Game Information
Game Title: The Outer Worlds 2
Platforms:
- Xbox Series X/S (Oct 29, 2025)
- PC (Oct 29, 2025)
- PlayStation 5 (Oct 29, 2025)
Trailer:
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 81 average - 90% recommended - 59 reviews
Critic Reviews
ACG - Jeremy Penter - Buy
Outer Worlds 2 has a large number of improvements but it also has some open world bloat in the form of long sprints doing absolutely nothing. Also the writing can feel as if a bit of the charm is gone, where laughing from the outside worked in the original title, in the sequel it almost feels like the laughing is gone, replaced with a smirk at most. Fun shooting though!"
AltChar - Asmir Kovacevic - 85 / 100
The Outer Worlds 2 is a deeply engaging RPG shooter that excels in storytelling, character development, and immersive world-building. Its narrative depth, branching choices, and amazing companion system make it a game that can fully captivate anyone willing to invest the time. It improves on the original with better gunplay, larger scope, prettier visuals and meaningful player decisions, offering a rewarding experience that stands on its own merits.
It has some flaws, like the dull open-world environments, an abundance of text that can hamper the pacing and punishing permanent perk choices, but these are minor drawbacks that do little to overshadow the game’s many strengths.
I think this one is worth your money, and it’s a no-brainer if you’re a Game Pass subscriber.
But Why Tho? - Charles Hartford - 9 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 comes together to deliver a fantastic journey. Despite some narrative hiccups, the worlds, organizations and individual players encounter, and sometimes kill, are always engaging and frequently fun.
CNET - Oscar Gonzalez - Unscored
The Outer Worlds 2 is one of my favorite RPGs released this year, and it’s so close to greatness. It has practically everything I wanted in a game (enough that I could have considered it even better than Mass Effect), but Obsidian just missed the mark with its tone. Who knows, maybe the company will figure it out with the third game in the series.
Console Creatures - Bobby Pashalidis - 9 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 is an odd game. It’s bigger than its predecessor, more absurd, and fires on all cylinders, but it’s also a game developed by a studio now run by a megacorporation. For all its inherent themes, it’s bizarre seeing them transposed with the ongoing issues at Microsoft over the last several months. This is a game that is made by some of the best in the business, but you can deliver hit after hit and still face the chopping block. If The Outer Worlds 2 is Obsidian’s swan song (which I doubt it is), then know that it’s easily the studio’s best game since Fallout: New Vegas and one of this year’s best video games.
Dexerto - Jessica Filby - 3 / 5
After waiting six years for another crack at The Outer Worlds, it feels disappointing to be met with a sequel that is so promising but marred by a poor first half and frustrating Flaws. But the game isn’t a total flop, saved by its whimsical charm, vivid dystopian subject matter, and the classic, slower, and more explorative design that Obsidian games have perfected.
Final Weapon - Saras Rajpal - 3.5 / 5
The Outer Worlds 2 is a fantastic modern RPG. The emphasis on player choice and customization, the great dialogue and characters, exceptional worldbuilding, and fun gameplay mechanics make it one of Obsidian’s best games in years. However, that excitement is hindered by frustrating navigation mechanics, constant glitches, and characters that lack depth due to the absence of romances and natural speech options. While this is a great return to form for the genre, you may be better off waiting for all of the issues to be fixed in a post-launch update before buying.
Game8 - Aaron Bacabac - 90 / 100
The Outer Worlds 2 expands on everything that made the first game shine — sharper writing, bigger worlds, and richer choices — all wrapped in Obsidian’s signature corporate satire. It’s funnier, deeper, and far more polished, though the no-respec rule might test your patience. Still, it’s a clever, confident sequel that proves refinement can be just as satisfying as reinvention.
GameSpot - Steve Watts - 8 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 imbues Obsidian’s spacefaring RPG series with its own identity, letting you bumble your way through corporate and cultish intrigue in space.
Gamepressure - Matt Buckley - 8 / 10
Obsidian’s brilliant use of their flaws system in The Outer Worlds 2 makes it stand out as one of the best examples of how to encourage roleplaying in video games. Playing through this game really felt like I was breaking out of the shell that most other RPGs put me in. The world, its various factions, and characters all enhance this by encouraging you to make your own choices about who to be and what to do. Ultimately, this makes the game well worth your time, but also flawed in its own way, with occasionally frustrating combat, and a serviceable story to follow.
Gamers Heroes - Blaine Smith - 95 / 100
The Outer Worlds 2 is Obsidian Entertainment’s best work to date - a perfect RPG for those seeking an old-school approach, one with more substance than expanse.
Gaming Boulevard - Lander Van der Biest - 8 / 10
Even with its familiar structure, The Outer Worlds 2 is easy to recommend. The combat is tight, the writing cuts, and the player agency still feels substantial. It’s a smarter, smoother, and more technically reliable sequel that doesn’t lose the soul of the original. If you loved the first game, you’ll feel right at home. If you skipped it, this is the perfect place to jump in. Build your misfit, pick your lies, and see who believes you.
GamingBolt - Matt Bianucci - 9 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 is a more expansive, more choice-heavy, and more satisfying western RPG that stands above most of its recent peers.
Loot Level Chill - Mick Fraser - 9 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 is a deceptively smart Looter-shooter RPG with colourful worlds and entertaining characters, and some really satisfying, malleable combat.
MKAU Gaming - Hayden Nelson - 9 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 is a worthy successor that expands on the first game in almost every aspect. With its sharp writing, engaging choices, deep RPG mechanics, and vibrant, fully realised world, it captures the humour, charm and moral complexity that made the original a hit.
