Obsidian brought The Outer Worlds 2 to Gamescom, and while I didn’t get to go hands-on, I watched a live demo played by one of the game’s animators. And, as a fan of the first game, I was happy that Obsidian isn’t trying to reinvent what I liked about it.
The mission we saw was framed as a stealth operation with our two companions, but once the first enemy went down, it quickly escalated into an all-out firefight.
The building we were infiltrating was apparently a tomb, but you wouldn’t have guessed it from the outside. The whole area had that recognizable Art Deco style, visually familiar to the first game but a touch more refined.
Not reinventing the wheel
Movement and gunplay looked very much in line with The Outer Worlds, which is a positive – I had no complaints the first time around. In terms of new gadgets, the biggest standout was a time-slowing consumable that will remind you of Max Payne.
Customization was also a big focus of the demo. Weapons could be tailored in multiple ways, kitted out with all the weird and wonderful attachments you’d expect, and completing the mission rewarded a slick new outfit for the protagonist.
My main criticism of the first Outer Worlds was simply that it ended before I felt like I was done with it – it could have been 10-20 hours longer. Based on what I saw here, Obsidian hasn’t reinvented the wheel but instead doubled down on what made the first game just straightforward fun. Hopefully, the story is fleshed out too, as I could easily see myself spending another 100 hours in this world.
To know that, we’ll need to wait until The Outer Worlds 2 releases on October 29, 2025. It’s coming to PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. With its familiar systems and expanded customization, it looks like a confident continuation of the series rather than a complete overhaul.
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