The Outer Worlds 2 Review – WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?

When The Outer Worlds 2 was first announced, fans were eager to see Obsidian double down on the sharp humour, player choices and spacefaring chaos. And while this sequel serves up a new solar system, a fully third-person camera and maintains that colourful, near-distinct visual style, it doesn’t quite reach the highs we’d hoped for.

Custom Star Trekkin’

In terms of combat, it’s definitely more refined this time around. Weapons have a distinct ka-pow! And getting those sweet slow-mo kills makes you feel like a boss. Yet, the enemy AI is still… questionable, to say the least. Charging headfirst into bullets or standing still while their head gets caved in doesn’t exactly scream “immersion”.

That said, I love how you can dial in your own flavour of combat. Combining my character’s backstory, the various perks and double-edged flaws that are dolled out at certain points in the game, I turned my guy into a stealthy, back-stabbing pain in the butt who could turn invisible if he plonked off people all sneaky-sneaky-like in quick succession. Along with your two chosen party members, you can also stack these skills on top of their passive abilities, making for an even stronger build down the track.

Since the game can be pretty brutal on the higher difficulty levels, being able to approach battle the way you want to do things, whether that be through bullets blazing, stealth or sabotage opens up a strong amount of replayability. As by the time the game nears completion, you’ll most likely be funnelled down a particular play style that locks you out of other build types.

Losing The Plot

This seems to be the aim of the game, as there are some cool things this sequel lets you commit to. Like being able to approach a mission through the front door, finding another way around or beating an optional mission to opt for a different route. Whereas just up the road, there’s a self-destruct sequence (which should be all intense and sweaty) though all you gotta do is crank a lever, then ride up an elevator—annnnd the tension has left the building. Throughout the game, things either end earlier than they should or happen off-screen a little too much for my liking. The definition of pulling thy punch.

The game’s revenge plot also makes the same mistake. While it does start semi-okay, by the time it reaches the halfway point, you’ll care as much about the story as your annual trip to the dentist. Honestly, it drops the ball that badly that it almost bursts. The silly jokes and funny lines had me crackin’ a laugh here and there, but they aren’t gonna hold your attention for long.

Luckily, the game doesn’t overstay its welcome and mostly keeps towards 60FPS with the base PS5 on Performance mode. I was able to finish this sequel in 12 hours or so with about a dozen side quests done, and there were still a few more left to go. Not every RPG needs to be 50+ hours long with excessively wide open-world zones; that’s why this series gets my hats off for knowing when to bow out. All in all, there’s a relatively diverse amount of quest types to discover, from detective shenanigans to avoiding traps in tight corridors, so it never really feels like the devs were just ticking boxes here. Definitely can’t say the same for every other game out there, not gonna lie.

Decision

The Outer Worlds 2 is a good game, sometimes even a great one. However, it plays things a little too cautiously for a sequel that once promised to push boundaries. It’s pretty polished, funny and loaded with charm, yet still feels content to orbit familiar territory rather than charting something truly spectacular. A solid recipe for disappointing your fans.

By Anthony Culinas – Reviewed on PS5

Good

The Outer Worlds 2 refines its combat and charm with sharper gunplay, strong customisation and plenty of witty banter, but never truly breaks free from its predecessor’s grasp.

This game was reviewed using a download code provided by Microsoft. The Beta Network uses affiliate partnerships, however, this does not influence reviews or any other content published. The Beta Network may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links that are on the website.