While it may not feel like it, it’s been nearly six years since Obsidian Entertainment released The Outer Worlds. I enjoyed the original immensely though, like others, I had wished the scope was a little more vast and the combat was more polished. Given Obsidian later confirming that entire locations and additional content had to be cut, we seemingly weren’t alone.
Enter The Outer Worlds 2. Announced over four years ago with this sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek trailer in the theme of the game’s brand of humor, it has since become clear that Obsidian aimed to greatly expand the IP’s breadth. While our preview period was quite limited, it did provide a glimpse at to just how substantial the improvements are over the original.
Creating your Spacer
Jumping in, I began by creating my character with the new creation suite. As you would expect with an RPG of this nature, it’s extensive and offers a very large range of options for you to create your preferred spacer from over 60 hair styles to piercings, tattoos, scars, and more. Once you settle on your look, you’re asked to select from six different backgrounds which determine why you joined the Earth Directorate. Not only will your background offer unique conversational choices throughout the game, but they provide a sense role-playing in a game where you define the protagonist.
Apparently immediately is the jump in fidelity in The Outer Worlds 2 over the original. Your character model is finely detailed with impressive hair physics and far more lifelike facial features. Given it being a conversational, character-driven RPG, this is important. and it’s clear that Obsidian made it a focus for the sequel.
Following your character’s background you’ll select from a list of traits which provide unique bonuses to your character type. Should you choose, you can select a second positive trait but are then forced to select a negative trait as well. I like this option a lot as it enables you to further specialize your character down a specific archetype should you want to.
You’ll then select your two specialized skills from a list that is reminiscent of RPGs in this vein. Specialized skills not only start at a higher level, but can be increased to a higher cap in the late game. Again, it’s a way that The Outer Worlds 2 will not only provide uniqueness to each player but also replayability.
Putting the “RPG” in…RPG
Setting out on the introductory mission, you meet your initial crew and are sent to the Arcadian System to investigate an anomaly. Immediately you’re struck with a gorgeous vista which is an aspect that Obisidan had already nailed in the first. However, it’s also immediately apparent that the overall feel of the movement and gun handling has been a focus for the development team. Overall, it feels far more fluid and responsive, more akin to a modern first-person shooter than a game simply masquerading as one.
The UI has also been reworked with your health bar and healing options now occupying the bottom center of the screen in a condensed fashion. I prefer it greatly as it feels less cluttered and less-intrusive to your overall view of the environment.
The Outer Worlds 2 wastes no time in demonstrating the capabilities, or lack thereof, of your character choices. Even in my short period of play time, my selections came into play a handful of times. I was offered unique conversation responses, my background was referenced, and I was able to discover hidden paths which gave me situational advantages all in the opening level.
It’s both clear and exciting that Obsidian has truly designed a sandbox where your character selections have a meaningful impact. It was one of the strongest aspects of the original and I cannot wait to see how they play out in the sequel.
Polishing the Edges
As previously noted, a big focus for the team at Obsidian was to improve the gunplay and combat scenarios over the original. While this preview period is too early to speak to it definitively, it’s rather apparent that they’ve succeeded, at least to a degree. Finally engaging with a number of enemies directly, I’m able to approach it more like I was playing a competent shooter. While not necessarily on par with a competitive FPS, it’s refreshing to have feel this level of polish in movement and shooting in an RPG. We saw similar efforts with Bethesda in Starfield and it was better off for it so it’s nice to see The Outer Worlds 2 at least to a similar level. And if you prefer, you can still play in third-person as well.
Playing through the intro mission a couple of times, even with its narrow overall scope, I’m impressed at the different ways I can approach it. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can offer is the early section feels like a combination of BioShock or Prey-like level design but with the RPG features of an Obsidian title. It has me extremely excited for the possibilities in the full game.
Ending with the title screen introduction, The Outer Worlds 2 sets up the type of story foundation you would expect of a game in this vein. To say I was disappointed I didn’t get to play further would be an understatement as I was left chomping at the bit to play more. And perhaps that’s all that needs to be said for this early preview.
The Outer Worlds 2 is clearly a step up from the original in multiple ways but retains the charm, humor, and Obsidian elements many have come to love. So when October 29th arrives I can say I will be making the best choice. Spacer’s Choice.
