With a large dose of humor and satire, American Xbox-owned Obsidian has taken on the storytelling in "The Outer Worlds 2". And it may be needed when the game paints a bleak future vision in a distant galaxy where different giant companies and factions quarrel over power and politics. Someone uses research as a religion, another is authoritarian.
The common denominator between them is that they violate people who lack power, but we get the chance to see them through different perspectives, says Brandon Adler, director.
"Serious consequences"
Like its 2019 predecessor, it's about moving around in the open world, shooting, sneaking and building your character.
We want to make sure that players have choices that have serious consequences in one way or another. You have to think about what you do because the world will respond to it, says Adler.
How you choose to play is up to yourself. If you want to shoot everyone you meet - do it.
On the other side of the spectrum, you can try to gather people and cooperate with the different factions to build understanding and alliances between them and have as many as possible supporting you in the end, says Matthew Singh.
Game with flaws
Usually in role-playing games, the character is built stronger along the way. So also in "The Outer Worlds 2". But the game also works with flaws. It analyzes your style, and if it notices that you crawl around a lot, you may be offered the flaw "bad knees". It makes you move faster, but every time you get up, it cracks loudly in the knees, so that enemies can hear you.
If you steal a lot, you can get kleptomania, which makes you able to sell items more expensively, the downside is that you pick up things automatically - even in poorly chosen situations. Usually, the flaw is a choice, but there is also another variant and if you choose it, you are forced to accept all flaws.
It can create really fun and interesting experiences and challenges if you want to play that way, says Singh.
Obsidian Entertainment is based in Irvine, California, and is best known for its role-playing games.
The studio was formed in 2003 and debuted the following year with "Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords". Two years later, "Neverwinter Nights 2" was released, and in 2010 "Fallout: New Vegas". The crowdfunded "Pillars of Eternity" was released by Swedish Paradox in 2015.
In 2018, Obsidian was acquired by Microsoft and has since released "The Outer Worlds" (2019), "Grounded" (2022), "Pentiment" (2022), "Avowed" (2025), and "Grounded 2" (2025).
"The Outer Worlds 2" will be released on Xbox Series, PS5, and PC on October 29.
