The Outer Worlds 2 (PS5)

Emotionen kommen oft zu kurz und mitunter stören logische Fehler das Abtauchen in die schicke Science-Fiction-Welt. Entscheidungsfreiheit und spielerische Tiefe sind dafür enorm und die offene Charakterentwicklung unheimlich motivierend.

To its credit, those breaks would be more of an issue if the rest of the game weren't so strong. The Outer Worlds 2 feels like the series coming into its own, carried by flexible combat options and great role-playing progression. The first Outer Worlds felt like Obsidian trying to recapture the magic of Fallout's apocalyptic future in a new spacefaring context. The Outer Worlds 2 cements this setting as its own identity that can exist alongside its sci-fi contemporaries to deliver something that is familiar, but also distinctly its own.

The Outer Worlds 2 is a thoroughly enjoyable game, but as sequels go, it's largely more of the same. While the overarching story isn't terribly interesting, the world building around it and the colony of Arcadia is great to explore. What's disappointing is a lack of improvement in too many areas. It looks better and gunplay is better, but old snags and weaknesses from the first game remain and, more importantly, it's not as exciting and new as it was the first time round.

The Outer Worlds 2 is for better and worse still fluffy gaming comfort food, but it is significantly improved and better than its predecessor in almost every way.