I always wanted to play The Outer Worlds. A couple months after it came out for PS4, I picked up a copy, but I ended up never playing it. Then, I was ready to pick up a copy for the Switch, but there were so many people who were saying that this version of the game was trash, so I held off on buying it. But then one day, there was a big sale at Target. The game was on sale for only $20 and it was part of a buy 2 get 1 free sale, so I finally picked it up but still, I never played it.

Then the expansion pass came out and that too went on sale for only $20 for the Switch version, and once I picked it up, I figured that it was finally time to play it. I was still very skeptical because of all the bad things that people were saying, but I knew that the game was still fun at least and I decided to play it. Did I regret it?

GRAPHICS: 6/10

Don't get me wrong, the game looks amazing on the Switch and it runs pretty well too, but it's impossibly difficult to play because movement is absolutely horrible. For the first 30 or so minutes of my playthrough, I loved the graphics, but it all went downhill once I entered combat for the first time. The cutscenes were all really well made, the environment was beautiful, and both the animation and frame rate werw pretty good.

There was also a ton of detail that made everything come to life. If I could have left it at that, my grade for graphics would have probably been a 9 and I'm sure that's where it is on other consoles.

But movement was an absolute nightmare. Turning and camera movement felt so broken. There were no smooth movements, so I'd lightly turn but the camera would harshly move, pass where I was trying to look, and then suddenly stop. This made gameplay so hard and changing the sensitivity barely did anything to fix it. There were times where I'd be fighting one enemy and when I'm aiming my gun, it would be just to the right of them. So I'd turn a little bit but the aim would skip over them completely to the other side.

Plus, when the enemy is running around and shooting you, and you're running around trying to avoid their shots, that makes aiming even more difficult. There were so many times where only one out of every four shots would hit the enemy because of how bad movement and cameras were. I ended up dying so many times because of this and it made the game way more difficult than it should have been. Other than that, the game looked amazing, but this huge flaw really brought down the experience for me and graphics gets a 6 out of 10.

SOUND: 9/10

For me, the best aspect of Outer Worlds was the sound design, even on the Switch. When it came to the graphics, the Switch version took a huge hit compared to the other versions but I didn't really see that level of disappointment when it came to the sound. Though I do have to say that I did play with expensive Bluetooth ear buds, so there is a chance that this influenced my experience versus playing in handheld mode or with the TV's speakers.

My favorite aspect of sound was easily the voice acting. There was a ton of fully voiced lines, both in gameplay and in cutscenes, and the actors did a really great job with their performances. There were also a couple voices throughout the game that I recognized, such as Ashley Burch, and that made me even more excited.

The music and general sounds of the game were another aspect that I really liked. I don't think that the soundtrack is great but there were a couple songs that I enjoyed and there were so many sounds that felt right at home and made the experience much better. There were a couple times where there was a tiny harmless creature running around and the sound they made would freak me out, especially when I couldn't see them.

Honestly there were a couple times where the sound made the game feel much more like a horror game than I would have liked, but that really added a lot to the immersion. Overall, I think the sound design as a whole was pretty amazing.

ADDICTIVENESS: 7/10

The Outer Worlds has a lot going on that for the most part can make the game really fun and engaging. The world looks and sounds amazing for starters and there's so much to explore and discover. On top of that, the story is good and there's a large assortment of really well made characters. For the most part, the game is lots of fun and can be super addicting.

But after a while, the issues with the movement and control can start taking its toll on you. There were times where I'd be in an easy battle against like two or three enemies and they'd kill me instantly because I was unable to hit them. Then I'd try again and again but they'd kill me over and over and after a few tries, it would just stop being fun so I'd stop playing until I was ready to give that battle another shot. The game is a lot of fun until you start facing these issues and then it slowly starts getting to you until you begin to get bored or angry.

STORY: 8/10

The Outer Worlds takes place in a different version of the world and in the future, the ship that you're on to colonize another planet disappears for nearly a century. The introduction to the story and all the backstory and lore of the history and other planets is really well made, but after learning about everything, most of my efforts went into the exploration and gameplay aspects of the game, instead of the story going forward. But overall, the story is really good.

Depth: 9/10

The Outer Worlds sure has a lot going on when it comes to depth. For me, three biggest aspects were the size of the game world, the character customization, and the number of companions that you can have. I love a game with good customization and The Outer Worlds crossed off all the boxes. When creating your character for the first time, there's so much thought that you need to put into it and as you play and customize your character with your stats, skills, and equipment, the customization options only get bigger.

As for the game world, there's just so much space to explore. The game world is huge, with lots of things to discover, and lots of loot to pick up. You may never yet bored of just running around. Lastly, there are also six companions. That might not sound like a lot, but they each have their own sets of behaviors, backstories, dialogue, and skills. Having the right companion can really change your game.

There's also a bunch of other smaller aspects that add a ton to depth. Overall, the game has so much to offer and depth gets a 9 out of 10 from me.

DIFFICULTY: 8

The game is going to be very difficult at times with the movement issues. You're going to end up dying a lot more than you would if you played on other consoles unless you're very careful and patient. There's no doubt that this game is going to lead to a lot of rage quitting.

OVERALL: 7.8/10

The game would be amazing on the Switch if it wasn't for that one issue that for me, affected both graphics and gameplay. If the Switch version didn't have this issue, I'm sure the game would have gotten an 8.7 to an 8.9 from me, but that's not the case. The game is still a lot of fun, and if you're really patient, you can get past the issues. This is definitely a game that I would recommend if you have a switch though, but not if you can easily get it on another console or already have it.

For the most part, the game is still lots of fun, you can get lots of hours out of it, and this version of the game constantly goes on sale for just $20. The risk can be pretty small in comparison and it's still worth it. My overall grade for the Switch version of the Outer Worlds is going to be a 7.8 out of 10.