The Outer Worlds 2 review – Misadventures in space

The Outer Worlds 2 is the new sci-fi action RPG from Obsidian, the studio known for such fantastic things as Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity. It shares the universe created in the first game, but I’ll tell you right away: anyone, like me, who hasn’t played the original will feel a little lost at first. The game doesn’t bother explaining much. I immediately got into the middle of the action without really understanding what was happening or why I should care about what was at stake. It’s not that it’s mandatory to play the first one, but a more engaging introduction would help. That moment was missing that grabs us straight away and makes us think: “ok, let’s go discover this world”.

Arcadia: a sci-fi chaos full of choices (and confusion)

The story takes place in the colony of Arcadia, a system at war where various factions fight for control of mysterious rifts that could basically destroy everything. It’s typical Obsidian sci-fi chaos, full of moral choices, sarcasm and absurd situations where we can either be the savior of the universe or the most hateful person in the galaxy. This freedom is one of the things that has always fascinated me about this studio’s games, and here it is back, although it doesn’t always work as it should.

The narrative… well, this is where the game disoriented me several times. It’s confusing and not very stimulating. I got to a point where I was playing just to play, without really caring about what was happening. The dialogues are good, the choice options are varied and we can even influence our companions, but none of this makes up for a story that doesn’t pull us in. Basically, we spend the game doing favors while chasing a woman who left us for dead. It’s hard to feel emotion with a base like this.

A journey between brilliance and frustration

Character creation is quite complete, from what I researched, much better than in the first one. You can really spend a lot of time there inventing who we are. I chose an ex-convict background (genius, it must be said) and I immediately felt that I had my own identity, a kind of past that gave color to the character. But there are details that seem forgotten, like you can’t change the shape of the mouth or lips. Small things, I know, but they seem out of place in a game with so much customization.

With that perspective, I decided to dive head first into the experience. Along the way I found a game full of ups and downs: there were moments that were really fun and others that made me want to throw the controller out the window, on a space journey that is both fascinating and tiring.

Furthermore, there are things without any logic: in some places I can steal whatever I want without consequences, in others just touching a spoon is a crime, even within the same buildings. I realize that there are areas where we are unknown and we have to gain the trust of those who live there, but entering a room and having items that I can steal and others that I can’t is a little strange, perhaps a minor error that is easily corrected.

The third person changes everything

One of the best new features is that we can play in third person. Once I tried it, I never went back to the first one. Seeing the entire character, the clothes, the weapons and even the animations gives it another flavor. It really helps to create a connection with what we are doing. It’s curious how something so simple changes the way you play so much. I also liked seeing how NPCs respond differently to our lines, reactions change depending on choices, which gives conversations a more natural feel.

The resource management system is, honestly, chaos. The interface is not very intuitive and seems designed to make our lives more complicated. I spent a lot of time looking around until I figured out what was for what. Still, I like the freedom that the game gives: we can be whoever we want, even the biggest villain in the universe. And yes, there are times when this is a real pleasure.

Between RPG and shooter

The skills, on the other hand, are interesting. The good thing is that it forces you to choose a path, if you put points in Speech, you can convince more people; if you prefer to be more stealthy, Lockpick and Sneak help a lot. The problematic side is that if you don’t invest in a skill early on, you miss out on some opportunities for dialogue or interactions. Basically, it gives the character personality, but it also somewhat limits what we can do and requires playing several times, to get the idea of ​​what it would be like if we went a different route in terms of skills. But who would want to play The Outer Worlds 2 multiple times?

The weapons and armor are one of the highlights. There is an absurd variety, with modifiers, perks and elements that really affect combat. You have to think and choose carefully, which gives some depth. The combat itself, in the more advanced stages, turns into an authentic shooter with RPG elements, and not the other way around. It’s always opening up, shooting at everything and everyone, until the game seems to forget that it was born as an RPG. And the ending… well, the ending is almost a joke. The final boss doesn’t even move if we stay away, and the outcome is told by a narrator, with static images. After so many hours, I expected something more dignified.

Sporadic beauty in a lifeless world

Graphically, The Outer Worlds 2 is a mixed bag. There are beautiful areas, full of color and detail, but there are also many that look like they were from an old game, “gray”, still, lifeless. The NPCs are standing there in the same place, without routines, without soul. And this makes the game world kind of lifeless, empty.

On Xbox, the game has some very annoying technical problems. I saw flickering in textures, visual errors and areas where it seemed like the console was struggling to keep up, always playing in performance mode.

Still, the game has moments when it even impresses. It has areas with amazing lighting, interiors full of detail and that retro-futuristic style that really makes you want to stop and look around. But then, as soon as we got out of there, we found boring landscapes again, everything the same and somewhat bare. It’s as if the game was too lazy to maintain the same level of detail.

A bittersweet ending

I finished The Outer Worlds 2 in about 28 hours, focusing on the main story, and I was left with a bitter feeling. The game has good ideas, but never sees them through to the end. There are moments of genuine fun, especially when we explore or try new weapons, but the world is too artificial and the narrative doesn’t hold up. The pace is slow and only after many hours did I start to feel really involved.

It’s not a bad game, but it’s not memorable either. It remains there in the middle, lost between what it wants to be and what it really is. An RPG that wanted to be a shooter, or maybe the opposite. Anyway, I finished it with more frustration than satisfaction, and a strange desire to see if the next person can finally get things right.