The Outer Worlds 2 fans punished by Obsidian with hilarious debuffs for everything from dialogue skipping to "consumerism" if they purchase the $100 Premium Edition

The Outer Worlds 2
(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment)

The Outer Worlds 2 is finally here for excited fans who opted to purchase the pricey $99.99 Premium Edition of the RPG – a decision that, along with others made in-game, developer Obsidian Entertainment lovingly disapproves of.

If you happen to buy the $100 version of The Outer Worlds 2 to play a few days early – with the official launch date coming October 29 – you may find you're met with a hilarious little pop-up message while playing. It begins, "The Earth Directorate found a flaw in you!" What's the flaw? "Consumerism!" A screenshot of the prompt has surfaced on websites like Reddit, with players jokingly dubbing it a "Premium Edition flaw."

theouterworlds from r/theouterworlds/comments/1ofs8jr/premium_edition_flaw_lol

The pop-up continues, poking fun at eager fans: "You're the reason our marketing works. Promotions and sales have riddled your brain, and you're more interested in buying the next big thing than financial planning."

That's not all, though. It comes with a "Flaw" – and as the developers warn, "Once selected, Flaws cannot be removed." It's a combination of a buff and a debuff of sorts, granting -15% to all vendor prices but also -10% sell value.

Ah, yes, the sad effects of capitalism playing out in a sci-fi RPG – you love to see it. Devs are amusingly punishing more than just consumerism, however. Another thread on Reddit sees a player targeted with a similar pop-up, albeit for speeding through dialogue. "Skipping through dialogue in RPGs finally bit me in the ass," they write. Much like in the last one, this message calls the fan out for having a flaw… "Foot-in-Mouth Syndrome."

Skipping through dialogue in rpg’s finally bit me in the ass from r/theouterworlds

The pop-up details the guilty player's punishment: "You've been racing through conversations and seem to hate the idea of having to talk with others. Your choices in conversations are now randomly picked for you after a few seconds, but you gain a bonus to all experience earned." The effect the fan is left with is a 15% buff to all experience earned – along with the debuff of all their conversational decisions being made for them at random, of course.

It's funny, and honestly, as an RPG stan myself, I think it's a great way to add some Dungeons and Dragons-style interactive silliness to the game – one that's already "masterful," as our own The Outer Worlds 2 review describes.

The Outer Worlds 2 Metacritic score matches the impressive reviews for the original 2019 RPG, with the two tied as Obsidian's fifth-best games

Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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