The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos Review - Screenshot 1 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

The last slice of DLC for The Outer Worlds, Obsidian'southward superb activeness-RPG, Murder on Eridanos attempts to switch things upwards by ditching the more often than not combat-centric action of the chief game in favour of a narrative-driven whoddunnit that throws y'all into a tangled web of intrigue on a floating island of treachery and lies.

Before we get into the meat of this one, withal, the first thing you're going to want to practice is ensure you've got yourself a salvage file with a grapheme who'south been pimped out to around about level 25 — the DLC states 30 but nosotros were fine starting out v notches lower. You'll also need to brand sure you lot've gained access to the landing pad on Stellar Bay in the principal campaign or y'all won't be able to go started on Eridanos. It's a bit of a pain in the behind for those who desire to get stuck in right away merely don't have an erstwhile save floating nearly, as information technology's gonna accept you lot a good ten hours to reach a indicate where you lot can actually beginning your investigations here.

Right, with all of that admin out of the way, let'southward jump in shall we? Murder on Eridanos sees your spaced out ranger called upon to investigate the expiry of celebrated Aetherwave actress, Halcyon Helen, who gets killed to pieces in the game's stylish blackness and white opening cutscene. A highly prized spokesperson for Rizzo Beverages, Helen is murdered just as the company is about to release a make new Spectrum Brown Vodka range and you, the preeminent freelancer in the galaxy, are immediately drafted in to figure out who'southward done the dastardly deed.

The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos Review - Screenshot 2 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Of course we won't spoil whatsoever of the mystery in this review but what'due south here is, equally expected from Obsidian, a fantastically well-written bit of DLC that really leans into the narrative side of things, giving you lot tons of quirky characters and shady charlatans to question at length and enabling you lot to option and cull from an impressive assortment of responses every bit you lot go. Exist helpful and gracious to those yous meet or act like an accented tool, the option is yours!

In order to get the about out of Murder on Eridanos, nosotros propose yous settle in and take your fourth dimension as you lot explore its brand new island setting. You tin accident through this 1 in about 5 hours if yous charge at it, but you'll miss so many delightful little distractions, side stories and intriguing characters if you play information technology this fashion. The colourful islands of Eridanos are absolutely stuffed full of tidbits of information and revelations, and we had a nail slowly uncovering every little detail as we worked our way towards figuring out the mystery at the heart of the narrative — a playstyle that saw that running time upped to effectually eight hours.

The all-time part of the action that's presented in this concluding piece of DLC, and then, is undoubtedly questioning suspects and shaking info out of them. This one is at its strongest past some margin when you're enjoying its meridian-notch writing. However, the unabridged try definitely suffers a piffling for the fact that, equally you progress, you'll find that your choices in conversations — and actions elsewhere — don't really feel similar they accept whatever huge issue on how things play out in the end. Yes, there are a few crucial decisions to make that skew things slightly one way or another, but it all feels a little inconsequential when the terminal denouement plays out pretty much the same regardless.

The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos Review - Screenshot 3 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

Murder on Eridanos besides introduces a new tool, the Discrepancy Amplifier, which you tin can use to investigate clues as you move around areas of involvement. It's initially a pretty fun gadget and is fully voiced so as to enable it to constantly bark smart remarks at you. However, information technology's also a footling overpowered in our stance, e'er letting you know exactly what'southward needing to be done and where to get next and, aslope the neat big green waypoint showing you lot where your current objective is, it adds to a feeling of being on-rails to some extent with very little in the style of actual thinking required. Non a slap-up await for a detective romp.

Combat is besides a niggling on the weak side here, with fiddling in the fashion of enemy variation and, at this point, you've got a character and set of companions who tin can admittedly ability through every battle that's thrown your mode. Activity was never The Outer Worlds' strongest bespeak and here it feels pretty much played out, a means to an end and something to change the pace up a bit every bit you motility between islands on your investigation.

We besides had some bug with how changing companions works. Eridanos is made up of a series of floating islands strung together by long bridges and you're gonna notice yourself traipsing dorsum and forth beyond these far more than yous want to in order to switch out your crew dorsum at the penthouse suite yous've set up as your base of operations. Information technology's non a huge deal, but we sure did get tired of marching back and along to the K Colonial Hotel hither.

The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos Review - Screenshot 4 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

Still, these issues aside, Murder on Eridanos is still a fun ship-off for The Outer Worlds, the vast bulk of the characters and writing are of such a high quality — the companions here really are some of our favourites in whatever game — that information technology's just a good time to wander effectually, converse, read PDAs and immerse yourself in the vibe that Obsidian went with. Information technology's not the strongest of the two DLCs, for sure, we absolutely preferred Peril on Gorgon's antics, and it's not a patch on the main game itself, but overall Murder on Eridanos delivers a decent handful of hours in a universe nosotros've come to love visiting over the past few years. If you enjoyed the core campaign and Peril on Gorgon, you'll find plenty to similar here.

In terms of performance, Obsidian has washed a good job of cleaning upwards this Switch port of The Outer Worlds in general and, likewise the expected downgrading of visuals — something which can see distant objects and the like appear quite blurry, especially in handheld — and some long and quite frequent loading times, we didn't have whatever significant bug in docked or portable modes hither.

Conclusion

Murder on Eridanos is an entertaining final slice of DLC that leans into the narrative elements of Obsidian'southward action RPG, delivering plenty of well-written dialogue and characters in the process. Yes, the combat is pretty much played out at this phase and the whole matter feels a petty fleck too linear, but this is still an enjoyable render to 1 of our favourite action RPGs of the past few years that's well worth picking up if you lot enjoyed the core campaign.