The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition - PS5 vs Xbox Series X/S Tech Review, Performance Tested

Update 22.03/23: the new Xbox Series X/S patch 1.1 has landed and as promised we gave it a look. All the details are here:

Tom checks out the Spacer's Choice Edition upgrade to The Outer Worlds, bringing new visuals and all DLC to PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S and PC for $10. Compared against the original game, there are certainly some big changes. But is the performance cost too great - and which platform is the best to play on if you have the choice? Here's what we've discovered following the deployment of patch 1.1 on PS5.

0:00 The pitch: $10 for upgraded graphics, up to 4K 60fps, plus all DLC
1:18 Performance concerns on all platforms
3:38 Original vs Spacer's Choice Edition graphics comparisons
5:50 The difficulty in producing comparisons, huge aesthetic differences
6:59 Graphical bugs / downgrades in Spacer's Choice Edition
8:07 Modes explained: 60fps performance vs 30fps cinematic
10:00 Cinematic mode: image quality comparisons
12:05 Performance mode: image quality comparisons
13:17 Cinematic mode performance
15:26 Performance mode performance
16:44 Performance testing summary: PS5 vs Series X vs Series S
17:56 Wrapping up: YMMV, but I'd rather play the original version

[chrys]

I didn't think it would be possible to make a game look better and worse at the same time, but they sure as hell did it.

[LMXPebble]

It's not the best choice, it's Spacer's Choice.

[dcarpenter]

This update lives up to its name, that's for sure. I find it hilarious they chose to call it Spacer's Choice while delivering an absolutely bottom tier product.

[MarioGoatse]

The devs: Imagine Outer Worlds, but orange? Publisher: OMG you’re a genius! Throw some grass in while you’re at it.

[MarioGoatse]

I actually prefer the look of the original…

[williamcrms]

The reworked character models actually look worse in the remaster imo. Reflections in the eyes are too intense, lighting on hair looks off, lack of shadows on skin near clothing, and less subsurface scattering than before. Also the regression in performance doesn't seem to justify the upgrades in visuals. Game runs about as heavy as CP2077 (w/RT enabled) on PC.

[bryanroy]

Performance issues aside, I find the original version of the game better looking. The visuals look cleaner and the colors seem more natural.

[triple_thrice]

important to point out that the 10$ upgrade is only available if you own the base game AND all the dlc

[cormoran]

Extensive... just with no ray tracing.
BUT fear not! it performs like it's filled with ray tracing!

[matthewjalovick]

I’m glad this isn’t a free automatic update that I can’t avoid. I’m going to just keep my original on Series X at dynamic 4K :)

[oozly]

Well that’s disappointing, losing $10+ and 10+ frames

[trippyhippie]

A perf mode that drops to 27 is quite shocking really

[WheeledHamster]

Oh thank God Tom knows how to put the before and after going from left to right, like normal people. While John and Alex are freaking psychopath putting the after image on the left.

[franzusgutlus]

In Germany we say "verschlimmbessert" which is a mesh up of "made worse" and "improved" in one word. Like "worseproved"...

[SteamPunk]

I really really do not like the new overall art direction change, instead of simply fixing the black crush issues the original release has, they've left it as is and blown out the whites, what an odd choice.

The added abundance of flora and ground cover *would* be nice if the object shading in the mid-distance didn't seem so sparse, haven't finished the video yet so maybe it'll come up but screen space shadows would've been a nice way to treat the updates to the ground.

[antonkirilenko]

You tried the best, now try the rest. Spacer's Choice!

Whoever thought naming this release this way would be a good idea is a genius.

[Sambrowski]

If I was an artist at Obsidian I'd be pissed.

[piewars]

First impressions...it looks considerably worse lol. Something is just seriously wrong with the lighting in the new version. Everything is glowing compared to the original which has a much more grounded color palette. The color tinting on the new version is really heavy handed as well.

[imadubsfan]

I feel like a lot of developers attempts at remasters/remakes the last couple years always want that sunset like appearance to their games, but I feel it takes away from the original game's artstyle a lot. Things that used to be colorful and contrasting all turn into one glowing sunset.

[brendanconaway]

Wow what a dumpster fire cash grab! Great coverage!