REVIEW: ‘The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon’ Adds More Adventure to the Halcyon System (Xbox One)

Peril on Gorgon is an expansion for The Outer Worlds, a first-person view action/adventure RPG developed Obsidian Entertainment and published by Private Division. When an unusual delivery is made to the Unreliable for the late Captain Hawthorne, the new captain and crew get caught up in a five-year-old conspiracy revolving around Spacer’s Choice and the drug called Adrena-Time.

The Outer Worlds was one of many fantastic games I got the pleasure to check out last year. With its incredible characters, tongue in cheek humor, and fun adventure it delivered everything I wanted from Obsidian. Now nearly one year later, I’ve got an excuse to revisit the Halcyon System in Peril on Gorgon. And not much has changed in the past year. And that is just fine with me.

This DLC opens with the Unreliable receiving a mysterious package. Namely, a severed arm along with a recorded message for the deceased Captain Hawthorne. He’s the guy you crushed with your escape pod at the beginning of the game. It seems there is some conspiracy afoot that is centered around the asteroid Gorgon. With little clear information to go on the crew sets out to discover the truth. As it turns out, it’s quite the adventure.

The first thing that struck me about Peril on Gorgon is how thoroughly it incorporates the entire cast. Upon listening to the recording the crew has a thorough discussion about what to do next. Often times DLC like this avoids new interactions with preexisting characters. Not only does this game not shy away from it, but it also leans into it. Giving your supporting party members tons of opportunities to speak up. There is even an interaction that can get you out of a firefight if you have a certain party member with you and you have completed their companion questline.

While Peril on Gorgon utilizes the returning cast well, it also delivers new faces to interact with. These characters are each unique, exhibiting all the flair one would expect from The Outer Worlds. They are interesting, though none of them are on-screen enough to get to know too well. And I was disappointed when I met the second NPC with plot-important dialogue who shared the exact face as a character I’d had to speak to not an hour earlier.

Something that really surprised me about Peril on Gorgon is the scope of the story. Like any good conspiracy, the mystery surrounding Spacer’s Choice has long-reaching tendrils. These will have your crew traveling to new locations in familiar areas. I won’t spoil where. But it was fun to see new sides of some of these places again.

The variety of gameplay Peril on Gorgon utilizes was also fairly impressive. Every dialogue ability, hacking and lock picking, along with an array of enemy types, gave almost every tool a player may have focused on in the core a game a chance to shine.

When all is said and done I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Peril on Gorgon. It delivered more of what I love about The Outer Worlds. If you enjoy the sort of misadventure the core game is famous for you should enjoy this expansion. However, if you weren’t sold the first time around, nothing about Gorgon is going to get you onboard now.

The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.