I personally enjoyed The Outer Worlds upon its launch in 2019, as it felt like a solid Obsidian Entertainment game that many had felt they had played before, yet was built off the best bits of previous RPG titles. Even so, it did combine a few interesting elements for an entirely functional, engaging and at times, hilarious RPG that still holds up.
That being said, The Outer Worlds 2 delivers on the premise that sometimes, things can be bigger and better when you slap that extra number on the end. In many ways, it stands tall as a superior sequel, thanks to engaging gameplay, unique worlds and environments, clever writing and general self-awareness.
It’s unfortunately not perfect due to its awkward third-person gameplay and rushed third act, but thanks to the inclusion of tighter gunplay, an expanded Flaws system, new upgrades, character traits and planets to explore, The Outer Worlds 2 demands your attention and warrants your time.
Gear Up, Earth Directorate Agent
The Outer Worlds 2, while set in the same universe, bears no connection to the events of the first game. Set in a future that builds off a somewhat alternate retelling of certain historical events, our tale takes place in the star system of Arcadia, a rather interesting mix of wealth and corruption.
Here, your custom-created character assumes the role of an Earth Directorate agent to help deal with various issues between Earth and its surrounding planets and colonies. Your mission is given to you early on, which sets the tone for the narrative, and sees you heading to Arcadia to investigate several rifts in time and space, which are presumably used for nefarious purposes, and must be closed.
Naturally, as the true intentions of these rifts are revealed, corruption between a totalitarian government known as the Protectorate and the Earth Directorate comes to a head, as you’re betrayed in an admittedly fantastic and well-paced opening sequence that gets the ball rolling. The story does unfortunately slow down a little more in the following hours, with a first act that’s more concerned with getting you to grips with Arcadia and its people, instead of getting some old-fashioned revenge. Funnily enough, the third act is surprisingly rushed and feels done with way too soon.
I’ll definitely forgive the slower pace of its opening hours, however, as they do such a good job of getting up to speed within this world that feels much larger in scale and dense in its design and variety. There are plenty of worlds to explore, people to talk to, side quests to complete alongside mainline quests, areas to sneak into, enemies to shoot at, and plenty of upgrades to unlock. But more importantly, The Outer Worlds 2 does a great job at blending these elements into one cohesive stream of progression that always makes you feel like you’re building towards something bigger, or simply making the most of your time.
Broader main missions soon develop into a series of smaller side-missions that cater to a staggering amount of choice through multiple approaches. Sure, you can’t avoid the odd fetch quest here and there, but I always appreciated how I could go by the book and take things in order, or throw the rulebook out altogether and carve my own oath. Early on in the narrative, for example, you’ll need to cross a bridge on your way to check out a certain area. As this area is currently cordoned off by the military, you can do a favour for the guard on duty by finding two characters of importance and getting them to her. But it’s only when one of those two people allows you to sneak in through a hidden passage, you can take their new offer on board, or choose to stick to your original agreement.
The entirety of The Outer Worlds 2 feels like this, and while it can look a little overbearing at times for completists, it does wonders for world-building at every turn. The 30-or-so-hour story does a decent job at getting you to explore each of the game’s six main planets, with unique, dense and detailed environments to explore, gear to find, and secrets to uncover. Thankfully, however, the writing is stellar throughout. There are so many conversations you’ll have throughout the narrative with so many different characters, it’s astounding that most of these conversations feel interesting and believable, with a healthy dose of humour and self-awareness.
To RPG, or not to RPG?
As far as general gameplay goes, The Outer Worlds 2 feels like your traditional Obsidian romp. That’s far from a bad thing, however, as there’s so much that goes into and between these core gameplay pillars that make this a cut above the rest. You’ll still have plenty of weapons to swing about, shoot and throw, with several types of enemies to keep the action engaging.
Gunplay is also incredibly tight and responsive, making it an absolute joy to do things ‘the hard way’, should you like the louder approach like me. You can now also slide and double jump, making combat feel even faster thanks to more fluid movement. You’ll even get access to the Time Dialation Dial, which allows you to slow down combat when things get crazy.
