Obsidian have really come to the forefront of accomplished developers in the last few years, and that is due in no small part to the success of The Outer Worlds. While their own IPs like Pillars of Eternity afforded them the opportunity to make a name for themselves, their most notable title in recent memory is the sci-fi shooter released in 2018. The Outer Worlds was hugely praised by both critics and fans alike, with many players dubbing it “Fallout in space”, and it was quick to appeal to those who enjoyed Obsidian’s style of writing coupled with an open world setting. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t room for improvement. During E3 2021, a short teaser was released for The Outer Worlds 2 and fans finally had confirmation that they would get to revisit this fascinating world. With more information hopefully on the horizon in the coming months, it got me thinking about what could have made my experience with the first game even more enjoyable than it already was. With that in mind, here are eight things I want to see in The Outer Worlds 2.
8/8-More To Explore
The Outer Worlds does provide a galaxy’s worth of planets to explore, all with their own unique environments and cast of characters to interact with. However, it cannot help but feel a tad exhaustive at times. Some of the locations you can explore are small, confined cities while others can be somewhat repetitive open spaces. While it is certainly not enough to sour the experience, it does leave one wanting more, especially with a sequel confirmed to be in the works. Additionally, there are only three planets you can explore during the vanilla game, along with a few space stations and a dungeon-style prison during the game’s final mission. The DLC, too, adds one more planet and an asteroid to visit. A larger number of locations to explore with some more variety in topography and wildlife would make the game even more of a joy to play. Something along the lines of Mass Effect: Andromeda, only not so desolate. This would also allow for more side quests and NPC encounters for the player to come across and would, in turn, naturally add to the world-building and sense of scale felt from discovering new stories in every corner of the galaxy.
7/8-Third-Person Camera
Despite the fact that Fallout: New Vegas-one of Obsidian’s most famous titles-had a third-person camera, The Outer Worlds only affords the player the opportunity to play in first-person. Whether this was a conscious choice or due to technological limitations or time constraints is unclear, but it was one of the first things players noticed. A third-person camera is not a necessity by any means. There are several games that only include first-person whose enjoyability does not suffer and there are others that include the option of both perspectives, with players preferring first-person. But in a game like The Outer Worlds, it would be nice to have the choice to switch between the two. Though it could be argued that a first-person perspective makes for a more intimate experience with both companions and NPCs as the story unfolds, I am not suggesting they remove the first-person camera altogether or alter the dialogue at all. But there is potential for a simple quality of life improvement in the sequel. For a game with incredible views and endless potential for screenshots, why not allow players to include themselves in the shot? Better yet, add a photo mode and be done with it as a compromise. There were several occasions during my playthrough of The Outer Worlds where I was impressed with how my character and his companions looked, only to be reminded that there was no satisfying way to capture the moment. The idle camera mechanic serves as a stand-in, but it just isn’t the same. Hopefully, The Outer Worlds 2 can address this.
6/8-Variety Of Armour
Off of the point about taking screenshots of the player character, it is worth noting that the armour that is available in the game is definitely an area for improvement. In terms of functionality, it works perfectly fine and most of the sets found later in the game have high enough defence that taking damage isn’t so much of an issue anymore. Aesthetically, though, it seems there wasn’t a whole lot of variety. Apart from the clothing-which offers no substantial defence at all-and some specific sets of armour found later into the game, most of the outfits players find are simply different colourations of the same asset. They all look largely the same, save for which corporation has their brand logo on the side, and the excitement of discovering new equipment down the line begins to wane fairly early on once it becomes clear the selection is pretty poor. More of a selection in what the player can wear, and even some faction-specific armours that all look distinctly different, would enhance the player’s experience with The Outer Worlds 2.
5/8-More Companions
If there’s one thing Obsidian do perfectly, it’s companions. Back in 2010, they proved this with Fallout: New Vegas and its cast of colourful, complex characters the player could take with them on their travels. And they managed to bring the companions of The Outer Worlds to life in exactly the same flawless way. There is no improvement they could make when it comes to the companions, except for including more of them. The Outer Worlds provides six different characters that accompany the player aboard their ship and they are all a delight to interact with, providing different personal stories for the captain to take an interest in. With more of a selection of tagalongs to choose from when departing the ship, players would really feel like they have this large, diverse family accompanying them through the story. That’s not to say this wasn’t the case during the first game, only that Obsidian could capitalise on this and offer more to experience in the sequel. The loyalty missions, as well, were varied and interesting, but could possibly be longer in future.
