According to Brandon Adler, the team fell into this trap with the first installment and aimed to fix it in the sequel.

In just over two weeks, Obsidian will release The Outer Worlds 2, its second major AAA RPG after Avowed (and potentially its third, if we count Grounded 2’s early access). Game director Brandon Adler was interviewed by Danny Peña, where they discussed how the sequel improves on the 2019 original — featuring larger worlds, greater reactivity, and deeper RPG mechanics. Adler especially emphasized the last point, saying that role-playing fans are craving deeper experiences.

“The biggest thing for me is that players want deeper RPGs. I think that, after being in this industry and RPGs for so long, we’ve tried to smooth down the rough edges and streamline things a bit. That’s fine for some games, but players also really want to be able to dive in. They want to be able to access the detailed numbers and create all the different types of builds. They want all the RPG options that we’ve slowly been removing or simplifying. So, again, the big lesson from the first game to the second is to give players those options. Let’s give them things to interact with. I think they’ll appreciate that.”

“The Outer Worlds 2 is the first time I’ve directed a large-scale project. I’ve previously done direction on DLCs, particularly Pillars of Eternity: Deadfire. Looking back at the older Obsidian games and the style we used to have, I wanted to find a way to bring that back — to modernize it while still recapturing what made those classic RPGs great. Strong RPGs are about player freedom, choice, and the consequences of those choices. Making sure all our content reflects that has been really fun for me,” Adler said.

The Outer Worlds was somewhat lacking in this respect, and the massive success of Baldur’s Gate 3 proves Adler right about what players truly desire. The Outer Worlds 2 will launch on October 29 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC, with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members getting access from day one.

Source: WCCFTech