MonsterVine - Joe Bariso - 3.5 / 5
The Outer Worlds 2 is a serviceable RPG held back from greatness by playing it too safe and small. Too afraid to alienate players and make big swings like the setting deserves.
Nexus Hub - Andrew Logue - 8 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 proves if it ain’t broke, make it bigger and prettier - a solid sequel that expands upon the first game in meaningful ways, though some fans might experience a bit of déjà vu.
One More Game - Vincent Ternida - 8 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 is a title well worth exploring, offering accessible gameplay and thoughtful quality-of-life enhancements that cater to both newcomers and returning fans. While it doesn’t radically reinvent the formula, it delivers a satisfying action RPG experience that scratches the adventure itch and rewards players who engage with its missions in full.
PPE.pl - Patryk Dzięglewicz - Polish - 8 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 may not revolutionize what we saw in the first installment, but it significantly improves on familiar elements. If you’re in the mood for a great space opera with a satirical twist and RPG elements, you should definitely give this shooter a try.
PlayStation Universe - Timothy Nunes - 9 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 excels on almost all fronts, presenting you with an open RPG that lets you choose how you progress while still keeping you on a clear path. The in-game systems allow you to customize how you play and give you versatility in the choices you make along the way. Combine that with great writing, and you have a recipe for success. Equipment menus are a bit clunky, enemy encounters can be manipulated, and the act of looting takes some getting used to. Still, none of these issues will keep you from enjoying the game. The Outers Worlds 2 is worth every penny of the $70 it asks for.
Push Square - Robert Ramsey - 7 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 succeeds in being a bigger and better sequel, buoyed by an even greater emphasis on player choice and freedom. Its RPG mechanics are largely fantastic, and there are key improvements to both combat and exploration.However, despite Obsidian’s clever writing, there’s a underlying dreariness to the property that it just can’t seem to escape. These dull characters and their one-note factions are difficult to truly care for.
Saving Content - Scott Ellison II - 5 / 5
Obsidian Entertainment continues to make better sequels, even to their own games, and The Outer Worlds 2 surpasses the prior game in every way. Obsidian has honed in on the tone, and the anti-capitalist dark humor is much more even, and full of laugh out loud moments. Compelling companions, better combat, and rich quests makes everything feels so reactive and symbiotic to your action, or inaction. Decisions are presented to you around every corner, and with so many branching paths, it encourages experimentation and ensures you’ll replay it. The Outer Worlds 2 is a stellar sci-fi RPG to be an instant classic.
Seasoned Gaming - Luis Avilés - 9 / 10
Refined in every single way, The Outer Worlds 2 is not simply a better sequel: it’s the new gold standard in the narrative FPS genre.
Sirus Gaming - Kurt John Palomaria - 9 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 is all that I could’ve ever hoped it would be. Funny, smart, alive. It’s packed with memorable characters, sharp writing, and art direction that’ll stand the test of forever. And just like how Fallout: New Vegas was the better sequel to its predecessor (spare me the pedantry), this feels like a confident step up, even Auntie Cleo would call it character growth.
Stevivor - Matt Gosper - 8.5 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 is more of everything I liked before in The Outer Worlds, but dialled up to 110% - just like a new and improved offering from Auntie’s Choice!
TechRaptor - Ashley Erickson - 7.5 / 10
While there’s little wrong with The Outer Worlds 2, it doesn’t have a pull that will keep players wanting to devote hours to it.
The Beta Network - Anthony Culinas - 7 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 is a good game, sometimes even a great one. However, it plays things a little too cautiously for a sequel that once promised to push boundaries. It’s pretty polished, funny and loaded with charm, yet still feels content to orbit familiar territory rather than charting something truly spectacular. A solid recipe for disappointing your fans.
TheSixthAxis - Gareth Chadwick - 7 / 10
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.
Too Much Gaming - Carlos Hernandez - 4 / 5
The Outer Worlds 2 isn’t Obsidian displaying any major advances in game design or unique innovations that would turn heads. This is a game of solid refinement from a studio that believes so deeply in the world they created in 2019. This resulted in a cohesive and entertaining RPG that could very well solidify as one of their best works today.
Worth Playing - Chris “Atom” DeAngelus - 8 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 is a solid, engaging and enjoyable follow-up to the original game. It changes its dynamic and tone enough that it can potentially turn off people who really loved the original. At the same time, it feels like something that might work better for those who prefer their RPGs to be less goofy. There’s a varied and interesting set of character builds available, and it’s easy to imagine playing the game multiple times to see distinctly different outcomes for various quests. If you’re looking for a solid RPG with some good meat on its bones, The Outer Worlds 2 does everything it needs to do.
XDA - Tomas Franzese - 9 / 10
It’s an expertly written, socially relevant RPG about how those with wealth and power will constantly fight over control of others, even as the universe tears itself apart. Its skills and perks aren’t afraid to impact your playthrough in ultra-specific ways, and its hand-crafted planets ensure the entirety of the adventure is memorable.
Xbox Achievements - Dan Webb - 80%
The release of The Outer Worlds in 2019 was one of those occasions where a game totally blindsided me. I knew Obsidian was a solid studio, but TOW, …
XboxEra - Jesse Norris - 9 / 10
The Outer Worlds 2 is a confidently made game. It is perfectly-scoped, with excellent gameplay, writing, and voice acting. The combat and movement are the biggest step up over the original. Whether you have played that title or not, if you want a choice-heavy, narrative-rich adventure in a far-off solar system, then this game is worth a download or Game Pass, or buying outright.
Really looking forward to this one. I loved that last game and really appreciated how much they did with a little, leading to a much-appreciated brevity that helped its pacing. ACG had some reservations with the opening area, but we’ll see how I feel about it when I get around to it.