4/8-Romance
If there was one thing missing from the captain’s journey during the events of The Outer Worlds, it’s romance. There are moments in the game where NPCs and even Parvati, the first companion encountered during the story, find themselves involved in their own romantic situations. The captain, however, has no such opportunities. Introducing a mechanic revolving around becoming involved with someone would add a new layer to the player character’s adventures through the titular outer worlds and allow them to get to know some of the characters even deeper. And not just confined to the companions, but the various NPCs could also be potential lovers and partners, whether the relationship be casual or serious. Allowing players to explore their sexuality has always been an interesting factor of games, specifically Bioware’s own space opera, and The Outer Worlds 2 should be no exception.
3/8-Vehicles/Mounts
The Outer Worlds likely did not need any additional modes of transportation and a retro-futuristic motorcycle or a rideable raptidon would have just gotten in the way. But The Outer Worlds 2 will inevitably be much larger than its predecessor and players may find themselves in the middle of nowhere with no way of getting back to what passes for civilisation in this world. To my first point in this article, Obsidian may decide to create larger, more expansive maps for each of the sequel’s new planets, which would be cause to also include a mount or vehicle of some kind. In the setting of these games, some sort of mechanic or garage to customise a land-based vehicle for the player would fit right in, as would a freakish, otherworldly stable full of domesticated monsters.
2/8-Noticeable Consequences Of The First Game’s Ending
At the end of The Outer Worlds, players are treated to a New Vegas-esque slideshow to catch them up on the decisions they’ve made over the course of the story, along with the consequences of these decisions and the effects they have had on Halcyon. At this stage, very little has been confirmed about the setting of The Outer Worlds 2, but I think it is safe to say Obsidian are leaving Halcyon behind and setting their sights on a brand new galaxy. However, that doesn’t mean certain corporations and even characters cannot migrate over. One very interesting feature that not a lot of developers avail of is importing save files or, barring that, making the decisions from the previous game at the start of the sequel for continuity’s sake. What would help to build a sense of scale and remind player’s that there is more out there in space than they can explore would be to allow the captain’s decisions in The Outer Worlds to have a knock-on effect in the sequel’s setting. Imagine a throwaway NPC working for the Board making an offhand comment about some troublesome colonist who made waves in another galaxy, or even a resident of Edgewater now trying to find a place for himself after the power to the town was redirected elsewhere. The possibilities are endless, and such attention to detail would be very satisfying to see.
1/8-A Better Final Boss
I’ve probably been somewhat overly critical of The Outer Worlds in this article, but there is one criticism I feel is genuinely justified. Near the end of the game, players stumble upon a plan to keep most of Halcyon in cryosleep while hoarding all available resources for the wealthy citizens of Byzantium. This is spearheaded by Chairman Rockwell of the Board under the guise of tackling Halcyon’s incredible food shortage. Rockwell ends up being the final boss when players go to the prison world of Tartarus to rescue Phineas, who woke them at the beginning of the game. The fight is incredibly anticlimactic, due in no small part to Rockwell’s mediocre defence and laughable damage he does to the captain. But what is even more disappointing is that it feels like he has been plucked from nowhere simply to serve as a stand-in where there was no boss fight before. It’s debatable whether this affects the overall experience, but it feels undeniable that it leaves the game on a dud note. The last fight the players take part in-and one of the last things they see before the credits-ends up being one of the worst parts of the whole game. There is an opportunity for The Outer Worlds 2 to learn from this mistake and craft an interesting, creative, and challenging final boss that will end the game on a high. Perhaps this time, the game will continue after the main story ends and players will carry on enjoying themselves venturing to new lands, but only time will tell. For now, it’s back to the Unreliable to brave the wilds of Halcyon one more time.
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