The Outer Worlds 2 Review — Space Serial

I just can’t stop thinking about the utter irony of a game criticizing capitalism being sold at the steep price of $70.

That aside, The Outer Worlds 2 surprised me. Although I was a fan of the original concept, I found myself putting the game down about halfway through and never picking it up again. The setting is very inspired and has much to love, courtesy of Obsidian Entertainment’s superb character writing. However, something in the original simply failed to click for me, and while I gave it more time than many other RPGs I pick up (I swear, I am a fan of the genre), I never felt compelled to pick it back up again.

The Outer Worlds 2 is different. Something about this sequel compelled me to stick to it much more than the original ever did.

Part of this appeal could obviously be attributed to the game’s setting. As I just briefly mentioned, the world of The Outer Worlds is a phenomenal mix of capitalistic critique and serialized space western. It’s as if the grimy edge of cyberpunk was tie-dyed in the matte colors of the art deco movement. I will never get tired of the way the game blends bright, unexplored alien frontiers with the run-down, advertisement-heavy corporate towns built to strip them of their resources. The addition of a monarchical fascist zealot state in Arcadia that fervently hates the megacorporation colonizers also adds an interesting new twist to the setting, and yet another lovable hate-able set of bad guys to shoot and loot.

It could be that the game’s story also drew me in better than that of the first. Playing as what is essentially a space cop for the Earth government in a territory where corporate soldiers and the Sovereign’s zealous peasantry essentially spit on your authority is a far more interesting take than the first game’s premise, in my opinion. When combined with the game’s strong opening that sets up a serious revenge plot (though not one as good as Fallout: New Vegas’), it gives the story a western anti-hero sheriff vibe that goes well with the 1920s serialized space fiction aesthetic.

The story doesn’t always hit the mark, though. Much like Avowed, Obsidian shows that they have a good understanding of character, with each named NPC you encounter in the world feeling like a unique person with a story to tell (a lot of story to tell, at that). Also like Avowed, the game can feel less like an RPG where your choices really matter and more like a story you don’t have a lot of direct involvement in.

I would describe it like this: in The Outer Worlds 2, you often have many ways to get to a story’s conclusion, but you’re usually going to get that same conclusion regardless of how you get there.

A good example of this happens when you land on the game’s first planet and immediately intercept a corporate-led attack on the ruling monarchy. Your goal, ultimately, is to break into this heavily fortified location, and along the way there are several ways to do it. Two shady characters offer you their assistance, or you can find your own path forward. Several roadblocks along the way also give you multiple approaches for how to get past them. Regardless, however, the storyline ends the same way no matter how you approached it, which can bring replayability into question.

That isn’t to say that there are no roleplay options whatsoever. In typical Obsidian fashion, there are a ton of dialogue options that you can only get based on a combination of perks, backgrounds, inventory items, and so on. In that regard, you really do feel like you’re playing a unique character. As for me, I went for a tough, lone-ranger type who liked to pistol-whip his way through any situations he couldn’t first talk his way out of.

It is also, perhaps, the gunplay in The Outer Worlds 2 that helped the game make more of an impression on me. I couldn’t really tell you how much I enjoyed the combat in the first game, which in and of itself is probably a sign that it was forgettable, but the weapons in The Outer Worlds 2 definitely made an impression. The game’s guns feel nice to use, with good hit feedback, recoil, and sounds, and a unique array across the board to customize your arsenal as you progress. Additional combat gadgets and perks also make an appearance, though nothing quite lives up to the ability to slow down time, which is something I usually mod into my Fallout 4 games in the place of V.A.T.S.

The perks themselves, while having interesting qualifiers for their use, pretty much just amount to percentile stat boosts, which I’m not a fan of. Could this area of the game be better? Definitely, but at least they are slightly more creative than most stat-boost progression systems and, again, offer some roleplaying opportunities when you take them.

For these reasons, I can definitely say that The Outer Worlds 2 stands out above the first. It’s not the best roleplaying game ever created, and as far as branching path narratives go, you could do a lot better. However, the unique setting shines, the characters are great, and the combat feels nice, all coming together to create a sequel that hooked me far better than the original did.

The Outer Worlds 2 was reviewed on the PC. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! The Outer Worlds 2 is available on Steam, Epic Games, Xbox, and PlayStation.