The Outer Worlds 2’s game director, Brandon Adler, has revealed why one staple RPG feature is missing from the upcoming title. Although this feature does appear in many RPGs, Adler has a good reason why it won’t be present inThe Outer Worlds2.
WithThe Outer Worlds 2officially locking in its October 29 release dateearlier this year, the hype continues to build for Obsidian’s upcoming RPG. The first game received largely positive reviews, maintaining a Top Critic Average of 83 on review aggregator site OpenCritic. For the sequel, