If Star Trek represents humanity’s optimistic potential, The Outer Worlds 2 plunges us into the cynical reality of what we might truly become. Thankfully, this dark vision makes for incredibly entertaining exploration. Obsidian’s second venture into a corporate-dominated dystopia marks a significant improvement over the original. With a more grounded and engaging storyline, noticeably better combat, and an addictive RPG progression system, I thoroughly enjoyed navigating this bureaucratic nightmare alongside a memorable crew of companions. While a slow first act and repetitive enemy encounters occasionally dampened the excitement, my 65-hour completionist playthrough was filled with tough moral choices, hilarious world-building, and the satisfaction of toppling several would-be dictators – truly, a prescription for profit-driven space doctors.
At its core, The Outer Worlds 2 is a classic single-player, open-world RPG, drawing comparisons to beloved titles like Dragon Age and Fallout. It’s the kind of game where you, an unexpectedly capable individual, find yourself thrust into global conflicts, shaping the destiny of entire populations while gathering a diverse group of witty companions. Building on the foundation of 2019’s The Outer Worlds and echoing the spirit of Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian once again presents a new dystopia to traverse. You’ll level up, scavenge for every bit of loot, and swiftly resolve the galaxy’s long-standing issues. While not a revolutionary concept, it’s a formula that’s rarely done this well, and this sequel executes it better than most recent attempts.
The original The Outer Worlds (which scored an 8.5 in its review) was praised for carving out its unique identity within the RPG landscape, offering flexible quests and compelling character systems that felt like a respectful homage with its own distinct charm.
This sequel transports players to a vibrant, satirical alternate reality where unchecked capitalism has transformed magnificent celestial bodies into garish, planet-sized strip malls. While maintaining its predecessor’s pessimistic outlook, it moves beyond the familiar Halcyon system to a new region of the galaxy called Arcadia. Here, a fresh collection of planets awaits your singular influence. Beyond the new worlds, there’s a noticeable shift in tone. Though plenty of quirky humor and absurd moments still punctuate your corporate-controlled space journey, this sequel prioritizes a more serious narrative, deeply delving into the intricate politics of Arcadia’s various factions and consistently challenging you to weigh the ‘lesser evil’ among deeply flawed organizations.
While there are still plenty of goofs, this sequel tells a more grounded story.
This narrative focus on serious themes and the delicate balance between warring political powers pays off handsomely. I often found myself genuinely conflicted about which side to support, and even frustrated by my inability to appeal to the nobler aspects of these self-serving, power-hungry entities – precisely the kind of depth I seek in games where my choices truly matter. Your role as a pivotal figure, tasked with determining which of these factions will triumph, strongly evokes the feel of Obsidian’s classic Fallout: New Vegas; similarly, there are no truly ‘good’ solutions here. For instance, ‘Auntie’s Choice’ masquerades as a freedom-loving capitalist entity but operates as an oppressive, monopolistic pseudo-government reminiscent of a certain galactic democracy, while ‘The Protectorate’ embodies an openly fascistic regime that stifles any dissenting thought. Deciding which of these viper’s nests should control a planet’s fate is rarely straightforward. Even seemingly more reasonable groups, like the ‘Order of the Ascendant’, who use science and mathematics to guide humanity towards enlightenment, are casually complicit in atrocities to prevent perceived future calamities, leaving you to ponder if their path is any better.
When The Outer Worlds 2 focuses on its political machinations, it truly shines, boasting some of the most innovative world-building and genuinely challenging moral dilemmas I’ve encountered recently. However, it takes its time getting there, dedicating most of this depth to its second half. The first half of the story is centered around a rather uninspired revenge quest, so unremarkable that I almost forgot its purpose by the time credits rolled. To its credit, this early period effectively introduces Arcadia’s key players while you pursue vengeance, laying the groundwork for a much stronger second act. But for the initial 20 hours or so, the main story felt slow and unengaging. It certainly picks up the pace if you persevere, but I longed for more consistent engagement throughout.
One aspect that remained consistently strong was the utterly captivating RPG progression. It hooked me immediately with a continuous stream of meaningful choices about my character’s identity and how they would ultimately save the galaxy. With only two skill points per level to allocate across 12 diverse skills, from Leadership to Lockpicking, you face significant decisions about your character’s expertise. This becomes even more critical when considering the vast array of perks, unlockable only after investing sufficiently in prerequisite skills. For example, the ‘Pickpocket’ perk requires a high Sneak skill, while another allows you to spin increasingly elaborate lies with improved Speech. With a cap of 15 perks before reaching level 30, carefully planning your ideal spacefaring hero and ensuring you possess the necessary skills becomes a deeply engaging process, driving me to relentlessly seek out enemies and side quests to feed my XP obsession.
The absolutely gripping RPG climb sunk its teeth into me from moment one.
Perhaps the most brilliant element of this power progression is the unexpected emergence of ‘flaws’. The Outer Worlds 2 intelligently monitors your character’s actions for recurring patterns, then offers opportunities to embrace these quirks for unique benefits, albeit with a drawback. For instance, frequent thievery might unlock the ‘Kleptomaniac’ flaw, allowing you to sell stolen goods for more money but also causing your character to occasionally steal items automatically, often leading to hilarious trouble with local authorities. Similarly, if you frequently rush through conversations, you might gain ‘Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome’, granting bonus XP but forcing you to make dialogue choices under a strict time limit, or risk a random option being selected for you. Each flaw has substantial and irreversible consequences, leading to all sorts of amusing missteps.
