The Outer Worlds 2 review improved space-faring sequel is an enjoyable time sink

"While The Outer Worlds 2 is technically bigger than its 2019 predecessor, that decision was smart: this is not a 70 game. It is, however, a thoroughly enjoyable adventure that can easily suck up hours of your time, and one that improves upon the original game in meaningful ways. With far better combat and deeper role-playing mechanics, The Outer Worlds 2 smartly expands without spreading itself too thin even if its story fails to delight."

"You don't need to have played the first installment to understand the sequel's broad strokes: you're an agent of an obtusely benevolent space police force known as the Earth Directorate, tasked with bringing order to a galaxy known as Arcadia. Like the original game's Halcyon, Arcadia is fractured and frayed as a result of rampant capitalism, and you have unfettered power in your quest to forge new bonds or repair old ones between wildly different ideological groups, who are all armed to the teeth."

"You're regularly pulled between warring factions, but there's a bigger problem than the rifts between them: actual rifts in space. You're introduced to these as the game starts, tasked with investigating engines invented by authoritarian collectivist group the Protectorate, who are causing these tears in the fabric of space. Upon arrival, you're quickly double-crossed by a trusted associate and forced to spend a decade in suspended animation."

The Outer Worlds 2 was briefly priced at $70/$80 before Microsoft reverted it to the standard $60/$70. The game is larger than the 2019 predecessor but does not justify the higher price. Gameplay improvements include far better combat and deeper role-playing mechanics that expand the experience without spreading it too thin. The narrative, however, fails to reach the opening's peak and feels disappointing. Players assume the role of an Earth Directorate agent in Arcadia, a capitalism-fractured galaxy, investigate Protectorate engines causing spatial rifts, endure a decade of suspended animation, then must assemble a crew to confront spreading rifts.

Read at www.theguardian.com