Microsoft developer Obsidian Entertainment has had quite the year. In February, the studio launched Avowed, its fantasy RPG, followed by the co-op sequel Grounded 2 going into early access in July. Now, it’s rounding out the year with The Outer Worlds 2, a sequel to its highly acclaimed 2019 sci-fi RPG.
Obsidian’s games are known for their deep writing and worldbuilding, with an emphasis on player choice. In Avowed and The Outer Worlds, players are encouraged to pick their own paths when it comes to tackling story missions, solving side quests, and carrying out conversations. While The Outer Worlds 2 doesn’t do anything drastically different from its predecessor, it sticks with what worked the first time and does it well again. On the other hand, it has the same flaws, namely its heavy-handed writing.
The Outer Worlds 2 takes place in a new setting: a space colony called Arcadia. Here, the player works as an Earth Directorate agent, whose job it is to maintain the relationship between Earth and its other colonies. Rifts in spacetime have started appearing, and the player is sent to investigate it. After doing so, an astronomically destructive incident causes you to float around in space for the next decade before eventually being woken up. It’s a real attention-grabbing opener of a first mission.
Credit: George Yang / Mashable
Since then, Arcadia has been in a chokehold between two powerful entities: The Protectorate and Auntie’s Choice. The former has a monopoly over space travel technology, while the latter is a megacorp made up of two companies, the pharmaceutical firm Auntie Cleo and the manufacturer Spacer’s Choice.
Throughout the game, these two forces are constantly at each other’s throats about how to use technology to control the rifts and use them for their own nefarious means. It’s an enticing setup, but it’s sometimes weighed down by the writing.
Laying it on thick
The criticisms of capitalism are too on the nose in The Outer Worlds 2. While the writing and dialogue choices are varied and entertaining, they often lack subtlety. During a side quest, I was tasked by Annie’s Choice to break a strike, and its vice president was disgusted that the workers had demands. My dialogue choices included snarky comments about collective bargaining and workers’ rights. While these themes can be explored well, such as in games like Bioshock, the holier-than-thou tone in The Outer Worlds 2 can come across as off-putting in many cases.
Credit: George Yang / Mashable
It’s also not lost on me how deeply ironic this tone is, given that the game is published by Microsoft and Xbox Studios, which has continually been laying off workers and simultaneously trying to go all in on AI. After Nintendo listed Mario Kart World at $80, instead of the standard $60 or $70 price point in the games industry, Microsoft seemed to follow the trend and raised the price of The Outer Worlds 2 to $80 before reversing the decision due to fan backlash. So the repetitive anti-capitalist quips in the game tend to lose their impact.
What really helps counteract and balance this tone is the game’s likable companions. There are six that you can recruit throughout, and they come with vibrant personalities. My personal favorites were Valerie and Aza. Valerie is a support drone that specializes in healing and damage reduction, and her personality is that of a typical dry robot who interprets what everyone says too literally. In one interaction, I asked Valerie how much she weighed to see if she could carry heavy items, but she took it as me trying to ride her like a transport vehicle. It’s a different kind of sarcastic quip that’s actually a welcome change of pace to the game’s tone.
I asked Valerie how much she weighed to see if she could carry heavy items, but she took it as me trying to ride her like a transport vehicle.
Credit: George Yang / Mashable
Aza is different from the other companions as she’s not affiliated with the Earth Directorate, Auntie’s Choice, or the Protectorate. Instead, she’s part of the Glorious Dawn, a cult that worships the rifts. She’s also wonderfully violent and bloodthirsty, which adds a real mean streak that reminds me of the aggressive humor found in Borderlands games.
You can also embark on companion quests, which provide deeper character development than what you’d typically experience by just sticking with the story missions. They’re always worth doing, as you’ll not only learn to appreciate the companions more, but also gain experience to level up and become stronger, and earn other valuable rewards.
Roleplaying goodness
The Outer Worlds 2’s other strong suit is its robust role-playing elements. The character creator has extensive cosmetic options, including changing your hairstyle, adjusting your head shape, and more. It’s easy to lose time trying to create your ideal character. But what makes it stand out more than other games is its trait and skill system.
