Changes and Tweaks The Outer Worlds 2 Needs

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The Outer Worlds 2 is an excellent entry point for newcomers to the series. You don’t need to have played the first game from 2019 to enjoy it, as the stories and characters are all new. While longtime fans will recognize some recurring themes, the games are largely separate experiences.

In The Outer Worlds 2, you play as an agent from Earth sent to look into a group called The Protectorate. With shady politicians, crooked corporations, and exciting action, the game is sure to appeal to new players. So far, the launch has gone well, and the sequel is a big improvement thanks to the hard work of Obsidian Entertainment, though a few improvements are still needed.

Add A Photo Mode

Is It Or Is It Not 2025?

The original game didn’t have a photo mode, and surprisingly, the sequel doesn’t either, despite being an improvement in many ways. It’s unusual for a modern game to launch without one, as photo modes are now as common as pause buttons. Interestingly, both The Outer Worlds games do offer a feature that allows the camera to orbit around your character.

Obsidian could improve this feature by letting players move the camera around freely. Right now, pressing any button immediately exits the mode, which is a bit frustrating. Ideally, a dedicated photo mode would be a more helpful addition in a future update.

Remove Text From Dialogue Options

A Good Way To Look At Characters

The game lets you customize the on-screen text (HUD) quite a bit. You can choose to show subtitles only during conversations with characters, or hide the more cinematic subtitles. You can also hide text while an NPC is speaking, but your dialogue choices will reappear with their last line. You can toggle subtitles on or off mid-conversation, but constantly digging through menus to do so can be annoying, especially in a long RPG that might take 40+ hours to complete.

Players often find it annoying to repeatedly dismiss text, so Obsidian Entertainment could improve The Outer Worlds 2 by adding a simple pause feature common in visual novels. A single button press would make text disappear, effectively pausing the game until the player is ready to continue. While many players likely won’t notice or care about this addition, it would be a welcome quality-of-life improvement for others.

Swap Between First And Third-Person Perspectives

Add A Quick Button

The new version of the game now lets players choose how they view the action – a feature many requested after the first game. You can switch between seeing the game from a first-person perspective, or from a third-person view, with options to position the camera closer or further from your character. Players can also customize which shoulder the camera focuses on, which is helpful for both left- and right-handed gamers.

It’s frustrating that players need to open the menu every time they want to change viewpoints. Even in the older game The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, players can switch perspectives with a single button. The Outer Worlds 2 should offer a similar quick option, or at least make the viewpoint switch easier to find in the menu – perhaps right after the main settings options when the game is paused.

Unarmed Combat

Time For Fisticuffs

Switching between weapons and using powers is much simpler in this game thanks to the new weapon wheel. You can have two weapons equipped at once, though there’s a strange limitation: you can’t remove both weapons from the quick selection menu – you’ll always have at least one equipped.

The game requires players to always have a weapon equipped. Surprisingly, there’s no hand-to-hand combat option, which feels out of place for a first-person RPG. While you can find melee weapons and strike enemies with firearms, the lack of dedicated unarmed fighting is disappointing and could be improved in future updates.

Pick Up Every Weapon

Where Do They Go?

A slightly odd thing about The Outer Worlds 2 is how weapons are handled when enemies are defeated. Sometimes, after checking a dead enemy, the weapon automatically appears in your inventory. Other times, you have to pick it up as a separate item, which isn’t a major issue, but it’s inconsistent.

It’s strange when an enemy is defeated but doesn’t drop their weapon. Players should be able to take weapons from fallen enemies – to use them, break them down for parts, or sell them. This might be a bug, or the developers might have changed how often weapons drop. Either way, players should generally be able to acquire weapons from defeated enemies.

A Cover System

Pull A Deus Ex

Even with a full team, players can be surprisingly vulnerable in The Outer Worlds 2. Adding a cover system – a common feature in many first- and third-person games – would be a helpful way to improve survivability.

A great example of how to handle cover in an RPG is Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which automatically switches to a third-person view when you take cover. The Outer Worlds 2 has lots of objects to hide behind, but it lacks a smooth cover system, making the experience feel awkward at times.

Select Flaws At The Game’s Start

Build A Character YOUR Way

Like the first game, The Outer Worlds 2 features character flaws that are earned through gameplay. For instance, spending a lot of time and money in shops can unlock the ‘Consumerism’ flaw, while taking on too many quests and being slow to complete them will unlock ‘Easily Distracted’.

I’ve noticed that the ‘Overprepared’ flaw seems to pop up if you reload your game a lot, which is interesting! There are actually a bunch of these little flaws, and honestly, I wish we could see them all right from the beginning. Or even just a few more at the start, that would be awesome. I think it would be so cool if we could pick a flaw when we’re making our character – it would let us customize things and add a challenge right from the very beginning!

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2025-10-31 20:08