The Outer Worlds 2 director doubles down on not allowing players to respec. Read on to learn more about the importance of players’ decisions and the game’s replayability.
The Outer Worlds 2’s Focus on Making Decisions Matter and Replayability
No Character Is Perfect
The Outer Worlds 2 Director Brandon Adler doubles down on the game not having the option to respec (short for re-specialization, where players can reset and reapply stat and skill points), and emphasized that no character is perfect. Adler previously stated that The Outer Worlds 2 will not have a respec feature, as the team wanted players to feel the consequences of their decisions.
In an interview with GamesRadar+ on October 30, he reiterated this idea and stated, "It's important to me, personally, that in an RPG your choices always matter. And in the same way that I wouldn't let you respec your story, I won't let you respec what role you're playing. Because that's your character, and you're always building on top of that foundation."
Adler understands that some players might be inclined to try out a new direction for their character midway through their playthrough. "If you ever find yourself saying, man, I wish I could go and do more of this, well then you should just start doing that. The next time you level up your character, start building towards that direction – there's nothing stopping you from building the sort of character that you want!," Adler said.
Ultimately, he urged players to build into their characters despite the imperfections imposed by the game’s Flaw System, ensuring each decision is important. "And just to be clear, no character is perfect," Adler stated. For him, RPGs that impose consequences for player choices are what make the game fun.
The community seems to approve of this system, as the game currently holds "Very Positive" reviews on Steam. Many highlighted the game's Flaw System, praising its interesting approach to character building and calling it a big step up from the previous title.
Here at Game8, we gave The Outer Worlds 2 a 90 out of 100 for expanding upon the first game of the series, making everything funnier, deeper, and far more polished. To know more about our thoughts on the game, check out our review below.
It’s Okay To Miss Out on Stuff
To complement the meaningful decisions, The Outer Worlds 2 emphasizes player agency, allowing players to craft their own experience. Senior Narrative Designer Joe Fielder spoke with PC Gamer on October 28 and shared some insights regarding the game’s replayability.
Fielder explained that it’s okay for players to miss out on different things while playing the game, as the team wanted to push players to have a different experience each time they start a new playthrough. "Sometimes that means you have a funny line, sometimes that means you get access to an area you wouldn't, or ally with somebody that you wouldn't, or you get a mission that you wouldn't have seen otherwise," he said.
This means that there will be areas to which players will not have access when they make certain choices. Fielder understood that some fans might be disappointed by not experiencing everything in a single run, but Obsidian Entertainment built the game to encourage multiple playthroughs.
"I'm really happy if they do that [miss out on things], because they can make a different choice the next time they play. We're really making a game that you can play multiple times and have a very different experience," he stated.
The Outer Worlds 2 is now available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. To stay up to date with the latest information about the game, check out our article below!
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The Outer Worlds 2 won't let you respec your character, even if you break your build, because the RPG's director "wouldn't let you respec your story" either
The Outer Worlds 2's senior narrative designer is 'really happy' if you miss out on major characters with 'thousands of lines of dialogue'