You can pick up to two positive traits, such as Brawny, which gives you the ability to use brute force to open malfunctioning doors, and Lucky, which can sometimes allow you to solve sticky situations easily. For example, Lucky came in handy when I had to solve a math equation, and my character managed to get “lucky” and solve it on the first go.
Depending on what traits you have, certain obstacles in the game can become easier or harder to clear. This simple choice made in the beginning can drastically change the trajectory of your playthrough, making each one different and increasing the game’s replayability. You’ll also have to pick. If you decide to go with two positive traits instead of just one, you also have to pick up a negative trait, like being constantly sick or dumb. The former decreases your maximum HP, while the latter permanently locks the number of skills you can learn. It’s an excellent trade-off that forces you to adapt.
The skill screen in Outer Worlds 2.
Credit: George Yang / Mashable
You can also pick two skills to specialize in, which help gear your character to your specific playstyle. I like avoiding conflict and talking my way out of situations, so I chose Speech as one of my preferred skills. This lets me influence others in conversations and potentially convince them to give me store discounts. I can even skip boss fights entirely by persuading them to stand down if my Speech skill is high enough and I’ve collected specific information around the environment. Fortunately, you’re not locked to a specific playstyle, so you’re able to shift and invest in the other skills in case you discover a new approach that you enjoy more.
As you level up, you’ll also be able to unlock perks based on how many skill points you’ve allocated to certain skills. For example, after investing in the Lockpick skill, I learned how to Pickpocket, which came in clutch because, in some instances, I needed to complete a side quest to progress the story. Instead of doing what the quest giver asked for, I simply went behind them and stole what I needed from their back pocket.
There’s lots of room for synergy between the skills and perks. I loved sneaking around and killing enemies from behind, and the Sleight of Hand perk I unlocked by getting my Lockpick skill to level 8 not only made pickpocketing faster, but granted me bonus damage when executing sneak attacks.
In fact, I spent so much time crouching and minimizing the sound of my footsteps that the game noticed, and I picked up a Flaw, an optional permanent trait that has both positive and negative effects. This particular one was called Bad Knees, and it increased my crouch speed, but every time I crouched, I would emit a cracking sound that would alert hostiles to investigate me. I decided that the pros weren’t worth the cons, so I declined the trait. There’s so much experimentation within these deep gameplay systems that makes every playthrough feel unique.
Credit: George Yang / Mashable
Fighting words
Combat and gunplay were some of the weaker aspects of the first game, and that’s unfortunately the same story here. That’s partly why I also went with the stealth and speech routes that I did. I would pick off regular enemies one by one from behind, and then during boss fights, I’d convince them to step down so I wouldn’t have to attack them at all.
In any case, there are some marginal improvements. Like its predecessor, you can equip mods to enhance your weapons, such as reducing the ammo cost on certain guns. However, many of these mods make a negligible difference in the grand scheme of things, and I hardly felt these improvements during the moment-to-moment gunfights.
It’s a stark contrast to Avowed, which really showed off Obsidian’s combat systems at its best. The gunslinging in The Outer Worlds 2 just doesn’t have the same impact and satisfaction that the responsive magic hurling and swordfighting mechanics in Avowed impressed me with. Even when I started a new playthrough and picked more combat-oriented skills and perks, the shooting still felt flat and clunky in my hands.
Is The Outer Worlds 2 worth it?
If you enjoyed the first game, there’s really no reason you wouldn’t enjoy the sequel. Thankfully, The Outer Worlds 2 has an entirely new story and cast of characters, so you can jump straight in if you haven’t played the first. It’s got good writing and humorous writing, even if the anti-capitalist schtick is a bit overdone.
The companions in Outer Worlds 2.
Credit: George Yang / Mashable
The companions are genuinely deep and make the space odyssey much more bearable. And while the combat hasn’t improved much, the deep role-playing elements and the synergies between the skills and perks make the game fun to play.
The Outer Worlds 2 will be available on all platforms, including PC and PS5. It can also be played via Xbox Game Pass. With games like Keeper and Ninja Gaiden 4, the subscription is well worth getting for Microsoft’s releases this month, despite its recent price hike.
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