It’s also what, unfortunately, brings out the worst in the third-person gameplay. I’ve never usually had a problem with switching between perspectives in previous Obsidian games, but in The Outer Worlds 2, playing in third-person simply feels a little too stiff and sluggish for my liking, as if the character models weren’t given enough unique animations to make things like sliding and jumping believable enough. As a result, I would stick to that first-person perspective for the entirety of the experience.
Like most Obsidian RPG titles, there’s also plenty of customisable options to suit your gameplay style, including a list of set skills that you can upgrade along the way. As you gain Skill Points, you can choose to upgrade any of your main skills, from a list of options including Guns, Melee, Speech, Lockpick, Stealth and Observation. Each will generally factor into how you play the game, with Guns and Melee bolstering combat efficiency and melee weapon strength, while categories like Speech can unlock new replies which could help you gain the upper hand a little sooner.
Character creation has now also been expanded to include more visual customisable options and unique character traits, which you will choose from in the initial creation process. These traits, like traits from previous Obsidian games, will essentially boost a few of your skills early on in the game to suit your intended playstyle. These traits can only be changed again once early on in the story, so choose wisely.
The deeper Flaws system, however, is absolutely hilarious, and I honestly don’t know why it’s not a feature in more experiences like this. As you play through the game, your character will naturally gain certain advantages and disadvantages during gameplay. For example, if you’re into stealth and crouch too much, you’ll attain the Bad Knees flaw, which slows down your crouching speed by 50% and even makes your knees creak when you’re within 10 metres of an enemy, alerting them of your presence.
I was honoured to get access to the Deluxe Edition of the game for this review, and that too came with its own Consumerism flaw, which decreases vendor prices by 15%, but also decreases the value of items you want to sell by 10%. You’ll definitely gain these as you play, regardless of what mechanics you prefer, so it’s nice to know that you’ll run into some unique situations based on your own acquired flaws.
Finally, you’ll be able to trek through The Outer Worlds 2 with a selection of six companions, two of which you can take out with you at any given time. They’re all unique enough, bringing their own personality and abilities, and you’ll even get Perk Points to upgrade them as you progress. Keep in mind, however, that while you’ll get the first two companions automatically at the start of the game, you’ll need to complete specific missions to unlock each of the remaining four.
Overall, all these elements combine beautifully to create an RPG that feels satisfying to actually play, as much as it is to explore and develop both your own character and companions along the way.
Look the Part
The Outer Worlds 2 might be one of the prettiest open-world games I’ve played so far. It’s full of unique environments, impressive lighting and some incredibly detailed character models.
On the Xbox Series X, we were able to choose between three distinct visual modes being Performance, Balanced and Quality. The Performance Mode bumps the action up to 60 FPS with a dynamic resolution that bounces between an upscaled 1800p and 848p. The Balanced Mode dishes out 40 FPS with a sharper max 1440p resolution, and the final Quality Mode brings 30 FPS with a max upscaped 4K resolution.
They’re all fine, but I would ultimately recommend the balanced mode, as a hit a few frame drops in Performance Mode. It also goes a long way in bringing out some of the detail in draw distances and character models alike, which makes a difference to the overall experience.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed The Outer Worlds for what it was worth, but The Outer Worlds 2 feels like a significant step up, and one that’s better suited to a broader audience. It benefits from clever writing and punchier gunplay, and is made sweeter with new worlds to explore and characters to meet.
While the first act feels a little slow and the third act a little rushed, I must admit that they don’t detract from the experience as much as I thought when all was said and done. Even with the wonky third-person perspective, I found it so easy to avoid that I almost forgot it was an issue.
Overall, there is simply so much to enjoy here that I still want to go back and soak up everything The Outer Worlds 2 has to offer.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Solid gunplay; Flaws system adds a significant amount of depth to gameplay; Plenty of choice through a variety of missions and character upgrades; Polished visuals; Clever and humorous writing
Lowlights: Third-person gameplay feels a little wonky; A rushed third act
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on Xbox Series X with a code provided by the publisher.
Featured header image also provided by the publisher.
