The Outer Worlds 2 bookends a strong year of releases for Xbox Game Studios and Obsidian Entertainment’s second major release after Avowed. The critical reception was fairly strong – we praised the storytelling, branching paths, and gunplay, and the sci-fi RPG maintains a solid 84 Metascore based on 52 reviews.
However, there are dissenting opinions, including Warhorse Studios’ Daniel Vávra, who directed the slightly more critically acclaimed Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Having finished the title recently, he gave it a seven out of ten on Twitter, expressing his sadness at Obsidian as a whole.
“The company and the people who gave us one of my favorite games ever (Fallout and New Vegas) have been unable, even after 15 years and with all of Microsoft’s money and latest technological advances, to come up with a single new game mechanic that could take this proven but ancient formula somewhere new.”
Asking users to think of a “single new game mechanic” that Deus Ex or the original Fallout titles hadn’t featured over 25 years ago, Vávra exclaimed, “Give me a living, simulated world! True non-linearity! Give me something more than loot boxes, maintenance shafts, loading screens and level grinding in a static, scripted world.”
When told that many of the talent who created Fallout: New Vegas and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 left long ago, he responded, “Not really. Lot of the key people and founders are still in charge.”
It sounds like Vávra is demanding something closer to his own creation, though we’re unsure if he’s referring to chests when mentioning “loot boxes.” On the one hand, the industry has proven there’s more than enough room for both kinds of experiences – an action RPG with a branching narrative and multiple companions, and a medieval sandbox with immersive elements and incredible scale.
However, some yearn for more ambitious titles from Obsidian. Perhaps a return to Pillars of Eternity with a budget on the scale of Baldur’s Gate 3 for a similar CRPG experience. That’s sadly not happening anytime soon, though.
For those who enjoyed The Outer Worlds 2, two story expansions are in the works. Their release dates and content have yet to be revealed.
