It feels like a lifetime ago since we first explored the world of Halcyon in the first Outer Worlds. The tale of corporate greed and Obsidian-typical humor just grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go until the credits rolled – despite the issues the game faced at launch. Moving forward to 2025, The Outer Worlds 2 gets increasingly more coverage as it nears its release, and our slightly irradiated hearts couldn’t be happier about that.
This next chapter in Obsidian’s saga is shaping up to be another cocktail of sharp satire, cynical jokes, and (hopefully) a return to form concerning the RPG freedom and player choice-driven narrative we came to expect from the studio.
As someone who poured a worrying amount of hours into The Outer Worlds and its DLC’s Peril on Gorgon and Murder on Eridanos, I’ve been waiting for The Outer Worlds 2 since its announcement.
Very few games have managed to balance witty dialogue and meaningful player choice – especially not with that underlying satire that The Outer Worlds bled from every pore. In an unsurprising turn of events, recent teasers, like the one at the Xbox Games Showcase in June, have shown one thing front and center; they’re doubling down on the satire while making the overarching plot a bit more serious.
Capitalism in Space, But Make It Funny
For me, the magic of The Outer Worlds has never been its gunplay, which, let’s face it, is lagging behind some other shooters out there.
The writing, the world-building, and the satirical way it makes fun of corporate structures, despite the fact that Obsidian is now flying under Microsoft’s banner. Every quest is sort of like that one pitch meeting gone wrong and the factions are real parodies of something painfully real for anyone living on planet earth.
Spacer’s Choice, Auntie Cleo, Sublight – they’re all in-game caricatures of companies you and I have definitely dealt with, and that’s the charm of it all. It feels exaggerated, sure, but you know deep down, it really isn’t, if you think about it.
From what Obsidian has teased for the sequel to The Outer Worlds, their satire is still as razor-sharp and edgy as we remember it.
Social Commentary With a Cheeky Smile
The great gist of The Outer Worlds lies in its ability to mirror the absurdities of real life.
Sure, it’s set in a retro-futurist colony run by megacorps, but tell me you don’t see parallels every time Amazon drops a new gadget or a food brand tries to sell you “personality.” That’s the satire; you laugh, then you realize you’re probably pre-ordering something in real life while your in-game character mocks people for doing the exact same thing.
The first game nailed this balance, and the sequel looks poised to sharpen that commentary. Expect biting humor about labor exploitation, loyalty programs, surveillance, and all the corporate nonsense we willingly sign up for.
Obsidian doesn’t preach. It mocks endlessly, and in mocking, it makes the truth sting even more.
All Hail Spacer’s Choice – But Beware, Your Purchase Might Still Malfunction
Let’s face it, Obsidian Entertainment doesn’t need to sell people on The Outer Worlds 2.
What we need from the sequel is more of that satirical bite, more choices in the dialogue trees, and definitely making us second-guess ourselves. We want that feeling of “oh shoot, I shouldn’t have done that. But…why did it feel so good?”.
This world needs to deliver the same sharp tongue and cohesive world-building that, let’s be real, is just a little too familiar for comfort. If The Outer Worlds 2 delivers that and keeps the momentum going with meaningful companions to boot, we all know that Obsidian has stolen my valuable time for a second time. And my paycheck too.
