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  1. Games
  2. RPGs
  3. The Outer Worlds 2

From serial killer to bad knees, The Outer Worlds 2 has some ridiculous perks even by RPG standards, including one that just "makes the game pretty unplayable if you happen to choose that"

News
By Issy van der Velde published 9 June 2025

These are so silly, I love them

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The Outer Worlds 2
(Image credit: Microsoft)
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The Outer Worlds 2 is coming this year, October 29, and it's adding a whole host of weird and wonderful perks so that you can roleplay as a serial killer or someone with bad knees.

Bad knees is an in-game flaw that actually made me laugh out loud when it was described during The Outer Worlds 2 direct at Summer Game Fest. It allows you to move faster, but the drawback is when you go from crouching to standing, "your knees are gonna make a loud popping noise that makes it so that, well, everyone around you is gonna hear you."

If, like me, you're on the wrong side of 30, you likely know at least one person whose knees do this – chances are, that person is you. It's actually a great roleplay quirk for a stealth character.

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All that crouch walking must play havoc with your joints – Red Dead Redemption 2 actor Roger Clark did say the hardest part of filming for the game was all the squatting: "three days later my thighs were absolutely killing me."

[4K] Xbox Games Showcase 2025 | The Outer Worlds 2 & Grounded 2 Direct - YouTube [4K] Xbox Games Showcase 2025 | The Outer Worlds 2 & Grounded 2 Direct - YouTube
Watch On

One very cool and slightly cruel perk is serial killer. If you choose it, there's a chance every human you kill will drop a heart, which you can collect to get a permanent boost to your health. If you kill a human who "wasn't hostile" to you, there's a 100% chance of the drop.

I'm not sure if this means stealth kills guarantee hearts or you have to kill innocent NPCs, but either way, it's an interesting reward for being a murderer, and another great boon for stealth players; if you do get caught, that extra health will stop you getting put down too quickly.

The strangest and most unique flaw revealed so far is sungazer. Quite literally what it sounds like, your character just loves to stare at the sun, and that has permanently damaged their vision.

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The game will look hazy, and ranged weapon spread will be increased by 100%, making you very inaccurate. It "makes the game pretty unplayable if you happen to choose that," says one developer.

While you wait for The Outer Worlds 2 to come out, check out all the upcoming Xbox games.

TOPICS
Obsidian Entertainment Summer Game Fest
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Issy van der Velde
Issy van der Velde
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I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.

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