A sequel is judged in the context of several factors: how well it improves upon the previous entry’s systems, where it breaks new ground, and what it ultimately does better. The best sequels are those remembered for their generational impact beyond those limitations. This includes how it expands the franchise, refines the genre, and becomes an unforgettable experience in its own right. I am pleased to say that in The Outer Worlds 2’s case, it is the latter.
Obsidian Entertainment has been working on their sophomore effort since just before the original launched, and it has paid off in spades. Admired for their deep RPG mechanics and strong character writing (such as in Fallout: New Vegas or Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire), the original The Outer Worlds felt like an exciting universe free from the constraints of their previous efforts. While it delivered a better-than-average sci-fi romp, it did not meet role-playing fans’ expectations as much as they would have liked. Better in every sense, this second attempt comes with a vengeance and is one that I effusively recommend to narrative RPG enthusiasts.
With A Bang!
The Outer Worlds 2 takes no time to get going, quickly picking up in a spaceship already yours from the Earth Directorate and a team already assembled. Taking place in a fresh colony known as Arcadia, ruled by the authoritarian Protectorate, your team’s mission is to infiltrate one of their top secret labs. Investigating the production of Skip Drives (the technology used to travel faster than light) next to professional double agent Augustine de Vries ends with everything going horribly wrong, with most of your team dead and your customized character hibernating through space for ten years.
Your adventure resumes with your goal to locate de Vries, now a traitor, to stop newly spawned rifts threatening the destruction of the entire star system. It is a compelling means to get the ball rolling. As a freelancer, sometimes your role is that of an investigator, soldier, and more, adding flavor to the rich variety of interactions with the eccentric denizens you will meet in your journey.
What Am I?
An unseen level of depth can be appreciated in the character creator. Other than the dozen types of faces that can be customized with tattoos, scars, piercings, and makeup, there is a unique charm this series has to offer: the famed robot prosthetics, heavily featured in the gruesome but charming The Outer Worlds episode of Secret Level, can also replace your arms or legs. Thanks to the novel third-person perspective, you can now watch the detailed effort made in creating your personalized odyssey.
Distinct backgrounds, traits and skills allow you to create anything from a cutthroat ex-convict to a sickly old professor; with over 90 perks available, the possibilities for customization are endless. The Psychopath perk that gives way to the Serial Killer perk encourages that type of murderous playstyle, with being a Space Ranger prioritizes saving lives on the other side of the character progression spectrum. Exclusive dialogue lines are accessible depending on whom you are role-playing as, making sure that no two playthroughs will ever be the same.
No Stone Unturned
The attention to detail is astounding. Right from the start, instead of taking the stairs to get to the lower deck of the ship like a normal person, you can decide to jump off the balcony to reach it quicker. It’s a videogame, and you write your own rules, after all. What surprised me was a character responding, “Wow, that’s faster than taking the stairs,” instantly letting me know the kind of minute care that went into every possible outcome in The Outer Worlds 2. Looting money off a corpse only for their friend to scold, “Have some respect, the body is not even cold,” is darkly funny in its own way.
Dialogue choices will be remembered by your companions, and the actions they autonomously take later on—be it rash or measured—will be directly affected by how you treated them. All colleagues have their own rooms and belong to their respective factions. Niles, the goody-two-shoes Earth Protectorate agent, will question your murderous tendencies, while the bloody Aza, a psychopath hellbent on getting revenge, will applaud them. Each time you reconvene, main and side quest conclusions will be discussed, offering opportunities to bond with them further. To certain players’ dismay, there are no romance options, but this is offset by the tight-knit relationships you can grow by doing their personal storylines.
Stories For Days
Where The Outer Worlds 2 really shines is in its purposeful story-weaving. Decisions are thrown your way from the very first moment you take control. Although some of them appear unimportant, the grand plan slowly reveals its hand as you progress. The intertwined worlds around you give the impression of being thoughtfully organized. This is evident in how the main quest intrinsically connects with meaningful side content.
In the introductory level of Paradise Island, you will find characters that you met during the prologue. The choices you made back then will come to haunt you, or benefit you, depending on how silver tongued you are. Throughout the narrative, little interactions like that go a long way. A hapless NPC you helped in a side quest along the main path may provide you with useful information to quip back at when choosing the peaceful way out. Not to mention the moral conundrums that you are presented with each time that can be solved by skill checks or otherwise. The trolley problem exacerbated a thousandfold is thrown your way more often than not.
Bigger And Better
In the first game, sometimes it felt like set pieces could be too easily resolved, fizzling out rather quickly and having every party involved go their merry way like nothing had happened. In The Outer Worlds 2, there is a concerted effort to make everything truly majestic. Elaborate in-engine cutscenes when reaching a pivotal point in some quests are guaranteed, showing the extensive aftermath of your actions. Settlements affected by decisions you made are thoroughly changed, with many permutations through the several planets available and ready to be permanently scarred by your choices.
Each of the main storylines highlights a major villain collaborating with antagonist Augustine de Vries. While the side quests deliver extensive worldbuilding and quirky characters, it is the “dungeons” of these bosses that can entice players to feel the hype of the moment. There is always a riveting last stretch to look forward to before entering the final showdown. Plenty of deranged enemies, clever puzzles, or a new companion along the way are all but assured, enticing the player to prioritize these missions as the first order of business.
