Obsidian Entertainment's The Outer Worlds was an excellent sci-fi RPG with a deeply satirical tone, and the game's second DLC offering Murder on Eridanos doubles down with more quests, more corrupt corporations, and more fantastical otherworldly locations to explore. While this DLC once again doesn't add any additional post-game content or additional recruitable crewmates, The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos does deliver some things the base campaign needed more of - including companion interjections.
The plot of Murder on Eridanos mimics one of an in-game aetherwave serial - that is, a pulp noir detective story which feels transplanted straight from the 1950s to the far future. The famed spokesperson of Rizzos has been murdered and the player (unsurprisingly) is the only person who can help track down the killer. They do this on the previously-inaccessible Eridanos, a location which not only features some of the most opulent buildings and landscapes The Outer Worlds has ever shown, but also the most beautiful - especially for what is essentially a distillation center for beverages and rocket fuel.
Of course, the glitz and beauty of Eridanos is hiding some pretty grotesque secrets, from the way Rizzo berries are harvested to how the company itself operates. For anyone even remotely familiar with the way The Outer Worlds depicts corporations it's nothing incredibly shocking, but the characters and side stories are elevated by the game's excellent writing and art design, helmed by Murder on Eridanos' game director Megan Starks. No other location in The Outer Worlds looks as pretty as Eridanos does, and the DLC's main plot will take players from fields of blooming flowers to a towering skyscraper.
Like The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon, players won't be able to dive right into Murder On Eridanos' story as soon as they load up the game, however. The new content doesn't really come into play until Outer Worlds players reach about level 30, and they must have unlocked access to the Stellar Bay landing area. Once they have, however, the fun can begin.
The Outer Worlds' biggest gameplay change in Murder On Eridanos comes with the introduction of the Discrepancy Amplifier, a device which combines the functions of a scanner, a tour guide, and a last-resort weapon all-in-one. The Discrepancy Amplifier acts as a sort of toggleable "Detective Vision" mode and allows players to track footprints, clues, and bloodstains which they might not be able to see with their naked eye. Tim Cain, co-game director of The Outer Worlds, confirmed to Screen Rant that this is especially helpful in low-intelligence playthroughs, as deeply stupid people aren't usually known for their abilities to solve crimes.
One of the things fans of The Outer Worlds wanted more of in the base game was more opportunities for the player's companions to guide the flow of in-game conversations with NPCs, and Murder on Eridanos includes a number of great interactions players can only see if they brought along a certain Outer Worlds crewmate at the right time. It's not just during stoic conversations where the improved sense of emotional attachment comes up, however, and Starks says the development team worked hard to marry exciting story beats and conversations to exciting gameplay elements throughout Murder on Eridanos so players felt as immersed in the world and situation as possible.
Murder on Eridanos isn't a massive overhaul of The Outer Worlds' core formula, and anyone who found the base game lacking likely won't be impressed enough with Murder on Eridanos' additions to change their minds. For players who do just want to dive back in to the world of Captain Hawthorne and their adventures on The Unreliable, however, or for anyone who was waiting on the game to finally be available in a complete package, this second (and, according to the developers, final) DLC for The Outer Worlds will definitely deliver an exciting murder mystery for fans.
The Outer Worlds: Murder On Eridanos DLC will release on March 17, 2020 for PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided with a PC code for the purpose of this preview.