"The Outer Worlds 2" tested: The best Obsidian has to offer

Domagoj Belancic

23/10/2025

Translation: machine translated

Pictures: Domagoj Belancic

With "The Outer Worlds 2", the RPG experts at Obsidian have surpassed themselves. The sci-fi adventure impresses with great freedom of play, plenty of humour and exciting stories.

So much in advance: «The Outer Worlds 2» is my new favourite game from Obsidian - by a long way. And I say that as a fan of «Fallout: New Vegas».

The sequel builds on the solid foundation of the first game, which was released in 2019, and takes things up a notch in all areas. I love the colourful sci-fi worlds, the quirky characters and the complex game mechanics that the game serves up on a graphically beautiful Unreal Engine 5 silver platter.

So much so that I keep losing myself in the game for hours on end while testing it, until I realise that it's two o'clock in the morning and I should probably go to sleep.

Criticism of capitalism and religion, but with humour

In «The Outer Worlds 2», I take on the role of an agent of the «Earth Directorate» - a political institution that looks after the welfare of human colonies in space.

One of these colonies is Arcadia. Destructive, interdimensional rifts have appeared there, which I'm supposed to investigate. Easier said than done, because a war is raging between three factions in the distant solar system.

On the one hand, we have the religious fanatics of the «Protectorate», whose members blindly follow the orders of their spiritual leaders. There are no individuals. All that matters is the community. If a member has even the slightest critical thought, he or she is subjected to drug-induced brainwashing - affectionately known as «Mental Refreshment».

«The Order» is a splinter group of religious fanatics. Instead of worshipping a mystical deity, they seek salvation in science. They believe they can predict the future thanks to mathematical formulas.

Last but not least, we have «Auntie's Choice» - a merger of the two mega-companies «Auntie Cleo» and «Spacer's Choice», which I remember from the first part. The newly founded mega-mega-corporation wants to oust the religious fanatics and make the advantages of unbridled capitalism palatable to the Arcadians.

«The Outer Worlds 2» is not subtle in its humorous approach to criticising capitalism and religion - on the contrary. The three factions are portrayed in an extremely exaggerated manner. Each leader is an arsehole in their own unique way. In the end, it all boils down to one simple truth: power corrupts - regardless of whether you pay homage to fictional gods, scientific formulas or money.

I enjoy navigating my way through this complex construct of competing ideologies as the game progresses. I can join the factions or turn them into mortal enemies.

Not such an easy decision. Especially because all of my actions have tangible consequences - both in the gameplay and in the story.

The agony of choice, or: from shotgun psycho to sniper killer

«The Outer Worlds 2» gives me great freedom in customising my character. After leveling up, I receive points that I can invest in twelve skills and 90 (!) perks. The former give me incremental advantages in various core elements of the gameplay - for example when sneaking, talking or picking locks. Perks, on the other hand, give me special bonuses in one fell swoop, such as stronger armour or additional equipment slots for weapons.

The so-called «weaknesses», which the game offers me to choose from at irregular intervals, are completely bizarre and damn funny. These are particularly strong perks, but they are also associated with major disadvantages. The suggestions for these weaknesses are based on my playing style.

An example: If I often steal, the game suggests the Kleptomaniac weakness. With this weakness, I generate 100 per cent more profit when selling stolen items - the disadvantage is that I automatically steal all items that are within reach. In settlements, this compulsion can quickly lead to violent escalation.

The extensive customisation options have a big impact on how I play - much more than was the case in the first «The Outer Worlds».

At the start of my adventure, I mould my character into an unstoppable melee machine that wreaks havoc with its incendiary shotgun.

As the game progresses, however, I take a liking to sniper rifles and invest my skill and perk points in killing enemies from afar in stealth mode.

The two play styles are so different that I sometimes feel like I'm playing a different game. This is what makes role-playing systems fun!

Go Go Gadget!

Speaking of weapons: Obsidian has really stepped on the gas in this respect too. The handling of the guns and melee weapons feels much more satisfying than in the predecessor. There are so many incredibly cool murder tools that I find in the course of the game. I'm constantly switching between weapon sets and experimenting with new combinations.

In addition to conventional weapon types, such as the shotguns and sniper rifles already mentioned, I always find grotesque creations that make me laugh.

My three favourites: The «shrink ray», which I use to shrink opponents to the size of mice and then crush them. The «Gumerang», which shoots bouncing balls of biomass - in other words: shit. And the «ball blender», which I can feed with all available types of ammunition and never have to reload.

By the way: «The Outer Worlds 2» doesn't have a carry limit at all. I can carry as many weapons, ammunition, armour and items as I want. As an old Bethesda and Obsidian fan, this brings tears of joy to my eyes. I never want to go back to the old system.

The already crazy weapons can also be upgraded with all kinds of mods, some of which drastically change the way they work.

