What parents need to know
The Outer Worlds 2 is an action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment, a studio with a long track record in terms of role-playing games (Fallout New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, Avowed). This is obviously the sequel to The Outer Worlds, released in 2019.
The events of this sequel take place almost a hundred years after the previous game, in a brand new solar system, Arcadia. Even though there’s almost a century of history between the two games (actually, even if you haven’t played the first game), it doesn’t matter, because not much has changed; Hyper-capitalist companies continue to colonize space to exploit its resources (and inhabitants), and other small groups try to survive under the boot of shameless capitalism.
For your part, you are a representative of the Earth Directory, a band of heroes who try to bring justice to the cosmos (or at least, the closest thing to it in this universe). But unfortunately (be careful, spoiler), you get betrayed by an esteemed colleague, and find yourself floating in space for a decade before your former subordinate finds you.
The rest is up to you. Will you try to bring some order back to the solar system? Or will you instead set him on fire in your quest for revenge?
Each planet in the solar system offers a small map hiding several cities and towns, quests and enemies to face. On the other hand, no space travel; We teleport from one planet to another using the navigation screen in our spaceship.
The Outer Wilds 2 is an action role-playing game, sometimes referred to as an immersive simulator. Depending on how you shape your character, your quest will take a unique direction. The possibilities are numerous; You can play as a complete idiot who succeeds in his goals out of sheer luck (or pity), a trigger-happy person who shoots everything that moves, a hacker with a silver tongue, or a money-obsessed seducer. Anything is possible (or almost).
New in The Outer Wilds 2, it is now possible to play in third person if you prefer this traditional first-person shot. You can use a variety of firearms in your fights, as well as melee weapons.
Most of the time, it’s also possible to avoid fights if that’s your goal. You can create a stealthy character who lurks in the shadows, or a charismatic character who will convince others to give him what he wants without violence… or who will be able to persuade others to do the dirty work for him when it is impossible.
You are also accompanied by companions who have their own personalities, talents and quests. You can develop your relationship with them, improve their attacks, and discuss your quest with them.
In short, The Outer Worlds plunges the player into a huge interplanetary sandbox, but how to enjoy it is up to you.
Details
Level of experience required
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Evaluation
The Outer Worlds 2 is not a horror game, but we don’t skimp on violence. Blood and dismemberment are commonplace.
There may be oblique mentions of sexuality, but there is no nudity per se.
As the voices are only available in English, you will have to read a lot if you don’t master the language of Shakespeare. In any case, reading many blocks of text (in computer terminals, for example) is required to understand the story and the objectives to be achieved. The vocabulary is rich and sometimes specific to this science fiction universe.
The Outer Worlds 2 certainly presents a critique of uninhibited capitalism, as well as a certain ecological morality. On the other hand, as far as the morality of your character is concerned, it belongs to you. You can be a noble hero who considers life sacred or a troublemaker who kills and plunders without remorse.
The execution with the controller is not very complex, it is not the most nervous shooter there is. On the other hand, you still have to think carefully about the development of your character to do well.
The title is quite expensive. It retails for $89.99 in addition to the expansions sold for $40. Thankfully, the amount of content on offer helps soften the impact of this hefty price tag.
Local game modes
Single player mode.
Online Game Modes
None.
Expansions/Add-ons (DLC)
Two story expansions are planned in the coming months. It costs an additional $40 to buy them in advance.
Our opinion
The Outer Worlds 2 is a mastered game if not revolutionary. If you’ve played any of Obsidian’s games of the same type (whether it’s Fallout New Vegas, The Outer Worlds, or Avowed), you know what to expect with this new installment.
On the other hand, if it doesn’t offer many new ideas, The Outer Worlds 2 continues to deepen them. Each quest approaches in a myriad of ways. There are often many quest outcomes, but the ways to complete them are also varied.
For example, in one of the main quests of the game (we will remain vague so as not to spoil the surprises), we must determine the guilt or innocence of a character. You can find a lot of clues: if you have good medical knowledge, you can discover details that have escaped the authorities by observing corpses. If you have a good sense of observation, you will be able to realize that the paper activity record has been tampered with, but if you are good at hacking, you will be able to access the computer version. If you manage as a pickpocket, you can steal an employee’s key and visit sections restricted to visitors. And if you excel in charisma, you can extract confessions from the different actors.
Or we can very well ignore all these options, and assassinate the leader who hired us to investigate the case. This is also a valid approach.
On the other hand, these many options put more emphasis on the construction of your character, and in this sense, The Outer Wilds 2 is not a game for role-playing game beginners. If you do what I did and try to be good at everything, you find yourself mostly good at nothing, which complicates your adventure.
Don’t get me wrong; It’s not a flaw in the game. It’s part of his proposal. The Outer Wilds 2 requires us to really think about the character we want to play, with its strengths and weaknesses. That’s interesting.
By the way, the flaw system returns in The Outer Worlds 2, for the better. The flaws are characteristics that are available to us according to our style of play, offering both bonuses and penalties. For example, during my game, I tended to be a big spender in the shops, constantly emptying my savings. I was then offered the default Compulsive Spender basically, my crew thought I was too spendthrift, and then decided to automatically take 75% of my money earnings to invest it. In return, the sums were given to me with interest at all 5 levels.
With these kinds of systems, The Outer Worlds manages to make us feel really involved in the development of our character, while making each adventure a unique adventure. It can take 40 hours to complete the game if you do the side quests, but you could easily replay it several times and approach the adventure in a unique way each time.
But do we want to explore this world of Arcadia? Some will lament that we are offered several small planets of moderate size instead of one large continuous map. We understand the feeling, but for my part, it’s not a real flaw. Each planet offers a different environment, and a different political situation. It brings variety and we appreciate it.
We might have taken a Starfield-style spaceship flight system, but at the rate at which the very prolific studio Obsidian releases games, we understand that some sacrifices are made.
On the other hand, visually, The Outer Worlds 2 is not a game that shines by its presentation. The quality of the textures, lighting and facial animations is decent, nothing more. It’s not shocking, but it’s also not a visual slap in the face that invites us to explore further.
In terms of music, we are offered several radio sets with different sound atmospheres. For example, the corporation’s radio station Auntie’s Choice offers us oldies-style advertising songs from the 50s (think Fallout), interspersed with segments of capitalist propaganda. The Order’s radio, on the other hand, offers us a completely soaring New Age soundtrack.
However, a small note; The audio mix is inadequate. It is very difficult to hear the words of radio hosts if there is noise in the environment, such as a gun fight. You can adjust the sound mix in the options, but it requires a lot of adjustments, and it should be more functional to begin with.
In short, The Outer Wilds 2 is not a revolutionary game, but it is a very nice evolution of its predecessor. If you are a fan of this kind of games, the Fallout, Skyrim and Avowed of this world, you will not regret your purchase. After all, long live capitalism!
Note: a code has been given to us by the publisher for critical purposes. The opinions mentioned are our own.
