Geek Review – The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon

It has been almost a year since we last experienced the roleplaying awesomeness that was Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds, and fast forward 11 months, the first piece of DLC has finally arrived. While it can take some getting used to jumping back into the world of the future, The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon is definitely a meaty addition that brings more of the same, great flavour to the sci-fi RPG.

Lasting about eight hours or so, Peril on Gorgon is all about the intrigue of a detective’s tale. A mystery of a severed human arm will lead players down corporate rabbit holes as you uncover more about Spacer’s Choice. 

The omnipresent megacorporation was ever-present in the main game, and is no different in Peril on Gorgon. As one would expect, things are never that clean when it involves a giant corporation, profit, and pharmaceutical research. 

Thankfully, Peril on Gorgon does not keep you confined to just one place. Just like the main game, players will be travelling to different locations around the Hyperion system. Although you will spend more time on the asteroid base of Gorgon, the DLC also brings you to places like the creepy Ambrose Manor, a super-exclusive Byzantium club, and more.

As players progress deeper into Peril on Gorgon, the more the mystery unfolds. Unfortunately, if you are looking to stretch those investigative muscles, there is little room for that. Akin to a linear tale, each quest lead into another, filling in the gaps as you complete objectives after objectives.

It is by no means a detriment to the experience, but just more of the same that came before. The story of Peril on Gorgon remains an adequate one, with spice added by its cast of characters. Of course, a plot centred around investigation does have its fair share of private eye fun.

For those of you looking to know everything, you can bury your nose deep into the many logs and messages found throughout Peril on Gorgon. There is plenty of worldbuilding being done through these pieces of literature, but it is likely that plenty of players will miss out on all the corporate actus reus.

At least you can get more of that storytelling via the environment, as the attention to detail Obsidian has placed in the locations and situations players would stumble upon does a great job at telling their own story. The sheer amount of drugs you would find are astonishing, but just like how the developers handled the rest of the world, it is perfectly fitting. Exploration remains as rewarding in Peril on Gorgon as the original.

For the main bulk of the action, Peril on Gorgon is still dependent on the tried-and-tested combat that was sufficiently good in The Outer Worlds As aside from a few new unique weapons being added to the mix, action remains largely untouched. The same goes for the foes you will face.

There are only so many marauders, test subjects, and pirates you can fight without feeling they all came from the same den of evil. There are also robotic enemies and more primals to contend with, so that is still a nice change.

With the main mission and several side quests to get through, Peril on Gorgon maintains the same dark humour of the base game, which is a great thing. However, with the DLC touching on more serious, moral issues, it can be hard to reconcile the two differing stances. Grim comedy does not necessarily jive well with hard-hitting facts, but knowing the gravity of the situation can help in your decision making.

All in all, Peril on Gorgon is a good addition to The Outer Worlds. There is more storytelling to enjoy, visits to different places, and more of the adequate combat that is not everyone’s cup of tea. While it is not changing things drastically in terms of gameplay design, there is enough here to keep you coming back until the mystery’s solved.

The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon is now available on the Epic Games Store for US$14.99.