy the Spacer’s Choice Edition. If you have never played Outer Worlds and would like to check it out, this could also be a good item to pick up on sale. However, besides those people, I cannot recommend Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition to anyone. Shockingly bad graphics, a distinct lack of true changes from the original, and what feels like a cash grab of new features that will barely affect your gameplay make this a game I would rather I never played. To me, it sort of hurt my feelings toward the original, and I kept finding myself asking “did I really think this was fun? Why?” However, in a gaming landscape where game companies like to bring back the same things over and over instead of investing in new IP, this is not a shock and can be seen as a humorous confirmation of Outer Worlds’ theming. Find your own way, or become indebted to your corporate overlords for some regurgitated content. “It’s not the best choice, it’s Spacer’s Choice!”
Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition is out now for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
