Outer Worlds 2 Review: Capitalism is still awful but the RPG is great
- Nathan Walters
- Nov 10
- 5 min read
Outer Worlds 2 is the point where this series has stopped auditioning and actually walked on stage.
I liked the first game well enough, but it never settled in my memory the way Pillars or even Alpha Protocol did. It was clever, it was short, it was a good idea about runaway capitalism, but it always felt like the foundations were still being laid. This time around it feels as if Obsidian knows exactly what sort of sci fi RPG this is, who it is speaking to, and how far it can push the joke without turning the whole thing into a sketch.
The first sign of that is the humour. The corporate satire is still very on the nose, but it is sharper and more situational now. It is not just reading fake adverts or listening to an NPC explain how health insurance does not cover bullets. It is baked into systems. The flaw system coming back is the clearest example. In my run I crouched around far too much and my character developed noisy crunching knees. That is funny on its own, but it is also a mechanical nudge that says, yes, you can min max, but the company store will collect eventually. I also skipped a few conversations and picked up what the game calls something like “foot in mouth syndrome,” where the game then starts selecting dialogue for you. That is such a good, petty, designer level joke. You could imagine the team looking at players who spam through dialogue and thinking, fine, if you rush everyone, you can live with the social consequences.
"It makes fun of capitalism, other games and itself, but the jokes usually have a place in the world."
That tone runs through a lot of the game. It is weirdly diegetic. It makes fun of capitalism, other games and itself, but the jokes usually have a place in the world. There is one quest about a strike where the factory on strike literally manufactures slogans, so of course all their chants are perfectly written. That is such an obvious gag and yet it lands, because it fits the setting. It is the kind of thing the first game wanted to do more of, but Outer Worlds 2 has the confidence to just do it.
I was a bit cautious about the reward crate and key mechanic when it first showed up. Any time an RPG asks me to start hoarding keys my eyes narrow a little. So far it has been fine, though hunting down enough keys can turn into a bit of a slog if you let it. It is not predatory or anything, it just occasionally interrupts momentum. The rest of the progression is good enough that it does not derail things, but it is worth saying.
The bit I have loved from the start is the ship customisation. Decorating your ship with mementos as you go is still here, and it still scratches that “this is my crew and my space” itch. The new wrinkle is pets. I rescued a tiny crab called Lucy from food poisoning and adopted her. At that point I could have rolled credits and been happy. It is such a small thing, but those small things are where these RPGs live. I want to look around my ship and see a trail of choices, not just a fast travel hub.
Companions are quietly excellent this time. People will talk about the combat changes or the bigger areas, but I think the companion barks and interjections are going to be overlooked. They talk to each other depending on who you bring, they react to specific things you do, and not just the big moral choices. I jumped over railings to avoid taking the stairs, like every player always does, and one of them commented on it. That kind of acknowledgement is what makes the game feel watched. It is very Bioware, very “the party is paying attention,” and it suits an RPG that says your background, skills and conversation choices matter.
"The Outer Worlds universe has always felt like a place where you stumble into situations, blag your way through and pray to the nearest corporate saint"
Which they do. It feels more sandboxy than the first. Character backgrounds actually flavour your approach, and skill investment actually locks you out of other options. I played primarily as a Lawbringer, which already has a strong flavour in this universe, but I tried Roustabout and it was hilarious. The Outer Worlds universe has always felt like a place where you stumble into situations, blag your way through and pray to the nearest corporate saint that it works, so having archetypes that lean into that is perfect. Being a suave engineer doctor who can talk anyone around but is terrible with guns because you chose to be is exactly the kind of build I like. As a D&D player, and as someone who likes how Obsidian handles stats in Pillars of Eternity, I enjoy being bad at things. Modern RPGs are terrified of letting you fail. Outer Worlds 2 is not. If you max speech and science, then yes, you do not get to be a stealth sniper hacker as well, and that is correct.
Where it really clicked for me was on Eden, the first planet. I spent fifteen hours there without feeling as if I was grinding. There were multiple ways to finish quests, side missions that led to other side missions, and a nice trickle of interesting weapons. That is when I realised the game had found its pace. The first one always felt like a short story in an interesting setting. This one is a full novel. If you do not rush, this is a solid sixty hours of RPG, and you will actually remember what happened after.
The conversations deserve a mention on their own. The writing is human. Player replies swing from righteous zeal to utter confusion to perfect undercutting sarcasm, and the NPCs are written to match. It means conversations do not feel like info dumps, they feel like two people in a ridiculous corporate hellscape trying to get through the day. It is a small craft thing, but it matters.
It is not all perfect. The biggest misstep for me is taking away the ability to change companion armour. In a game that has this many fun item designs and clearly understands that 50 percent of RPGs is character aesthetics, it is just a confusing choice. I like the new companion perks tied to their story missions, those are good and characterful, but I do not see why we could not have both. Let me dress them how I like and still unlock their personal perk line. It feels like lost potential.
So where does that leave it. Outer Worlds 2 is an RPG made by people who know this format. It is funny without being smug, it respects builds, it gives you a ship you want to come back to, it hides little reactive moments everywhere, and it finally feels like the series knows what it wants to be. A few systems drag their heels, and the armour decision needs revisiting, but that is not enough to sink it.
