'The Outer Worlds' Companions Will Be Optional, They Can Leave You

The more and more we are learning about Obisidian's upcoming The Outer Worlds RPG, the more and more excited we're getting. Hailed as essentially Fallout: New Vegas In Space, the upcoming adventure looks to be exactly what RPG fans have been craving. But what's a good role-playing game without companions? What's a great role-playing game without the ability to choose?

Senior Narrative Designer Megan Starks recently sat down with the team over at Game Informer to talk about how the title's companion system works and what that means for players. For those that tend to play with abandon, you might want to pay attention to those choices you make in-game because according to Starks, some of the companions can choose to leave you as the player.

Based on the player's decisions, companions can decide for themselves if you're "worth" following or not. According to Starks, "Even if you lose a points-based morale system, I think you gain something by hand-crafting specific moments where a companion is like, "Why would you do this? You're completely out of your mind!'" And that also gives the player an interesting opportunity to say, "You might be thinking that, but here are my reasons why…" and sometimes we can attach that to a persuade or leadership check, and that helps the player feel more rewarded."

For those that are wracked with indecision, you can also opt out of bringing anyone with you at all - a choice I made a lot during my time with Dragon Age II. Stark mentioned, "With a game like ours, there's a balance you have to strike, because you don't have to recruit the companions. You can have a full, complete experience of our game – minus the companion content – if you never recruit them. But at the same time, we do want them to feel very involved for players who choose to bring them along. While we have to be careful not to make them mandatory, we also look for ways to bring them in."

As for the game itself, The Outer Worlds is set to make its debut sometime in 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. According to Obsidian:

"In The Outer Worlds, you awake from hibernation on a colonist ship that was lost in transit to Halcyon, the furthest colony from Earth located at the edge of the galaxy, only to find yourself in the midst of a deep conspiracy threatening to destroy it. As you explore the furthest reaches of space and encounter various factions, all vying for power, the character you decide to become will determine how this player-driven story unfolds. In the corporate equation for the colony, you are the unplanned variable."

Thoughts on how they are implementing their companion system? Sound off in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy. You can also see what I had to say about the upcoming game from a Mass Effect perspective here.