Opinion: DLC1&2 make Outer Worlds a worse game

[Wormerine]

Before I start I should probably explain what I thought of OW vanilla. It's a fine, tight adventure. I like the world, I like the humor. It reminds me more of early Bioware titles, then what Obsidian has been known for - while there are multiple ways of solving quests, I find morality of OW black and white. I think I would find it difficult to not go for Good endings. Why would I? My character doesn't benefit of seeing the world burn, and I don't enjoy playing psychos. As such I don't see much replayability in OW story wise.
Gameplay wise OW is shallow - adding "perks" as skills are leveled up is neat, but said perks a dull outside early ones which unlock additional systems. Leveling up (be it character or weapon) results in better stats, which is a very dull if it is the only thing that happens in an action RPG - character 1 and character 36 plays for the most part the same way. 

But none of it is a problem because Outer Worlds is shortish - If I remember well it took me about 35 hours to beat the original campaign. Midway through Monarch I was feeling disengaged, and after that there is finale and rush toward the conclusion. Overall, the game left me satisfied, but not hungry for more. Very KOTOR/Jade Empire experience. 

What DLCs do, is add a lot more Outer Worlds in this moment of me betting bored: between Monarch and the finale. Those are good, content rich DLCs, don't get me wrong. But I don't think Outer Worlds has depth needed to carry for those extra 15 hours. Peril of Gorgon is mostly combat, which at this point is a snooze fest - it's a constant loop of repetitive combat engagements, and looting things you don't need. Murder on E faires better, as it mixes all systems Outer Worlds has on offer, plus new "investigation" mechanic. Still, none manage to make gameplay interesting again, and storywise, they are seperate, very silly stories, even more one sided and over-characterised then the vanilla game (really, continuing base game after MoE feels like we are being serious again). I also felt both DLCs kept going for a bit too long. About halfway through you can tell where the whole thing is going, and you just wish the game would hurry up getting there.