My review of The Outer Worlds 2 begins with a retelling of the first unexpected curveball the RPG threw my way. Barely out of the intro and having made exactly two vending machine purchases, I was offered the consumerism flaw. This puzzled me. As it turns out, this event had good reason to puzzle me.
I know it all. All of the witty insights, all of the arcane knowledge, and all of the random blather. I know all of the words. Or at least I will if I decide to use one of The Outer Worlds 2's early mods, which ditches the skill restrictions to give you access to every dialogue line in the game. It's just one among a nice crop of tweaks thus far, as the Order of Adjustment dig their mitts into the RPG's early access.
When The Outer Worlds launched in 2019, it managed to hit a rare balance between off-kilter corporate satire and heartfelt science fiction. It built on Obsidian’s signature humour. A universe where capitalism had gone galactic, and every moral decision came with a punchline. The sequel feels instantly familiar, yet more ambitious in scope, tone, and emotional range.
Sitting down with Game Director Brandon Adler, it’s clear that Obsidian wanted this follow-up to do more than simply expand the map. Hearing from Adler and finding out the team reworked combat from the ground up, deepened faction dynamics, and gave companions a level of independence that makes relationships feel real and sometimes volatile, really makes it feel like this is what the true goal of the first game was. Now, Outer Worlds 2 is a game that builds on what fans loved while daring to push harder into consequence, narrative weight, and player agency. And with Unreal Engine 5 powering it all, The Outer Worlds 2... Read more