So, dear «Protectorate» follower - how would you like to be murdered today? How about with a whisper-quiet shotgun so that nobody notices your demise? Or would you prefer a machine gun whose shots automatically follow you if you run away from me?

In addition to weapons, I now also have some gadgets at my disposal, which I use both in combat and when exploring the game world.

A marvellous set of extras that usefully enhance the already excellent combat system and offer even more depth to the game.

Together on the battlefield

As if that weren't enough options in battle, I also have the option of recruiting six companions. Up to two of them accompany me, the rest wait dutifully in the spaceship

My companions have different specialities in which they prove to be helpful. The cute robot Valerie heals me in battle, the hero Tristan specialises in close combat and the special agent Marisol shoots enemies from a safe distance.

I can also improve my comrades-in-arms with perks and skills and customise them to my playing style. I don't have to worry much about them when I'm fighting. Every now and then I activate their special abilities at the touch of a button, otherwise they act autonomously on the battlefield.

That's a good thing - because I found the excessive commanding of my comrades-in-arms in Obsidian's recently released fantasy RPG «Avowed» rather tedious than helpful most of the time.

A game world to fall in love with

The game world of «The Outer Worlds 2» is probably the best Obsidian has ever created

The way I move through the alien worlds has been completely overhauled. My character runs, slides and climbs effortlessly through the area. With unlockable rocket shoes, I can even perform double jumps.

This makes exploring fun!

I'm sorry to throw superlatives around like this, but «The Outer Worlds 2» is also the best Obsidian has to offer in terms of graphics.

Compared to Bethesda's «Starfield», the sci-fi worlds look pleasingly colourful and inspire with beautiful light effects, especially in dark scenarios - including beguiling lens flare effects. The characters and their clothing are modelled in incredible detail - it's just a shame that the facial animations are as stiff and lifeless as ever.

The soundscape inspires with epically arranged orchestral sounds and powerful sound effects when firing weapons.

I really like the radio stations, which I can activate at any time. While I'm bombarded with adverts on «Auntie's Choice», the «The Order» station uses scientific and mathematical problems in songs - for example in the Fibonacci song. Marvellous

What I like most about the game world, however, is how alive and responsive it feels - especially compared to the first «The Outer Worlds» or «Avowed».

«The Outer Worlds 2» is filled to the brim with exciting stories that are elegantly integrated into the complex lore of the universe. Even minor quests and unimportant characters tell an exciting story and are written with great attention to detail and wit. My companions aren't just soulless helpers either, but fleshed-out characters who can rebel against me if I behave too much like an arsehole.

It's particularly cool that the world doesn't just act as a rigid backdrop, but reacts consistently to my decisions. How I develop my character, which weapons I use and how I behave in the story has a big influence on my options in the missions and in the dialogues.

More to the point, «The Outer Worlds 2» is a game that isn't afraid to exclude me from content. That makes my achievements all the more valuable.

I've offended a faction leader? Tough luck, now they don't want to hear from me. I accidentally activated a self-destruct mechanism while infiltrating an enemy base and unintentionally killed a recruitable companion? That's how it can go. Yes, I can even miss out on important items like the aforementioned rocket boots if I'm not paying close attention.

The spice lies in the brevity

Like its predecessor, «The Outer Worlds 2» is not a gigantic game. I see the end credits after around 35 hours. If I had focussed exclusively on the main story, I would probably have got through it in under 20 hours.

For me, the compact game length is not a point of criticism. Even though it's not a 100-hour RPG monster, I found myself getting lost in the game world for hours on end during extensive sessions. It's just a shame that I reached the level cap (level 30) relatively quickly. I would have liked to have unlocked and experimented with even more skills and perks.

With all the untested possibilities and missed game content, I'm itching to give it another go - and this time I won't accidentally kill my companions.

Corners and edges

In spite of all the praise and superlatives, I have to conclude by saying that «The Outer Worlds 2» is not a «perfect» game, despite its top score. The menus in particular drive me crazy at times. They are confusing, lack clever sorting options and sometimes they just don't work as they should.

With the complex lore for the various factions, I would also have liked more detailed codex entries. If you're not careful, it's easy to lose track of the many characters and their motivations.

I also encountered a few bugs and glitches during my testing. Fortunately, however, far fewer than is usual for this type of game. Characters that remain silent, quest icons that appear incorrectly, broken animations. But nothing that blocked my progress or annoyed me in the long term.

Overall, «The Outer Worlds 2» feels surprisingly technically mature. The performance is just right on the PS5 Pro in «Balanced» mode. In this mode, I achieve 40 FPS in 4K. I only notice major frame rate drops at one particular point in the game, which I can't go into in detail for spoiler reasons.

«The Outer Worlds 2» is available from 29 October - for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Game Pass. I tested the PS5 Pro version, which was provided to me by Microsoft.

We also talk about the game in the A Tech Affair podcast. You can listen in here:

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

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