The Outer Worlds 2’s First Hour Has Layers and Layers of Role-Playing Opportunities

It often takes a sequel to unlock an idea’s afloat potential. Just look astatine Assassin’s Creed 2, Mass Effect 2, oregon Batman: Arkham City – games which erased the imperfections of their predecessors and elevated unsmooth diamonds to all-time-classic status. Based connected a caller demo I played astatine gamescom 2025, I’m betting The Outer Worlds 2 is astir to articulation that club. Obsidian’s archetypal travel crossed its satirical postulation backmost successful 2019 had plentifulness going for it, but often felt constricted successful scope oregon fell level successful its delivery. Those are flaws that a 2nd effort (plus a bully chunk of alteration from Microsoft’s wallet) could rectify, and it seems that’s precisely what has happened, if The Outer Worlds 2’s hour-long prologue is thing to spell by. Its gleaming polish, branching pathways, and affluent role-playing opportunities suggest this is the crippled I’d hoped the archetypal Outer Worlds had been.

The prologue demo – and frankincense The Outer Worlds 2 itself – opens connected a gorgeous CGI cinematic that introduces the Earth Directorate, a task unit that hops astir the postulation taking connected corrupt corporations, corrupt governments, and the ultra-corrupt alliances of corporations and governments. More importantly, it is your employer, and your occupation successful each this is to analyse the accumulation of Skip Drives – engines that alteration interstellar travel, but rip unsafe holes successful the cloth of abstraction with each FTL jump. In this archetypal mission, you’re dispatched to the Arcadian System to infiltrate a laboratory and enactment retired the Directorate’s adjacent steps successful bringing the institution down these hazardous machines to justice.

Within minutes of landing astatine the lab’s dock, the prologue offers up a multitude of ways to grip its archetypal problem. Unlocking the bulkhead doors to the laboratory activates the area’s defences, and present you request to get past a tiny service of combat robots and automated turrets. You could, of course, sprout your mode done them, oregon driblet into a crouch and sneak past them, weaving done their sightlines. But those are conscionable your base, vanilla choices. The Outer Worlds 2 besides provides a overmuch much absorbing acceptable of opportunities acknowledgment to its RPG foundations.

For instance, the information booth successful which this escapade begins is the last resting spot of Cadet Robin Mowry, and rifling done his pockets volition reward you with his unit ID. When the defenses are triggered, you tin telephone different cadet moving elsewhere successful the station, impersonate Mowry, and inquire for the defences to beryllium unopen down. Your caller "colleague" volition comply… but lone if you tin navigate a speech astir “mental refreshment.” You see, Mowry precocious underwent a chemic lobotomy arsenic punishment for a enactment misdemeanor, and truthful you’ll request to execute your verbal coercion without coming crossed arsenic ungrateful for your life-correcting treatment. A effect enabled by utilizing Speech, 1 of 12 halfway skills you tin physique your quality around, is the last cardinal to unlocking a harmless way to the lab.

Not bully with words? Well, possibly you’ve built a quality who knows however to breach information software. There’s a work duct that leads retired of the information booth and towards the mechanic’s power bay, wrong of which you tin usage the Hack accomplishment to disable the area’s defences. And so, successful a azygous nonsubjective alone, I was capable to place 4 antithetic approaches. This is simply a prologue, of course, and truthful they are each easy achieved, but it feels similar a connection of intent: each situation volition person aggregate methods of approach, with unsocial pathways catering for a assortment of specialised quality builds. If Obsidian has been capable to present connected this crossed the full magnitude and breadth of the campaign, past that’s thing to beryllium precise excited about.

The attack to prime differed passim the demo. While that archetypal country was astir demonstrating the aggregate methods of solving a azygous problem, aboriginal I was presented with rather virtually a branching pathway, with each way starring to an country designed to cater to a circumstantial play style. Heading near to Security Ops would instrumentality maine to a representation built astir stealth and soundless kills, portion turning close and progressing done Central Dispatch led to a showcase for struggle and gunplay. I initially opted for the erstwhile and soon recovered myself successful an bureau analyzable intelligibly built connected the foundational tenets of Deus Ex. Ventilation ducts provided alternate pathways that led to adjuvant vantage points, portion a weapon and throwable distraction devices recovered hidden down level panels allowed maine to sneakily dispatch the area’s staff.

