In my first impressions post for The Outer Worlds 2, I asked the all-important question: is the game more than just a pretty face? Now that I’ve completed the game after some 50(ish) hours of traipsing about its Arcadia system, I can safely say that it is.

The end.

Alright, maybe not. But here’s the thing. That feeling of “oh, suddenly this is over,” which did occur at the end of the game, really put a damper on the experience. Because before I hit its rather sudden point of no return, I was having a very good time. A much better time than I expected I have when my Earth Directorate agent Lila Torres was a mere level 5 recruit. By the time she capped at 30, she was a lean, mean fighting machine. The only problem was that, by then, the game had little fight left save for some uninteresting fetch quests and the ending.

Mild disappointment aside, The Outer Worlds 2 is a solid game. Players take on the role an Earth Directorate agent, who is charged with investigating mysterious rifts that have popped in Arcadia system. This is after the agent witnesses the destruction a major space station due to one such rift – they are a problem and must be stopped before they destroy the universe, obviously. Unfortunately, Arcadia itself is being torn apart by a war between its three main factions: the tyrannical Protectorate, the invading mega-corp Auntie’s Choice, and the mathematically minded Order of the Ascendant.

As the game progresses, it’s up to the player to which factions to support, thereby determining the system’s fate, while also uncovering the origin of the rifts. While situations may seem black and white at first, Obsidian did a nice job layering in emotion and consequence. It’s not perfect, and I won’t beleaguer the issue of skill checks – I eventually came to terms with them and understand that they contribute to replayability (take that with a grain of salt) – but I came out of the experience feeling like my agent had palpable changes the world.

Furthering the positivism, I liked that while The Outer Worlds 2 lives in the general universe Obsidian created in the first game, it’s a wholly separate entity. Its world-building in pitting a megalomaniacal society against a mega-corporation against a mathematical sect is enjoyable to explore, even if the Earth Directorate’s role in the conflict becomes a little muddled along the way. The game offers some excellent character interactions, and much like with companions in the first game, the one in the second game are stellar. Auntie’s Choice grafted soldier Inez became Lila’s “best friend” of the crew. I really enjoyed the process of getting to know her while playing through her distinct quests. A close second to Inez was Protectorate arbiter Tristan. One thing that Obsidian does quite well is provided opportunities for players to bump up against characters’ moral compasses. I had no love for the Protectorate with Lila, and Tristan’s rebukes came through loud and clear whenever the two butted heads. This led to some fascinating conversations, and it drew me into these character’s stories.

I can see myself returning to The Outer Worlds 2, more so than the first game. (Which I did try but a second playthrough didn’t stick. Since The Outer Worlds is a smaller game with less consequence, I found myself retreading the same path I had taken initial without much else to explore.) But this brings me back to its abrupt ending. The Outer Worlds 2 is a larger game than the first – its explorable region are bigger and contain more points of interest. However, when that the point of no return hit, my gut reaction was “that’s it??” Part of this may have come from the odd design of the game’s map of the Arcadia system. Save for the four planets and one station (eventually two) that came to populate it, it was rather…empty. Maybe that means there’s room for some DLC spots to show up? I don’t know. By the end, I also found myself questioning “was this a $70 dollar game?” But that’s a matter for a different post.

The Outer Worlds 2 was a good time, and it still gets a thumbs-up regardless of its flaws (or maybe because of them!). Maybe Obsidian will perfect its “Outer Worlds” formula with more content for this game, or even another game down the road. They’ve got the chops for it. Maybe the final question is “will players still be paying attention to games like The Outer Worlds then?”

All images, including lede, were captured by author during Xbox Series S gameplay of The Outer Worlds 2 (© Obsidian Entertainment).