The idea of “true player autonomy” has regularly been a tough goal to achieve in video games. Many role-playing games burst onto the scene promising that your choices will matter, only for that claim to fall flat in practice.
Obsidian Entertainment has done an admirable job avoiding those pitfalls in its work, and 2019’s The Outer Worlds is a great example. Its mixture of humorous writing, hyper-capitalist satire, and meaningful choice-based gameplay scratched that RPG itch for many players, and now the team is hoping to do it again with The Outer Worlds 2 (out Oct. 29).
After over 20 hours of gallivanting across the galaxy, dealing with the many colorful factions and characters within, and, when diplomacy fails, some good ol’ gunslinging, it’s clear that Obsidian has another spacefaring success story on its hands. The Outer Worlds 2 is damn fun.
Creating the Space
The Outer Worlds 2 follows an unnamed protagonist, known as “Commander” by their peers, who is double-crossed by a trusted associate right in the first mission. After a decade out of action in suspended animation, the Commander wakes up and begins their quest to find this betrayer and enact their revenge, in whatever form that takes.
The act of betrayal also sets off a political firestorm among the game’s three factions: the hypercapitalist Auntie’s Choice, the authoritarian Protectorate, and the scientific Order of the Ascendancy. Maneuvering through all three of these groups is key to the Commander’s success, and it highlights The Outer Worlds 2‘s strongest suit: its fantastic writing.
The members of each faction, from the lowliest grunt to the top of the chain, are framed to be completely committed to their group’s cause. The player might try and talk to a member of the Order, a group focused on math and science to a fanatical degree, and that person will tell us they can dedicate “0.004% of their day to say hello.” A supporter of Auntie’s Choice, meanwhile, to whom capitalism is key, may use phrases like “fiscal week” and wax philosophical about why commerce is key to enlightenment.
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The opening mission ends in betrayal, kicking off an Old West-style space opera.
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Equally impactful are the companions, a ragtag group of fighters that joins the Commander on their quest, in keeping with RPG tradition. Niles, the first companion to join, was actually on the original mission gone wrong, so he and the Commander have a shared history. Inez, who’s recruited on Eden, is a former Auntie’s Choice contractor trying to work her way back in. Aza is a particularly violent individual who seeks out her former cult, while Marisol, let’s say to avoid spoiling anything, contains multitudes.
These companions help the Commander out during their quest, but sometimes, a situation may change depending on which companions are currently active. Inez, for example, being a stalwart supporter of Auntie’s Choice, can trigger extra dialogue options if she’s brought to a rival faction’s base; in one such instance, the guard refuses to let her in, forcing the Commander to persuade the guard that she’s on the level. The game seems to react to every perceivable option, and it’s wild how specific those reactions can sometimes be.
The lengths the writing takes to tell its story breathes life into every setting, with little nuances found naturally while traveling that give each locale its own identity. Among other things, this creates a few peculiar conversations all across this game, from a bridge guard asking you to bring her cousin to the bridge — only to then watch as she executes him and hangs him from the ceiling for unknown crimes against the Protectorate — or a supposed theft in a greenhouse turning into the discovery of a full-on smuggling ring.
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Perks can impact what options are available in dialogue trees and how scenarios play out.
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Those favors pile up after a while, but that’s not a problem, because quests in The Outer Worlds 2 are always worth taking.
Checking the Boxes
The beauty of each job in The Outer Worlds 2 is that none of them can be predicted. A story thread may be playing out in one direction, only to swerve right at the end and reframe the entire quest-line. Sometimes it’s unpredictable characters, like the head of an Auntie’s Choice camp being an actual monster that a human camp member claims to understand. Other times, it’s an extra piece of information you weren’t expecting, like when you find a secret terminal used by the villain you’re pursuing, only for that villain to send a message that they know you’re in that terminal — and that they’re about to blow up the facility you’re standing in.
The unknown potential hidden in these worlds makes exploring every quest — from the main story arc to the most mundane side task — feel necessary, as even the small adventures you’ll be taken on can add context to the primary goal, as if they’re one-off episodes of a larger TV show. Some of the best missions in the game are off the beaten path, and the rewards within — a powerful weapon, a crucial piece of information you can use later, etc. — will have a huge impact.
Side quests often have meaningful rewards, even if it’s just some oddity added to the narrative.
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Further enhancing each quest is the different ways you can complete them, which depend entirely on how you develop your character. Going in guns blazing is an option, but if you build the Commander to be a sweet talker, you may be able to talk your way out of a situation. At least two major boss battles, in two different key moments of the main quest-line, can be avoided with the right character build, simply by correctly navigating the conversation before the battle begins.
Branching results like that inspires experimentation in character builds, which then encourages multiple playthroughs to see just how out-of-hand a situation could have gotten. It’s that allowance for creativity, in character builds or even in specific conversations, that carries The Outer Worlds 2 to wonderful highs.
