Obsidian Entertainment has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. Of course, being acquired by Microsoft has been helpful. The studio has launched some of my favourite games in the past few years, including Pentiment and Avowed. In 2018, though, we saw The Outer Worlds land, and it reminded me of Obsidian’s Fallout: New Vegas. To say I was enamoured would undersell the grip the original had on me.
Now, with a sequel on the horizon, I’ve spent some time getting lost in the sauce, and I’m confident that 2025 is the year Obsidian solidified itself as one of the best studios of all time. How does the sequel, The Outer Worlds 2, hold up? Is it a bigger and better sequel, or does it stumble to the finish line?
Megacorporations and Takeovers In The Outer Worlds 2
The introduction begins with your custom character taking on a task as an Earth Protectorate agent. With a team under your belt, you’ve got to infiltrate a space station and steal secrets stealthily. Going through the skills and traits of your character is a bit daunting at first. Still, some great choices make it easier to lean on (I went as a brawny professor adept at engineering and socializing), giving me the tools to hack and fix doors while also challenging anyone who wants to raise their voice to me. I found the system a bit simplified, but I respect it, and it works in your favour as things are easier to process and move on from.
One thing I really enjoyed catching early on was how traits are treated. In The Outer Worlds 2, there are both positive and negative traits to define your character. I initially chose Brilliant, Nimble, and Suave, but then realized that to have all the traits I want, I’d have to accept some negatives. The problem is that those negative traits sound terrible, and you have to either reduce the positive characteristics or be stuck with being dumb, abrasive, or sickly.
Choosing the negative traits like being dumb means you lose access to skills or say stupid things in conversations, while being sickly makes it easier to get sick or injured. Obsidian has clearly invested resources to keep you coming back with dozens of traits and flaw combinations, which shake up your playthrough with some often hilarious results. You just have to spend time with them to see how your character handles.
After an introductory mission sets the stakes, you’re thrust into a world of megacorporations, advertisements, and the realization that Spacer’s Choice is no more. That’s right, just like today’s capital-driven mega mergers happening across the entertainment space, a hostile takeover merged two factions from The Outer Worlds. Under the thumb of Auntie’s Choice, you are constantly being bombarded by ads to buy, buy, buy. Go on Instagram or TikTok, and you’ll be hit with one paid video for a Temu product while another pops up to buy cheap kitchen gadgets. Sure, you can scroll on by, but ultimately, you’re at the mercy of marketing. And so, your journey begins as part of the Protectorate.
Corporations Are Not Your Friend
You’ll never feel shackled or boxed in when playing through the campaign. The way things are designed means you can venture out to settlements or the wild and then take on quests as you see fit. It’s a lot less stressful, and it often leads to interesting missions you need to complete for the factions you encounter. Moving from Halcyon to the new colony of Arcadia, the world feels bigger than ever, with tons of new locations and characters you’ll come across. It’s honestly one of the first things I noticed—the world is fascinating to look at, and it does a great job of pulling you into this world that needs your help.
The basic premise is that after a betrayal, you’re left to figure out a way to stop space anomalies from essentially ripping reality into nothingness. Arcadia is also cut off from the Earth Directorate, so you’ll head to the colony and deal with Auntie’s Choice, the Protectorate, and Order of the Ascendant. The factions are filled with representatives woven into the story through your companions. It’s a smart move from Obsidian, which pays off because you’re given enough time to meet the factions, work with or against them and complete quests for each of them.
What elevates this sequel is the significant improvement in the writing and animation of NPCs and companions. I always felt the original, while great, felt a bit rigid in execution, and I feel older Obsidian games are known for that. From the moment you embark from the ship into the colony, you see just how animated everyone is. It’s impressive how much of a departure the sequel is from its predecessor. Moreover, companions come from various factions and tie directly into the story, with backstories and personalities that flesh out the world. Marisol and Niles in particular, are my two favourites who flesh out the world and provide a ton of support, including crafting and mods on the go.
Obsidian’s writing is on full display here, and while the beginning hours are slower than some of its other games, The Outer Worlds 2 gets absurd. There are also numerous nods to how this universe is overrun with the worst of the worst, continuing the satirical take on capitalism, government overreach, and corporate world exaggerations in space. We haven’t even gotten to communism yet. The writing does a lot of the heavy lifting to make this alternate reality work, and it’s a testament to how witty and sharp the team at Obsidian is.
Despite every faction out to stifle the others, the plot maintains a strong sense of pacing and showcases plenty of silliness. You’re inevitably led to choose who to side with, despite each faction having an allure to them, which makes the decision much harder. It’s a wise decision that pays off because The Outer Worlds 2 doesn’t innately feature a “good guy,” so you are faced with choosing the lesser evil of the bunch to come out on top. And while there are skills available to keep you neutral with all parties, sometimes in life, you have to be the bad guy to get ahead.
The story’s success lies in its trust in the player and their choices. Building out your character and giving them a background, like a Lawmaker, shapes how conversations might go. If you’re someone like me who prefers to stay neutral-good, you can select answers based on your background, which can open new avenues.
Venturing into new areas is something I really enjoy. With improved gunplay, The Outer Worlds 2 2 feels much better when dealing with enemies. At first, it doesn’t feel too different from its predecessor, but it quickly becomes a better experience as a variety of melee weapons and guns become available. You’ll come across tons of loot that is worth keeping, but sometimes, as great as the loot is, talking your way out of a situation is way better.
I tried to keep my character kills to a minimum, so I invested in Speech and Leadership, letting my companions serve up justice when needed, while I did my best to talk my way out of a bad situation. When it came down to an all-out gun-blazing situation, though, I had plasma pistols and swords at the ready. Of course, stealth is a viable option until it isn’t, which is normally a great way to move about.
The Tactical Time Dilation gadget is also a nice nod to the studio’s past collaboration with Bethesda on Fallout, capable of slowing time down to nail the perfect shot. Stealth builds will want to use Auntie’s Acidic Dematerializer, which melts corpses to avoid being detected, and the N-Ray Scanner lets you see through walls.
Verdict
The Outer Worlds 2 is an odd game. It’s bigger than its predecessor, more absurd, and fires on all cylinders, but it’s also a game developed by a studio now run by a megacorporation. For all its inherent themes, it’s bizarre to see them transposed onto the ongoing issues at Microsoft over the last several months. This is a game that is made by some of the best in the business, but you can deliver hit after hit and still face the chopping block. If The Outer Worlds 2 is Obsidian‘s swan song (which I doubt it is), then know that it’s easily the studio’s best game since Fallout: New Vegas and one of this year’s best video games.
Obsidian’s a studio that continues to shine in its craft. Each new game shows significant improvement over the last, and it’s refreshing to see one of the most consistent studios showcase its storytelling talent.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
