Alright, this is going to be a quick article relating to my first impressions of The Outer Worlds 2. Perhaps in the future I'll give a full review, but at around 7 hours into the game I wanted to provide you all with my snap judgment and clear up some possible misconceptions I've seen in other reviews of the game. Also, this will be free of spoilers.
I won't bury the lede here. This is a much better game than the original. As the title suggests, the general feel of the game, to me, is nearly exactly like that of Fallout: New Vegas. Similar to New Vegas, I bought The Outer Worlds 2 on a whim and hoped for the best. And like New Vegas, I've been a bit blown away by what is on offer here.
This game is literally the New Vegas formula wrapped in Unreal Engine 5, replacing the post-apocalyptic western themes for those of science fiction. That alone might convince some of you to want to play, but allow me to expand on some of the other aspects I've noticed.
A common refrain I've seen from some reviewers, even the positive ones, is that the game is "not open world," and "not a sandbox," or that it has "bad companions." I'd respectfully disagree on all of these based on what I've seen so far. The game uses the "open zone" model, so while it's not all on one map like say Skyrim, the amount of freedom of movement and exploration is equal to your average Bethesda game.
Take Starfield for example. I actually enjoyed that game a decent amount, but I recognize its flaws. People agree it is "open world" right? Well The Outer Worlds 2 feels to be of a similar scale to me, in fact it sometimes feels bigger because everything is handcrafted. Every location can be entered, plundered, explored, etc. I'm still only on the first planet and it easily matches Bethesda style games in the feel of its scope (not taking into account procedurally generated empty spaces).
On the subject of the game being a "sandbox," well I suppose it depends on your definition. It certainly feels like a sandbox when you interact with the skills system and roleplay your character into approaching quests in the way you want to approach them. The game is insanely reactive to how you build your character, from how people talk to you, to how the world responds to your chosen skillset.
Like Skyrim, you also have the ability to do things "out of order" if you are off randomly exploring. You might find a quest item randomly, and that might save you a ton of time when you happen upon the quest giver later in the game.
On the companions, like I said, I'm still early in the game. But I have seen nothing up to this point that would suggest they are any worse than your average companion in say, Mass Effect. They are certainly better than the companions in the first Outer Worlds and in New Vegas, at least in my opinion. From the very start of the game you are given a few choices that directly impacts the personality and outlook of your first companion, which I thought was pretty cool.
My favorite element in the game so far, beyond the freedom of choice and roleplaying potential reminiscent of New Vegas, is the extent of the dialogue options. This is classic Obsidian, and it feels much like the systems they used in Knights of the Old Republic II mixed with the reactivity of Alpha Protocol. There's a lot of choice, consequence, and flavor here. Dialogue matters in terms of your reputation with the various factions, how people think of you (they remember what you do and say to them), and more.
To sum up my early impressions, this is going to be a game with long legs. Maybe it won't be seen as super successful from the start (I know many were rightfully wary of the $70 price tag), but in time I think The Outer Worlds 2 will be remembered as a classic Obsidian roleplaying game on par with Knights of the Old Republic II and Fallout: New Vegas. If you were skeptical about this game based on the first Outer Worlds, don't be. I thought the first one was alright, but it wasn't anything close to this. This is peak Obsidian, and if you've ever called yourself a fan of their games, you need to play it.
Comments
Post a Comment
Be kind and think critically.