Skills, Perks, and Flaws
Much of what made the character-building process in the previous Outer Worlds game returns in The Outer Worlds 2, starting with its three key tenets: Skills, Perks, and Flaws. Skill points can be placed in a number of different attributes, like Speech, Lockpick, Sneak, or Medical, with that point allotment influencing what Perks a character can unlock as they level up.
For example, investing heavily into Speech can eventually unlock the Charlatan perk, which makes lies more believable to other characters. A stealthier approach, meanwhile, requires investing in Lockpick and Sneak, which will open up the Pickpocket and Silent Steps traits for fleecing unsuspecting marks.
Flaws are attributes that can be gained by frequently engaging in specific actions — but can have fallbacks.
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Skill point investments and Trait selections are final, too, which means every time the “Level Up” graphic appears on-screen, there’s an irreversible decision to be made. That’s exactly how building a character in an RPG should feel, as it’s quickly apparent that no one skill is more important than the rest. Maxing out Speech is fine, but if the Intimidator trait isn’t also selected, some characters still won’t be swayed by the Commander’s silver tongue.
In fact, the game’s design does a great job of creating “what if” scenarios by showing dialogue options that can’t be chosen or objects that can’t be hacked simply because there aren’t enough points in the needed skill. It’s equally the most infuriating and invigorating feeling imaginable to know what could’ve been, and even with the amount of control the player has, some outcomes will still be out of reach.
One character aspect that can’t be controlled are Flaws, which are offered suddenly throughout the game via a pop-up window based on the character’s actions. These alternate traits offer permanent changes to the character that serve as double-edged swords; the game giveth and taketh away. When the pop-up appears, the player can choose to not implement the presented Flaw, but sometimes the benefits outweigh the detriments based on how a character is built or, in some cases, the player’s own style.
Each world is rife for exploration, with many plot threads and secrets to unfurl.
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For instance, frequently reloading a gun before the ammo counter hits zero will present a Flaw called Overprepared, which increases each gun’s magazine size but temporarily decreases a character’s damage output if a gun does reach zero ammo before a reload. Gluttony, meanwhile, appears when a character eats a lot of food to heal, and it increases the healing properties of said food while also decreasing the character’s speed.
Flaws appear out of nowhere throughout the game, which gives them an unpredictable quality that’s as comedic as it is strategic. Playing through a mission as usual, only for the game to stop and say, “Hey, you do this a lot, do you want to shape the character around it?” during certain actions, can turn a tense moment on its head in an instant.
Rootin’, Tootin’, and Shootin’
Combat in The Outer Worlds 2 doesn’t stand out as much as its writing and character work, but it still gets the job done. A varied assortment of guns, melee weapons, grenades, and more are available while traveling through the game, along with armor and helmet options to enhance attributes like defense and combat prowess.
The focus on player freedom once again comes into play here through the mod system, which allows for customization of weapons based on items found or crafted while out and about. This isn’t just adding parts to guns to increase damage or lessen recoil either; there’s room for some really funky experiments provided the right items are found. Giving a sniper rifle explosive rounds that also cause electrical shocks seems like overkill, but shooting that gun never gets old.
Combat is satisfying, if simple, but remains some of the best incorporated in a game of this type.
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Enemy fighters are surprisingly more adept than expected, especially at normal difficulty. In fact, at times they seem too efficient; in one moment, my team was pinned down behind some stairs, and no sooner did the Commander move to see where the enemies were did an enemy fire a perfect shot to the head. This creates a few moments of frustration, sure, but there’s never a challenge that feels truly insurmountable. Sometimes, it comes down to thinking outside the box; even though the giant mech can instantly jump in front of the team, a character with a high Hack skill can change it from an enemy to a friend in an instant.
Companions offer some help during battles, though they don’t make as much of an impact on a battle as they could have. Niles’s ability to appear next to a targeted enemy and attack with a plasma beam is a nice tool, while Inez’s healing abilities can bring the Commander back from the brink in an instant.
That said, while each companion’s abilities bring something to the table, they get downed by enemies a lot, which renders their abilities unusable until they can be revived. Inez’s healing doesn’t mean a thing if she’s doubled over in pain, which lessens their impact in a particularly heated firefight. Companions are helpful, sure, but their penchant for routinely losing their entire health bars is slightly disappointing.
The RPG pedigree that Obsidian Entertainment has earned over the years, thanks to names like Fallout: New Vegas and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, once again bears fruit with The Outer Worlds 2 thanks to sharp, unpredictable writing, and a cast of characters that players will quickly grow to love. Balancing the political machinations of the major factions with fun quests, serviceable combat, and plenty of player choice creates a RPG experience with an emphasis on “role-playing” that can be difficult to capture.
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Put simply: The Outer Worlds 2 is indeed out of this world.
The Outer Worlds 2 launches on Oct. 29 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
