Players can make a lot of choices in Fallout 76.
While critics and audiences were generally more than pleased with the gameplay of The Outer Worlds, there was a particular sticking point which left some players disappointed; there's no way to complete the game without getting some kills. A pacifist run is a popular way to play deep RPGs like The Outer Worlds and Fallout. While most video games encourage players to get their hands dirty with guns, swords, or their bare fists, many RPGs offer a non-lethal approach to solving problems, but The Outer Worlds lacks this option, and it's proven impossible for even the most hardcore players to avoid killing anyone in the game.
The Outer Worlds is currently the subject of an extensive video series by Tim Cain and Charles Staples about the various degrees of player choice present in the game. The Obsidian bosses it that they experimented with having possibilities for no-kill non-lethal playthroughs, but it just didn't come together. Ultimately, there were just too many variables at play for a pacifist run to be a viable and logical way to complete The Outer Worlds. Check out the video below:
According to Cain and Staples, they tested the idea of having a non-lethal weapon to handle combat without actually killing anybody, but it got in the way of a number of quests which required certain enemies to die. The example given in the video above is a situation where a The Outer Worlds quest-giver demands the player bring back severed fingers from specific enemies, and how it proved too difficult to implement such a mechanic without having to kill the enemies first. Additionally, there was an issue as to how long an enemy should remain unconscious before waking up, and the whole pacifist idea simply became more trouble than it was worth.
Rather than focus Obsidian's limited development resources on making a pacifist run feasible, the team opted instead to embrace the other avenues present in the game. At the end of the day, the lack of a pacifist option does not diminish the vast array of options available to players. Plus, while it's not enough to eliminate murder entirely, there are plenty of ways to reduce the amount of combat in the game by investing in dialogue and stealth skills. It's not a full-on pacifist route, but it goes a long way towards keeping The Outer Worlds from feeling like a straightforward shoot-em-up, if that's what players want from the game.
Source: Noclip/YouTube
