The Outer Worlds expansion Peril On Gorgon is out now
Science has done a Bad
The Outer... Worlds? Worlds. The Outer Worlds has today released its first expansion, Peril On Gorgon, a title which feels like it needs a campy exclamation mark.
It's the first of two narrative expansions, and set in an asteroid colony where Science has done a Bad. It also brings a couple of new weapons and armour sets, some new music, new perks and flaws, and an increased level cap to Obsidian's not-Fallout Fallout game.
"A severed arm and a mysterious message" hook the player in to its story, in which the eponymous colony has apparently fallen prey to a case of the bad drugs wot make you turn. Marauders are marauding all over the place, and since it's an RPG everyone else is useless so it's your job to get in there and find out what happened.
According to game director Carrie Patel, "this is going to involve a mix of exploring a colourful but dangerous overland area, choosing between a mixture of combat and stealth to navigate the dangers, and making some choices about how we resolve things and how we present ourselves to characters".
It looks very much like "more Outer Worlds", basically, which may not be a radical expansion, but it's no bad thing either. Alice of Bee's The Outer Worlds review actually convinced me to play it for a few hours last year, on the grounds that a perfectly alright, a-bit-safe-but-good lighthearted shooty RPG time was just what I needed. Matthew and Colm have been playing through it as mass murderily as possible in their first Bastard Run video series. I don't think anyone here quite fell in love with it, but it's a good time for sure. If you haven't had your fill yet, well, here's some more of it. It's a pretty place to visit for a while if nothing else. And through no fault of its own, still has a confusing name.
Peril On Gorgon is available now for £12, or as part of the £20 Expansion Pass with that upcoming second add-on. You can find The Outer Worlds on the Epic Games Store, where a hefty 50% discount takes the base game down to £25/$30/€30 until September the 24th. It's also on the Microsoft Store, though not currently discounted, and available through the Xbox Game Pass. While the expansions are not included with Game Pass, Microsoft say passholders get 10% off buying them.
A small patch with a few fixes arrived this week too.