The Outer Worlds 2 Review: A Smarter, Stronger Sequel That Can't Decide on the Right Tone

October 23, 2025

In my case, I wanted the benefits of talking my way into and out of sticky situations, so I boosted my speech skill, which actually let me skip an entire boss fight. Later, I noticed that engineering helped repair broken items, so I invested more points there. That backfired with the next boss; my speech skill wasn’t high enough to choose the most diplomatic option, which meant I ended up fighting even though I was close to talking him down. The Outer Worlds 2 makes it clear that specializing in a few key skills pays off, while trying to master everything leaves you with fewer unique ways to get out of tough spots.

Along with skills are perks. These are passive buffs available at every two experience levels and are based on how many points you have in your skills. With just one point in guns, for example, you can unlock an additional weapon slot. Raise that to 20 points, and your critical attacks hit for 100% more damage, with 20% of that carrying over to nearby enemies. It’s another example of how the developers encourage unique character builds, adding depth and replayability as each playthrough can feel entirely different depending on which skills you focus on.

Far-off worlds, sharper combat thrills

During my time with the previous Outer Worlds game, there was something that just felt off during combat. It was clear that gunplay and stealth were not the focal points for the developers, as enemies hardly used any tactics and weapons didn’t have any weight to them, making them feel more like firing foam Nerf darts rather than hefty bullets or laser bolts. Outer Worlds 2, however, is a totally different story. 

Combat flows smoothly, with a wide variety of weapons that use different types of ammo and include melee options. Guns range from fast-shooting pistols and powerful sniper rifles to futuristic gear like the Auto-Hacker 5000, a rapid-fire weapon that can even scramble a robot’s wiring to make it fight for you. Firefights can play out tactically, with cover-based shooting and patience, or chaotically, by charging in guns blazing. There are plenty of ways to build a character suited to either play style.

All of this variety is what makes The Outer Worlds 2 so enjoyably complex to play. How you create your character, which companions you choose, how much you explore and what skills you invest in can lead to so many different paths. I have no doubt that while I only found two or three ways to tackle most problems, there were probably several more I didn’t even notice. That’s what makes this game so compelling; you know the opportunities are out there, even if you can’t see them yet. Locked dialogue options often remind you that you’re missing the right skill points, item or piece of information, serving as the developers’ way of encouraging exploration and thinking outside the box.

For example, one of the flaws I picked at the start of the game was Abrasive. When talking to other characters, it sometimes unlocked an aggressive dialogue option along the lines of, “Do what I say, or I’ll kill you.” The problem is that these obviously over-the-top responses are usually shrugged off by NPCs, who just reply with something like, “Okay, that’s rude,” before continuing as if nothing happened. When being a jerk or a weirdo doesn’t affect NPC opinions or provoke a real reaction, it breaks the immersion.

Valerie, the robot companion and one of the first members of your crew, is a walking — or rather, floating — example of this. She’ll drop random robotic one-liners that state the obvious, like reminding you that if you stay on a ship that’s about to explode, you have a 99.99% chance of expiring. The same goes for certain characters you meet who act flamboyant simply for the sake of being flamboyant.