Shacknews Best RPG of 2019 - The Outer Worlds

There’s nothing quite like falling for a good role-playing video game. Creating a character and customizing it to your liking, then staying true to your vision of the character even if it flies in the face of some of your true beliefs. Along the way, you often find yourself craving another run through the same game to try a different build or approach, and this was never truer with me than The Outer Worlds. In a year where we heard the term “RPG-lite” tossed around, Obsidian Entertainment went full role playing and created the Best RPG of 2019.

On my first run through The Outer Worlds I was trying to be a good person. I wanted to complete all the quests, do right by the good characters and achieve the best ending. Unfortunately, one of my favorite sayings applies very well with The Outer Worlds; you don’t know what you don’t know. I didn’t know I’d want persuasion until it was too late to get it. I didn’t realize combat wasn’t going to be a huge focus for me on that initial run. Every hour played presented new questions about how things would be if I’d made different choices. The result was The Outer Worlds being one of the few games that I’ve fired back up the moment I was done. No cooling off period. I needed to right some wrongs and see some alternate paths.

A great RPG isn’t just about the RPG mechanics, though. A playground worth exploring and interacting with must exist. Obsidian Entertainment nailed this, too. Whether it’s voice acting, writing, graphics, story arcs, or character development, The Outer Worlds gives players environments they want to explore, characters they want to interact with, and writing that will warm your heart one minute and break it the next. They make you want to use the RPG mechanics to unlock more of the wonderful world they’ve created.

Even as I sit here writing about how great it is, I find myself asking, “What would happen if I killed this guy instead of letting him go?” The Outer Worlds will make you ponder what’s possible quite often, the mark of a truly great RPG, and one of the main reasons it has won the Shacknews Best RPG of 2019 award.

Bill Lavoy

Managing Editor

Bill, who is also known as Rumpo, is a lifelong gamer and Toronto Maple Leafs fan. He made his mark early in his career through guide writing and a deep understanding of editorial SEO. He enjoys putting in the work to create a great content, be it a wild feature or grinding out an in-depth collectible guide. Tweet him @RumpoPlays if you have a question or comment about one of his articles.