I was pretty middling on The Outer Worlds, but now that The Outer Worlds 2 has "basically borrowed" one of the best bits of Fallout: New Vegas, I'm already planning my sneaky killing spree across the galaxy.
During the Outer Worlds 2 Direct immediately following the Xbox Game Showcase, Obsidian did very little to fight the 'Fallout in space' label that was applied to the first game. Of course, as the developers of Fallout: New Vegas, that's not something Obsidian needs to fight, but this time, it seems to be leaning even further into the comparison.
That's thanks to its new take on Perks. Game director Brian Adler explained that "if anybody's played Fallout: New Vegas, they'll be very familiar with the Perks system. We basically borrowed that, but went even grander."
The Outer Worlds 2, Adler says, will have even more Perks than New Vegas did, suggesting that there'll be well in excess of 100 ways in which you can change up your character's approach. The team at Obsidian outlined a few of them, and the focus on some stealthy, assassination-y improvements is definitely speaking to me.
For example, there's the simply-named 'Assassin' perk, which grants a boost of speed if you get a stealth kill, making it easier to chain together multiple takedowns, or to slip into the shadows. There's also a slightly more morbid Serial Killer perk, which lets you steal the hearts from non-aggressive characters you slay, using these 'trophies' to bolster your health.
And while these are bonuses, Obsidian's allowing you to lock in a few Flaws, too. I fancy a challenge, and am now a man in my 30s, so I feel like the 'Bad Knees' flaw - which creates a loud popping noise when your character comes out of a crouch - will add a certain realism to my Outer Worlds 2 playthrough. The Outer Worlds 2 is coming in October, so there's not long to wait to try out its New Vegas-style Perk system for yourself.
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