2019 became The Outer Worlds published by Obsidian under Publisher Private Division – now writing March 2021 and the last expansion Murder on Eridanos Officially ended most of the work of developers dealing with the action RPG genre Fallout: New Vegas made a name. Can the final Murder Mystery DLC now include the full package of The Outer Worlds round off or just dilute the formula for success? You will find out in the following lines.
One corpse, many suspects – a classic Whodunit
The famous TV star Halcyon Helen was found dead in the lobby of the Grand Colonial Hotel! While she is on Eridanos, a gas planet with a floating island in the atmosphere, for an event to introduce Rizzo’s latest product line, Vodka “Spectrum Brown”, the leading actress of her own adventure series comes to an early end – and the player becomes an outsider instructed to resolve the case. Shortly after landing in the new role as ‘inspector’ with the spaceship, it becomes clear that much more than just the murder of a celebrity is happening on Eridanos, the player experiences much more than just that: a power struggle between two corporations, SLUG – one Subcontractors of SubLight and Rizzo, the leading food company on Eridanos, drunk hotel employees and troglogs, aggressive crossbreeds between wasps and mosquitoes, company espionage, illegal smuggling and, last but not least, snail-like parasites that make the hosts feel pure happiness.
The focus is always on the murder of Halcyon Helen, which could have been carried out by anyone close to her: a jealous co-star, a fanatical fan, a for-profit sect leader, her recent ex-boyfriend, or maybe even someone to whom you wouldn’t think at all at first … Just like in a classic murder mystery story, the story remains exciting and offers a plot twist or two towards the end. In order not to miss any important clues, the player receives the discrepancy amplifier at the beginning, a weapon that has almost no penetrative power, but always sounds an alarm if suspicious points can be found nearby.
In keeping with the style of the main game, there is also no lack of black humor in the expansion; so the discrepancy enhancer responds sarcastically to many a statement (eg. “What happened to the person?” “She is dead, she wasn’t before!”). Nevertheless, one must not lose sight of the actually exciting basis, because the individual murder soon develops into a whole series of murders of important key people who actually had something important to say to the player.
The new enemy types and weapon types from Eridanos
In terms of gameplay, of course, the first DLC doesn’t change either, but this time Obsidian brings new enemy creatures into the game, which are supposed to shake up the fighting a little. You guessed it, it is the same parasites that have already been mentioned, which have either found a human host or pose a threat on their own in fully grown form.
You can defend yourself with new, unique scientific weapons. As in the first DLC, there are again three in number: “The Sting” is a revolver from the series of the same name by Halcyon Helen, which does not consume ammunition and, depending on the mode, inflicts debuffs on the opponent (poisoning – armor weakening – slowing down), the “Spectrum Gatling”, which fires different types of ammunition, and the “Udder Buddy”, a one-handed club that draws nearby enemies when striking.
In addition, the level cap will be raised to level 36, but players who have already leveled up need not worry: this DLC does not offer any real challenge on the average level of difficulty. Thanks to the very practical science weapons – possibly the best in the game so far – and gameplay that by its nature is dialogue rather than combat, anyone above level 25 should be able to fully complete the expansion.
Conclusion
Murder on Eridanos does better than its predecessor Peril on Gorgon – if only because of the division into different islands in the sky (which are a little on Skies of Arcadia remember) the player is given a better overview than in the last DLC. In addition, the mix of thriller and conspiracies lifts the story in a positive way, so that you stay motivated throughout the ten hours of play. Only the long loading times and the non-expanded combat system disturb the flow of the game.
Positive:
+ mysterious criminal case authentically implemented
+ clear structure of the environments
+ Scientific weapons know how to convince
Negative:
– no innovations in combat
– long loading times
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