The Outer Worlds was a breakout hit for 2019. Fans of Obsidian’s Fallout: New Vegas found enough similarities between the two games to have fun exploring The Outer Worlds’ Halcyon and saving the colonies from The Board. One thing these games had in common is a lack of romance storylines—an aspect many RPG players look forward to completing.
However, a key difference between the two games is that New Vegas allowed players to sleep with prostitutes, meanwhile The Outer Worlds’ Captain “Alex Hawthorne” cannot romance or sleep with anyone. Just because it’s not possible in-game doesn’t mean it’s hard to imagine how these romances would play out, though. In fact, given every companions’ personality, it’s pretty easy to see how things would play out between the player character and the object of their affection*.
*the only companions discussed will be humans and assumed to be sexually fluid unless otherwise specified—sorry S.A.M. lovers.
It’s time to break hearts right away by reaffirming a sad truth—the Ashly Burch voiced engineer Parvati Holcomb is already in a committed, and adorable, relationship. Players will remember what is essentially Parvati’s loyalty quest as running around various areas of the Halcyon colony to collect all the necessary items for her date with the Groundbreaker’s head engineer, Junlei Tennyson. The game even has dialogue with Parvati that reveals her asexuality and allows players to give advice on how to proceed with Junlei.
Parvati is a wonderful crewmate to have around for conversation and moral decisions, but unfortunately 100% off the menu romantically. She’s bright and charming with a heart of gold, so it’s truly devastating players are unable to romance her at all. However, if players really want to make believe a romance with Parvati, they can always kill Junlei before, during, or after Parvati’s quests that help solidify their relationship. If done after the fact, though, players should know that Parvati may leave the crew permanently, devastated from Junlei’s loss, unless players can convince her to stay.
If players wanted a challenging romance at the start, Vicar Maximillian DeSoto would be the clear choice. Max holds a position in the Order of Scientific Inquiry (OSI) and tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve. This doesn’t lead to vulnerability though, just lots of angry outbursts from the former jailbird and former tossball player.
A romance with Vicar Max, especially before the successful completion of his companion side quest, is certain to be full of dialogue that establishes Max as the biggest jerk on the Unreliable. He’s quick to anger, largely sarcastic, and condescending to everyone, despite being a Vicar—someone who is supposed to treat those he serves with respect and maintain piety, even if it’s just for show.
If players stuck with this romance long enough though, they’d see a change in Vicar Max’s disposition. If his quest is completed, Max doesn’t necessarily get the answers he wants, but it does open his eyes to the truth of the OSI. His personality dramatically shifts and he becomes less prone to angry outbursts and his righteous tendencies. If taken around on quests with other crewmates, players can overhear dialogue between Max and the additional companion change and become more relaxed—even apologetic—for Max’s past ways. If players want a romance with in-depth character development, Vicar Max would be the way to go.
Nyoka is a hunter native to the planet Monarch who has faced a lot of hardships in her life. To cope, she turned to booze. Players’ first interaction and impression of her is finding her drunk in the bar on the non-corporation-owned Stellar Bay. To help sober her up and add her as a companion on the Unreliable, players have to get her Caffenoid pills—Halcyon’s instant hangover cure. After becoming sober, Nyoka becomes a party companion and will serve as a guide throughout Monarch’s wilderness to get to the information broker in the radio tower.
Nyoka’s loyalty quest focuses on putting her fallen comrades to rest and her struggle to accept the good memories with the bad. Her anger and violent streak can be as fiery as her hair, but she’s got a softer side too. She cares deeply about her chosen family and is even concerned about what happens to the rest of the people in Halcyon. It’s not confirmed, but it’s possible that Nyoka was romantically involved with one of her former companions, Hayes, due to a conversation Nyoka has with Dr. Ellie Fenhill after retrieving Hayes’ medallion.
Players could never fill the hole left by Hayes in Nyoka’s heart, but a romance with Nyoka would be sure to have some emotional depth. She’s got a rough exterior, but just beneath the surface is someone who’s experienced a lot of heartbreak and loss. During her loyalty quest, players help Nyoka make peace with her memories concerning the people she used to call family, so it wouldn’t be hard to pave a romance with Nyoka once her quest is completed successfully. Nyoka has a fondness for the player’s Captain afterwards, and will probably always have a soft spot for the person who helped her work through her immense grief.
The player character first meets Felix Millstone after he’s had an altercation with his foreman, who insulted his favorite tossball team. To rectify the situation Felix, “allegedly,” attacks the foreman with a tossball stick and loses his job on the spot. That’s where the Captain comes in, and can either agree to take Felix onto the Unreliable or leave him on the dock of the Groundbreaker. Through various conversations when Felix is on the crew, players can learn the story of how he grew up as an orphan on the Groundbreaker.
Just glancing at Felix’s character design shows he’s a young kid, and interacting with him affirms that he’s a rebel who would rather fight first and ask questions after the fact. He’s impulsive, young, and loves fighting against “the man,” namely The Board. Felix is also hilarious, especially in a dialogue included with Peril on Gorgon where he mispronounces a word and players have the choice to correct him or not.
If players were able to romance Dr. Ellie Fenhill, it would have a very similar trajectory to that of Jack’s romance during Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. Ellie is jaded and apathetic, yet easy going at the same time. She grew up in Byzantium and became a surgeon at the request and influence of her parents, but grew tired of the bureaucracy of the city. She left her cushy upbringing to adventure across the colonies as a mercenary.
Ellie already has a tough time trusting others and is highly suspicious when the player Captain does things for the sake of altruism—she doesn’t believe that people don’t have ulterior motives. This distaste makes the result of her loyalty quest, different from the quest “The City and the Stars,” even more upsetting because, in a way, her jaded outlook on life is proven by her own parents. However, if gamers play their cards right, Ellie can learn to open up and see that it’s not always bad to ask for help on occasion.
A romance with Ellie would go a bit further than what the credits establish as the “good” ending for her character, where she begrudgingly admits that she “just might” need other people. Throughout The Outer Worlds, if players try to get Ellie to talk about her feelings, she’s very quick to disregard them or shut down. She doesn’t engage in or enjoy introspection, but if romanced it’s possible that she would show her affection for the player once in a blue moon. It wouldn’t be a fruitless romance, but it would be one that requires players to take what affectionate remarks they can get when Ellie offers them.
The Outer Worlds is available now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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