The Outer Worlds 2 has, according to developer Obsidian Entertainment, grown up. It's big. While the original Outer Worlds was rather reserved in scope, perhaps not as sprawling as those who wanted 'Fallout in space' may have hoped, The Outer Worlds 2 wants to be the RPG genre's moon and stars – literally, if the lunar-faced mascot introducing the game's prologue (and who "used to be somebody," he sighs) is to be believed.
Though I enjoyed The Outer Worlds, Obsidian openly comparing its sequel to Fallout: New Vegas has made my ears really prick up. It's a little like being approached on the street by a man offering to hand over a million dollars. Even as you fall over yourself to accept, you're waiting for the catch – the "sike," the pull-back of the hand. I spent the first ten minutes of my Outer Worlds 2 with a similar sense of cautious giddiness.
But now, having played the game's opening hour, I'm a believer. The Outer Worlds 2 puts an emphasis on dialogue and deeper RPG systems that I've been craving – and hey, quietly having some of this year's greatest shooting certainly doesn't harm anything either.
Shoot for the stars
Here comes the rug-pull: I'm not a badass courier, nor the first game's wild card colonist. While The Outer Worlds 2's backgrounds range from Gambler to Lawbringer, all pretty implicit in the benefits their lifestyles offer, I go with Roustabout. The Roustabout essentially fell upwards into their role as an Earth Directorate agent – responsible for bringing accountability to mega-corps and colonies-turned-dictatorships – and they still couldn't tell you how it happened.
The bad hand continues when it comes to selecting traits in The Outer Worlds 2. While you get one free positive trait, picking a second means you've got to balance it out with one negative trait – which is why I'm also Sickly, significantly reducing my maximum health.
On the aesthetic side, there's a sprawling character creation screen that I could have spent a lot more time with if I wasn't on the clock. Leaving that particular rabbit hole for the customization sickos, I'm content with marveling at the texture that goes into your character – every skill, trait, and background coming together to make the agent immediately feel storied.
Image credit: Xbox Game Studios
Image credit: Xbox Game Studios
Unwell and more than a little confused, I'm heading to the distant colony of Arcadia to investigate space-bending anomalies that have been cropping up across the universe. All fingers are currently being pointed at the Protectorate, an organization with the only means of providing faster-than-light travel. Before landing at an orbiting space station, I have a chance to chat with my crew and get their read on the mission.
Saying or doing something notable brings up a message noting that my answer will be remembered, but interestingly, that often happens even when I'm not making clearcut yes-no decisions. Being cynical about our employer's motives sticks with our peppiest crewmate, as does making another Earth Directorate agent break down an off-hand metaphor to painfully literal levels.
The Outer Worlds' same satirical streak and cavalier attitude to human life is still present, but I'm pleasantly surprised by how witty and sharp it all lands in its sequel when real-world pop culture is dominated by companies throwing toothless softballs at themselves. I don't get a chance to see the impact of my dialogue choices just yet – that, or their effects are subtle enough that I don't pick up on them straight away – but it certainly feels like I'm forming my own opinions and attitudes, actively choosing not to select certain speech options rather than whisking through conversations like a checklist.
After a quick meet-and-greet with my colleagues, we dock at the station where we're meant to be meeting an undercover Earth Directorate agent. Things go as smoothly as they can go during an RPG's tutorial. The bay's robotic security measures are tripped by our intrusion, but I manage to deactivate them by finding identification on a dead mechanic, assuming his identity over the intercom to remotely convince a guard that nothing's wrong. That feels a little bit reductive when, minutes later, my team asks if I'd rather take the stealthy route forward or stop the station's security head-on and I opt for the latter.
It's the right choice. Not because it's a narratively impactful decision, mind you, but because combat in The Outer Worlds 2 is brilliant. Not to harp on about Fallout too much, but it's hard not to compare my Tactical Time Dilation device – which slows down time (and, I'm also told, causes minimal brain damage) to VATS. But it's inherently more freeing than VATS, particularly in tandem with the game's improved movement. When I encounter the first wave of security guards, who take cover behind a sheet metal railing, I sprint towards them before dropping into a slide, activating slow-motion while I glide past their cover and empty an entire pistol mag into them.
How Obsidian became Xbox's most prolific studio: "There's not a lot of studios at Microsoft that have an entire external developer making the whole game for them"
Later ambushed by more security. I activate TTD and run past one attacker to beat the central guard with a shock baton, spin to throw a grenade at his friend I left behind, and in the same movement round onto the third guard with my baton up again. By the time I've stopped beating him to death with a shock baton, a bloody lone foot tells me the hastily-thrown grenade found its mark. It's the sort of moment-to-moment action I'd expect from a dedicated shooter, and it doesn't come as a huge surprise to learn that Halo developer 343 Industries pitched in to assist with combat.
Equally surprising is The Outer Worlds 2's stealth, which is fleshed out more than I've come to expect from most RPGs. You'll need to equip a melee weapon and creep up behind someone to smack them silently – reject chokeholds, embrace CTEs – but more intriguing is what happens after you take them down. Enemies can find bodies and will respond to their colleagues being killed, which I only learn after leaving a trail of corpses through a once-quiet section of the station. More combat? Well, if you insist.
Going places
Outside of shooting and shocking, I get two brief tastes of how backgrounds have an impact in The Outer Worlds 2. The first makes me feel very stupid – I can't understand an equation on a board because I'm not a professor, which makes sense. Later, I need a man in a kiosk to lower a bridge for me – and it just so happens to be the guard I lied to over the intercom.
"The Outer Worlds 2 makes its predecessor look like an appetizer"
When he recognizes my voice and rightfully claims I'm not a mechanic, there are a few options to try talking through it. Being the chill and presumably under-qualified guy I am, the Roustabout option sticks out. I come clean: I have no idea what I'm doing, and this whole infiltration is being made up as I go along. He mistakes my sincerity for unwavering confidence (nobody would just confess to being that stupid, right?) and lets me pass, but not before I promise to wipe his records from a terminal. Only now, writing this up after my hands-on, do I remember my promise. Oops.
Because of spoilers, I can't go into any more detail about what happens beyond this point. But already, The Outer Worlds 2 makes its predecessor look like an appetizer. Moment-to-moment action has been vastly improved, and while it's hard to judge the game's open world intent without actually exploring it, the dialogue and character creation alone make me think the sequel will be dramatically deeper than its more streamlined (though still excellent) sibling Avowed. Set to launch on October 29, Obsidian seems poised to deliver its most classically-minded action-RPG since New Vegas. Ring-a-ding-ding, baby.
The Outer Worlds 2 is coming to PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Game Pass on October 29, 2025. Check back in with GamesRadar+ all this week for more on Obsidian's stunning RPG as our The Outer Worlds 2 Big Preview continues.