Lost In Bliss
It is extremely easy to go off the beaten path in The Outer Worlds 2. For instance, as soon as you arrive to Paradise Island, the marker to continue the main quest is clear, but a couple of corpses to your left might seem intriguing to inspect. If you follow that path, you could find a strange man experimenting on the local fauna, rambling on about his next scientific breakthrough. In the rubble, some useful modifications to have a third holster in your arsenal can come in handy. Or alleviate a local ranch’s woes to be gifted one of their animals – which of course you can pet to your heart’s content back at your ship. The fact that there are barely any loading screens exploring these colorful alien worlds is comfortably seamless.
Environmental storytelling is a powerful tool to describe how well a game leaves clues for players to piece together. The Outer Worlds 2 shows one of the best implementations of it from its first moments. A pack of cigarettes and a lighter hidden away in a vent aboard your Earth Directorate ship, where such vices are not allowed, tell a tale of their own. Entering an abandoned lab only to find mutilated bodies with scratches on the walls, presumingly from a velociraptor, lets the player intuitively piece together the story of what happened.
Many such opportunities are always taken advantage of in every place that you explore. A man doubting his faith in the Protectorate and submerging himself into the wonders of unbridled consumerism will, of course, have his apartment full of said products. Having these carefully placed tales in each of the massive planets ensures that no side quest will be a waste of time.
Hit The Spot
One of the biggest criticisms regarding the first foray into this ever-expanding universe was the unimpactful gunplay. Reportedly having worked with Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) to fundamentally rework their mechanics, the gunplay in The Outer Worlds 2 feels positively sublime. They have succeeded in making it a gripping gameplay element that never gets old. All weapons have a remarkable texture to them, each weighty in their own way. The responsiveness makes it a completely different beast than its predecessor: the ear-piercing sound of a shotgun eliminating ravenous wildlife and cultists alike, a silenced pistol’s brief recoil as you sneak past an enemy base, an electricity-based machine gun’s gritting sound turning enemies to dust. Melee combat, on the other hand, could still be improved.
Scavenging remains at the helm of incursions into the vibrant biomes. Recurring in games of its genre, what sets The Outer Worlds 2 from the rest is its intuitive approach. There is always a suitable amount of items on each cave/apartment/factory you visit, with the added benefit of sprinkling superbly written lore about the places you are in. Because of the emphasis on narrative, this means that quest design rewards exploration, unlocking dialogue options with information obtained on documents instead of brute forcing your way. An unassuming computer might reveal other avenues to avoid bloodshed – for those who are more inclined to that playstyle.
Verticality is an innovative component added to the level design as well. Being awarded jet boots early on gives your character the ability to double jump and reach longer distances. Other than the satisfying act of being able to jump twice in a videogame, it allows for a clever approach to how areas are designed. More expansive landscapes let players not feel as confined – a common criticism of the first entry. Now, longer jump distances make exploring a quicker endeavor to climb to the top of observatories without resorting to only running or going up ladders.
Turn It Up
One of the additions to this spiffy sequel is a brand-new portable radio. Featuring an original soundtrack, each of the radio stations is run by a different in-game faction, themed on the groups’ varied principles. Auntie’s Choice radio is a jingle-inclined, sponsor-filled 24/7 adfest, while the Protectorate’s station has a zealous fanaticism to match its authoritarian regime. Admittedly, they may not hit as hard as, say, Fallout’s “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire” or “Ride of the Valkyries,” but creating their own music is utterly brilliant all the same.
To hear a song about a “Crabwich” (a sandwich made from Crabble, a.k.a. giant crabs) is both hilarious and absurd. A barbershop quartet singing thinly-veiled commercials expose an authentic capitalism-crazed hellscape. Leave it to a mathematics society to croon a melody dedicated to Fibonacci’s golden ratio. Tuning to a PSA to strictly adhere to the rules, as imposed by the Sovereign, reminds one of how wrecked these people are. Props to the old-school radio hosts for sounding so painfully grounded in the cynical reality of The Outer Worlds 2.
Close To Perfection
Despite taking place in the same universe, there are no explicit narrative ties to The Outer Worlds 1. Starting out in a completely new colony, this second, sarcastic stab takes no prisoners. Not all sequels are created equally. Some focus on continuing the story previously laid out, while others aim to repeat everything the original did – only better. Exciting gameplay is not always synonymous with Obsidian, but here they have finally cracked the code. Combined with their impeccable writing, it is impossible not to recognize it as the gem that it is.
The bottom line is, you likely have played this type of game before: wipe out a shooting gallery, choose to talk your way out of conflict, loot till you drop, rinse and repeat. But unlike their previous experiences, this is Obsidian at the height of their powers. Genius satire and forward-thinking worldbuilding, hand in hand with slick exploration and exhilarating gameplay? It does not get more fun than this. Refined in every single way, The Outer Worlds 2 is not simply a better sequel: it’s the new gold standard in the narrative FPS genre.
Thank you to Xbox for providing review access to The Outer Worlds 2. You can find Seasoned Gaming’s review policy here