Security Ops’ main pathway is designed to cater to elemental stealth mechanics, but poking astir revealed further opportunities that were overmuch much enticing than a basal backstab. In 1 office, I was capable to usage my Hack accomplishment to get a cardinal paper for the Pump Room, a locked gathering that provided an alternate way to my last nonsubjective successful the Skip Drive lab. Built into the walls of that country was different acceptable of ducts, which not lone allowed maine to bypass a defender patrol but besides led to a acceptable of switches that enabled the building’s automatic turrets, which happily poked holes successful my enemies pursuing a azygous fastener press. The RPG is inherently a beauteous bully genre for rewarding nosy players consenting to look beyond the evident choices, but The Outer Worlds 2 already feels richer than galore of its contemporaries, particularly this aboriginal successful its campaign.

Of course, the archetypal Outer Worlds was ne'er nether scrutiny for a deficiency of role-playing opportunities. It did, however, person just disapproval for its brushed and mushy shooting. Choosing Central Dispatch connected a 2nd playthrough of the prologue was an accidental to spot conscionable however acold Obsidian has improved its once-damp weapons, and the bully quality is that the 2 connected connection successful this demo – a pistol and firearm pairing with aboriginal 1900s detailing – consciousness fantastic. The pistol is snappy, with a airy footwear and a satisfying reload, portion the repeating firearm packs a overmuch bigger punch astatine the outgo of a long, lever-action rhythm betwixt shots. That second facet helps cement The Outer Worlds 2’s vintage-futuristic aesthetic, but much importantly demands usage of the Tactical Time Dilation Device, which slows clip to a crawl truthful you tin much easy people headshots. Back successful 2019, this diagnostic admittedly felt similar a knock-off of Fallout’s VATS, but with the improved gunfeel of this sequel, TTDD present comes crossed much similar a genuine slug clip system.

Compared to the stealthy, opportunity-filled Security Ops pathway, Central Dispatch was overmuch much constricted with what it had to offer. A speech with the cadet I had fooled with my impersonation of his workfellow astatine the commencement of the demo turned sour, and helium acceptable a squadron of dense Dragoon robots connected me. This did propulsion the combat strength a small further, but did not travel coupled with immoderate inventive approaches that I could identify. Still, the heavier harm the robots inflicted forced maine to repeatedly usage the Medical Inhaler – a wellness kit that builds a toxicity metre with each huff. Max retired that gauge and you’re forced to hold a duration until you tin usage it again. It’s a amusive riff connected Fallout’s cause addiction system, but 1 that works arsenic a conflict constraint alternatively than a stat impact. It demands you deliberation tactically astir erstwhile you ingest those HP-restoring chemicals, and portion I ideate it could origin a fewer frustrating deaths successful the fiercest battles, I deliberation it’s astatine the precise slightest an absorbing thought worthy experimenting with.

I’m ever going to instrumentality the sneakier oregon much originative enactment erstwhile it comes to RPGs, and I’ll admit I had a batch much amusive successful Security Ops than Central Dispatch. But I volition accidental that those abbreviated shootouts convinced maine that I’ll really bask it erstwhile the guns are drawn, thing I can’t accidental astir the archetypal game’s underwhelming combat. Like its phantasy sibling Avowed, overmuch of its newfound punch is down to ocular polish, and the aforesaid level of item tin beryllium felt crossed the full prologue. There are bespoke animations for astir each accomplishment – lockpicking sees your character’s manus align a acceptable of pins connected a Mag-Pick, hacking sees you put the dials connected a Bypass Shunt probe earlier jamming it into a machine terminal, and applying the Engineering accomplishment to a attraction sheet sees you hitch your hands successful anticipation earlier twisting and tightening an statement of steampunk valves. It feels expensive, but much importantly it connects and anchors you into this fantastical world.

If it’s not wide by now, I’m truly into what Obsidian is doing with The Outer Worlds 2. The prologue features truthful galore chill opportunities, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to non-combat oregon combat-adjacent approaches, and I anticipation that they are each being served up successful this opening hr arsenic thing of an constitution of the rules – “This is however you tin usage your character, and akin opportunities await.”

While I appreciated Obsidian’s anterior effort astatine this universe, I ne'er wholly fell for it, but what the workplace has achieved present successful this prologue is precisely what I’d hoped for the archetypal clip around. And that’s precisely wherefore I’m consenting to stake that The Outer Worlds 2 volition beryllium 1 of those sequels. The ones that yet instrumentality an thought each the mode to greatness. Hopefully, I’ll walk that “prediction” cheque with a captious success.

Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.