Obsidian Entertainment Builds the Mood with The Outer Worlds 2

Obsidian Entertainment has crafted a unique atmosphere with The Outer Worlds series, positioning corporations, executive manipulation, and rampant consumerism as a plague haunting humanity well into our space-faring future—all told in a darkly comedic fashion. This vibe continues strongly into The Outer Worlds 2, where those nasty old mega-corporations are at it again.

Even if you’re over the joke, The Outer Worlds 2 offers much more than just repeated satire. It delivers a rewarding and varied space adventure built on an upgraded foundation of solid gunplay, enjoyable characters, and unique opportunities to play in different styles.

Adventures of an Earth Directorate Anybody

The story picks up in another corner of Obsidian’s sci-fi universe known as Arcadia. This area is inhabited by the Protectorate faction, which controls most of the Skip Drives powering hyperspace travel across galaxies. Players assume the role of an Earth Directorate agent—representing the interests and justice of Earth, wherever applicable.

Earth opposes the Protectorate’s monopoly on Skip Drives, sending a small team to steal the research. As you might expect, things go wrong. One agent goes rogue, opening a black hole-like rift that swallows the station you’re trying to heist, hurls you into space in an escape pod, and sets Arcadia on a timed path to destruction as the rift threatens to consume the entire system.

The game’s real quest begins 10 years later, when your body is recovered and sent on a mission to track down and eliminate the rogue agent. Along the way, you discover that the corporations from the first game—Spacer’s Choice and Auntie Cleo’s—have merged. Auntie Cleo’s absorbed Spacer’s Choice and rebranded as Auntie’s Choice, leveraging new resources to invade Arcadia and start a war with the Protectorate for the coveted Skip Drive tech.

Amid your hunt for the rogue agent threatening the system’s survival, you must navigate the Protectorate-corporate war and engage with various other factions operating on the fringes.

A Complex, Engaging Story

I enjoyed The Outer Worlds 2’s story. The first game leaned heavily into capitalist and corporate satire, with several morally questionable companies setting the backdrop and tone. This time, the main players Auntie’s Choice and the Protectorate also embody different but equally troubling demons.

While Auntie’s Choice stands for consumerism run amok, the Protectorate is portrayed as a fascist oligarchy. Both are easy to hate, yet the game humanizes many individual members, showing them as people with limited options—brainwashed and scrambling to survive while climbing their respective hierarchies.

The presence of various extraneous factions provides players with actual causes to support or oppose during different quests. This complexity enriches the narrative and player choices.

Adding to the world-building, each major faction even operates its own radio station, complete with unique music and dynamically changing commentary responding to your actions.

A Cast of Companions Reflecting the Conflict

The game’s mood of opposing sides is showcased brilliantly through its six companions. Each represents one of the major factions you’ll interact with or fight against.

For example, Inez, an Auntie’s Choice soldier, and Tristan, a Protectorate Arbiter, would be natural enemies outside your party. Yet, having them both as companions creates fascinating and often humorous dynamics, inside and outside of quests.

Every companion has depth and is well worth spending time with, enriching the narrative. Moreover, their faction ties bring you to a diverse set of locations.

Expanded Worlds to Explore

Compared to its predecessor, The Outer Worlds 2 offers significantly more space to explore and more secrets to uncover.

Starting on Paradise Island as an introduction, the game soon unfolds an even larger world to explore, filled with gorgeous environments, side quests, and hidden content. Each new map feels more enticing than the last, ensuring plenty of motivation to keep exploring.

However, the game does lean on a few repetitive elements. If the corporate satire wore thin for you in the first installment, it remains intense here. Enemies you encounter on planets tend to repeat often, with only slight variations in their styles and behaviors. Although facing a Mantisaur for the first time excites, encountering dozens more can grow tedious.

Robust RPG Systems and Choices

The RPG mechanics from the original game return intact but improved.

At the start, you choose two specialty skills from options like Guns, Lockpicking, Melee, Speech, and Hacking, while also investing in minor skills to round out your character. For example, I picked Observation, Lockpicking, Guns, Sneaking, the Lucky trait (which provides random skill checks), and an Ex-Convict background offering different dialogue options.

This customization made combat, stealth, and social encounters thrilling, but it also meant I missed out on some choices tied to other skills—such as Medical or Brawny checks—which can’t be compensated for with companions’ talents. This encourages multiple playthroughs to explore all paths.

One of the game’s most impressive aspects is how well it remembers your choices. Unlike many games where a few major decisions determine your path, here, countless choices—big and small—affect conversations and outcomes throughout the game. Characters frequently reference your past actions, making your journey feel richly personalized.

Enjoyable Combat and Tactical Depth

Gunplay and weapon customization are highlights of The Outer Worlds 2. Discovering new weapons and modding them to suit my style became a regular delight.

The game features unique weapons with special perks, like the Death Sentence rifle that places a countdown on enemies after a weak-point shot, triggering massive damage when the timer hits zero.

Tactical Time Dilation (TTD) returns, slowing time to allow precise shots. New gadgets let you deploy temporary shields, see enemies and electronics through walls, and even melt corpses—perfect for a stealthy assassin wanting no trace behind.

As a professional sneak, I particularly enjoyed melting victims into unrecognizable green goop.

Some Rough Edges and Bugs

Despite its strengths, the game isn’t without issues.

Stealth mechanics can feel quirky, with scripted events often alerting all nearby enemies regardless of your hiding spot. Enemies sometimes detect you unrealistically as soon as one becomes aware, leading to frustrating encounters.

NPC AI frequently acts odd, jumping between cover nonsensically or getting stuck due to poor pathfinding. Even companions often run into fatal trouble because of this.

I also encountered some minor bugs, like persistent dialogue markers above companions’ heads that wouldn’t disappear.

While these issues don’t break the experience, they serve as reminders that The Outer Worlds 2 is not a flawless game.

Come Fly with Me

Despite some qualms, The Outer Worlds 2 delivers a solid sci-fi RPG experience from Obsidian Entertainment.

It probably won’t win over those fatigued by corporate satire, but fans of the original will find the sequel improves on nearly every aspect.

The factional conflicts remain compelling to explore, and the party companions deepen the adventure with their diverse perspectives.

More importantly, the game offers an expansive adventure ripe with content that you simply can’t experience in a single playthrough. Whether you fully embrace your first run or return to explore untaken paths, The Outer Worlds 2 promises plenty of rewarding moments.

This review is based on a PlayStation 5 digital copy supplied by the publisher. The Outer Worlds 2 is set to release on October 29, 2025, on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

https://www.shacknews.com/article/146533/the-outer-worlds-2-review-score