Early in my journey, I was enticed by the ‘Jack of All Trades’ flaw, which provided an extra skill point per level but prevented any skill from being more than one point above my lowest. What seemed like a fair trade initially soon became a hindrance; my character was mediocre at everything, constantly encountering roadblocks that made me deeply regret my decision (though, for review purposes, it offered a comprehensive taste of all skills). Even when these choices negatively impacted my playthrough, I couldn’t help but appreciate them, and it only fueled my excitement for future runs, eager to learn from past mistakes and perhaps discover new flaws to challenge myself with.
Just like its predecessor, you’ll spend much of your time exploring untamed planets, often with a weapon in hand. This area has seen significant improvement. While combat in the first Outer Worlds was merely adequate, this sequel elevates it to “generally enjoyable” with crisper gunplay, enhanced mobility allowing for slides and double jumps, and, crucially, a weapon arsenal that perfectly complements the gloriously eccentric sci-fi setting. I discovered a plethora of bizarre and unexpected weapons with unique effects: a silent shotgun that instantly vaporizes targets for stealthy assassinations, and another that started weak but grew incredibly powerful with each kill. Customization is also deep, with numerous mods for weapons and armor that can, for example, trade overall damage for explosive rounds or bolster protection against specific elemental attacks. These additions significantly enrich the reward loop, making exploration and quest completion more satisfying and fitting for the game’s quirky universe. While combat isn’t without its peculiarities – such as a slightly slippery reticle and occasional melee hits despite seemingly evading enemies – it’s a substantial leap forward for an open-world RPG, even if it doesn’t quite match the precision of dedicated first-person shooters.
The biggest letdown with combat is definitely the enemy variety.
However, the greatest disappointment in combat lies in the enemy variety. Each world typically features only two or three types of indigenous creatures, which you’ll encounter incessantly for hours, alongside standard humanoids and a smattering of robotic adversaries. For instance, the Raptidon creatures from the first game make a frequent, unwelcome return, and I grew tired of them long before I left the first planet, let alone by the final stretch of the game. It’s truly disheartening that in such a promising galaxy, there are virtually no surprises among your foes after just a few hours of gameplay.
Compounding this, The Outer Worlds 2 continues the approach seen in other Obsidian titles where all enemies are finite and placed in fixed locations. Once defeated, they are gone permanently. This means that eventually, vast sections of the map become utterly lifeless, making areas feel empty and eliminating any chance for spontaneous encounters. While I believe this was a drawback in past games, Obsidian has maintained this design. Fortunately, a robust fast travel system allowed me to quickly jump to key areas rather than trudging through previously cleared, barren landscapes, mitigating some of the frustration. So, while the return of this design choice was disappointing, its impact was less frequent.
Speaking of traversal, The Outer Worlds 2 boasts four primary destinations, each with a distinct atmosphere often shaped by its dominant faction. From the secluded, monk-like temples nestled in the snowy Cloister to the bustling, lawless backwaters within Eden’s jungles, exploring each planet is a joy. You’ll engage in combat, uncover lore, recruit new party members, and diligently tick off every quest marker. I consistently found intriguing characters to converse with or tantalizing loot just out of reach, offering rewarding puzzles to solve. This made for a generally enjoyable experience, despite the aforementioned enemy repetition and the resulting emptiness of cleared areas, which can create a noticeable “feast or famine” dynamic.
Just like in real life, a strong story-driven RPG is only as good as the companions who accompany you, scrutinizing your every choice. This is where The Outer Worlds 2 truly excels over its predecessor. The six largely memorable characters you befriend each embody the organizations they hail from. Tristan, a heavily-armored brute, acts as the group’s enforcer, eager to impose his authoritarian government’s twisted justice on almost everyone you meet. Inez, an entrepreneurial combat medic, ceaselessly extols the virtues of the ‘free market’ enterprises she grew up with.
Echoing the successful approach of Mass Effect and Fallout, this strategy of having party members serve as ideological mouthpieces for the world’s factions is incredibly effective. It instantly clarifies each companion’s worldview and provides vital insight into the powers at play and the philosophical rifts that become crucial as you make decisions that dramatically shift the balance of power. Even if you don’t pore over every journal entry or follow every line of dialogue, it’s almost impossible not to become intimately familiar with Arcadia’s major players simply by absorbing their perspectives from your comrades, which significantly enhances your investment in the story and the galaxy’s ultimate fate.
That said, some companions are less compelling. Niles, an engineer, is primarily defined by a revenge quest that resolves quite early, leaving little incentive to keep him in your party. Valerie, a robot assistant, offers amusing one-liners but feels somewhat disconnected from the overarching narrative compared to others. Unfortunately, these characters appear earliest in the story, creating a somewhat lackluster first impression before the stronger companions emerge. Then again, a slow start to companion introductions is a time-honored RPG tradition, isn’t it?
The Outer Worlds 2 doesn’t aim to reinvent Obsidian’s RPG formula, but it’s a powerful refinement. It offers smoother combat, an addictively compelling build-crafting and loot system, and a story that immediately made me want to replay to explore alternative outcomes. While the sluggish first act and limited enemy variety can feel like a grind at times, once the political intrigue deepens and the innovative flaws and perks system hooks you, it becomes incredibly difficult to put down. These significant improvements bring The Outer Worlds 2 much closer to the Fallout: New Vegas successor this series always promised to be, and that’s truly something to be excited about.