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Starfield is a sci-fi RPG that takes players into the expanse of space. You can travel to hundreds of planets and have a unique experience that few players can share. But it’s not the first RPG to take you into space, as The Outer Worlds did something similar. Exploring the Halcyon colony was exhilarating and hilarious, giving you a great time wherever you went. Neither Starfield nor Outer Worlds takes place on Earth but instead focuses on space exploration. Both games have established fanbases, but if you compared Outer Worlds vs. Starfield, which is the better sci-fi RPG?
Starfield Brings You Unparalleled Space Travel
Starfield features you a space exploration experience that no game can top right now. With a thousand planets to explore and several questlines to dive into, there’s no shortage of activities. You won’t scratch the surface even if you sink 100 hours into the game. Several factions offer unique quest chains that will handsomely reward their completion. Explore the stars on a spaceship that you can freely customize. Fast travel through space or battle against criminals who want your loot. You can even turn the tables on hostile ships and take them over, getting a new spacecraft in the process. If you’d like to build a new home for yourself, set up an outpost and let your imagination run wild.
Unfortunately, Starfield isn’t the easiest game to learn, as the tutorial only teaches you the fundamentals. Many concepts must be learned through trial by error, and that can frustrate players. The main campaign is linear, and quest narratives can be quite generic. Skills have certain requirements before you can rank them up, which makes it hard to test builds. Several bugs and glitches can ruin your experience by forcing you to restart your game. Starfield isn’t perfect, but its massive amount of content can still give you a good time.
The Outer Worlds Is Simple & Funny
The Outer Worlds provides a humorous story that takes aim at some of the perils of unchecked capitalism. You can decide to save the Halcyon colony and let it thrive or bring it to the ground for your self-interest. Combat has several options for you to choose from, whether you prefer ranged or close-quarters combat. Stealth and science builds are also feasible, letting you experience a unique style of combat. Your companions are people with genuine issues who need your help in facing their past and pursuing a better future. The additional DLC expands upon new storylines and gives you some further options to refine builds.
However, The Outer Worlds doesn’t have as much content as Starfield, meaning your adventure in the Halcyon colony is short. Once you complete the entire experience, there isn’t an option to start again on New Game Plus. When you clear the game, there’s nothing else to do but fight enemies and see what other skills you can max out. While the Spacer’s Choice Edition does increase the maximum level to 100, it doesn’t add anything new that players haven’t seen before.
Outer Worlds Beats Starfield as a Sci-Fi RPG
As much as The Outer Worlds vs. Starfield seems evenly matched, The Outer Worlds stands out with its story and combat. While there is significantly more content with Starfield, most of it doesn’t break the boundaries of other RPGs. The Outer Worlds took risks, made combat fun, and injected lots of humor into its game. Starfield does have the edge in some aspects, like being more progressive. However, it’s ultimately a stretched-out game that requires you to love exploring. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s difficult for players who love being led by the story.
Where The Outer Worlds succeeds is in getting players invested in its narrative and cast. It makes you want to find out what happened while the side quests support the world-building. It’s also an experience that isn’t hampered by bugs, which is great for those who don’t want random issues. No game is perfect, and you could make arguments for the other side. But until some improvements are made, The Outer Worlds did the sci-fi RPG better.
