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Highly anticipated RPG sequel The Outer Worlds 2 has been out in the wild for about a week. In that time, many fans have gotten to check out the latest from Obsidian Entertainment. Initial reviews from critics landed the game with a solid 84 Metacritic Rating, placing it as a worthwhile sequel to its predecessor. But since those early reviews from critics, fans have weighed in. And the user score is decidedly more mixed, at a 6.6/10. So, why the difference?
It’s not unusual for critics and fans to disagree, but the difference isn’t always quite so dramatic. Early reviews, including ’s, praised the game for its design and polish. Many also felt that The Outer Worlds 2 feels more immersive than its predecessor, thanks to an expanded world and performance improvements. But many fans who loved The Outer Worlds are less impressed, with some even calling it “a major disappointment.”
Some The Outer World Fans Aren’t Sold On Its Sequel
On Metacritic, a few hundred fans have weighed in about The Outer Worlds 2. And many of these players had some pretty strong critiques of the game, with some key details coming up time and time again. Many felt that the game had “a lack of interesting companions,” especially compared to the first game. Another commonly cited issue is the game’s sense of humor, which didn’t quite land with fans the way it did in The Outer Worlds. As one user review put it, this follow-up is missing “the silly charm of 1.”
That said, the game’s 6.6 average score is largely a result of a few strongly negative reviews. It’s clear many fans are disappointed with the writing, characters, and the relative emptiness of the world. But not everyone disagrees with the game’s initial critic reviews. On Steam, for instance, the game has achieved a Very Positive review average. This rating comes from over 2,200 reviews, so it may well be more of a representative sample than the 200-odd user ratings on Metacritic.
For those who are enjoying the RPG sequel, it’s getting good marks for improving upon the first game’s mechanics. In particular, the gunplay and movement are more refined, and the Flaws system has gotten even better. That said, even those who gave it overall positive reviews do note that writing doesn’t feel quite to the level of The Outer Worlds, especially where companions are concerned.
Read Next Outer Worlds 2 Flaw System Spawns New Elder Scrolls Meme, And It’s Perfection
One thing that stands out to me is that, for an RPG on Steam, the game isn’t getting the usual influx of negative reviews for being poorly optimized for PC. It seems like Obsidian definitely stuck the landing here, avoiding massive issues that have plagued other RPG releases this year. The game clearly runs well, even if opinions on the actual gameplay and story are a bit more mixed.
The Outer Worlds 2 is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. It was a day-one Xbox Game Pass release.
Have you played The Outer Worlds 2 yet? What did you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the Forum!
The Outer Worlds 2 Is Expansive, Hilarious, And Hard To Put Down (Review)
