My stealth build in The Outer Worlds 2 has me obsessed with a particular gadget, but every single one has "multiple purposes" because Obsidian didn't want them to be "singular use tools"

Thanks to the many RPGs and adventures that let me lean into my love for stealth, I'm no stranger when it comes to covering up my tracks. Whether I'm chucking a corpse over my shoulder and discarding it into a big dumpsters in Cyberpunk 2077, or ditching the evidence of my misdeeds in some tall grass or hay bales in any one of the best Assassin's Creed games, hiding kills is textbook stuff when it comes to avoiding detection.

Now, The Outer Worlds 2 has entered the stealthy scene to put a gadget in my hands that I didn't know I always wanted: Auntie's Acidic Dematerializer. Honing in on the Stealth skill, I've been crouching my way through much of Obsidian's corporate-dystopian sci-fi universe, and stabbing enemies in the back as I go. And thanks to this handy dandy gadget – which is essentially a goo-filled spray can – I can evaporate the bodies of foes I've killed and turn them into an unassuming pile of green sludge.

Gone are the days of dragging cadavers to and fro. Now, I can get rid of the evidence with one quick-fire spritz… and honestly, what more could I ask for? But, as soon I discovered, this nifty tool can also be used against the living as a kind of close quarters gooey shotgun. The gadget's different functions and the way it complements my character's build speak to Obsidian's aim – which, as design director Matt Singh explains, is to "expand and deepen" features in the sequel to account for the many approaches we can take.

Multi-purpose tools

While 2019's The Outer Worlds was devoid of such gadgetry, it did feature a hibernation sickness side effect that allowed you to slow down time for a short period. With one of the gadgets directly harnessing this ability after the team recognized that lots of players enjoyed it, it proved to be the impetus behind the team's decision to bring gadgets into the mix.

"In the first game, there was Tactical Time Dilation, and I know that some people used it really effectively, some people didn't really use it at all, and that's totally cool," Matt Singh says. "But it looked like an obvious avenue where we could expand this palette of player ability type things. That's where we came up with this idea of this array of gadgets. And one of the things that was actually important to us early on, is that each of these new tools that we would build for the player, that they had multiple purposes, because we know that players will engage in the game in different ways, and we didn't want them to be singular use tools."

With four different gadgets in total, Singh points to the Gas-Energy Deflection Apparatus gadget – which allows you to activate a short-term protective barrier – as an example of how the team explored different ways these tools could function. In combat, it's good for someone who needs extra shielding, particularly for someone who's opting to fight with melee weapons, for example. But then the team also brought in ways it can be used outside of combat, such as mitigating hazards out in the world in order to make it an "exploration tool", too.

"For each of the different gadgets that we came up with, we were trying to think of what kind of obvious thing it leans into in terms of its fantasy," Singh adds, "but then how do we start structuring it in a way where it can be helpful in multiple play styles? Things like our N Ray Scanner; yeah, you can see enemies through walls. That's good. You can identify threats. But also in combat, it does additional crit damage for you when you're hitting weak spots. So now you have some other use outside of just, I'm skulking around the area. And so again, we were trying to think of that in as many ways as we could."

I've certainly been getting a lot of use out of all of the gadgets during my time with The Outer Worlds 2, with each tool offering up advantageous uses. But the Auntie's Acidic Dematerializer continues to be a firm favorite, not just because it's so helpful to me as I sneakily take out foes, but also because of its design (which smacks of Auntie's Choice's whacky products) and its humorous practical use, which fits in perfectly with the sci-fi setting. In fact, when I tell Obsidian about my affinity for the gadget, game director Brandon Adler tells me of one more use that almost made it into the game.

"Something that we didn't do with that, that I really, really wanted to, is turning them into goo, but then using them in your goo guns," Adler says. "We didn't do that, I think, because of the balance reason where it's like, 'Okay, you just have too much ammo for this.' But, you know, anytime you can shoot somebody at their friends, I think that's great."

Sure, I may not be able to shoot enemies at their friends, but I still enjoy the way I can eviscerate them into gooey goodness to avoid detection as a sneaky fiend in The Outer Worlds 2. But it's the gloop that counts. Either way, they won't be telling anyone I was here.

We'll be exploring more insights into The Outer Worlds 2 right here at GamesRadar+. For more read our The Outer Worlds 2 review.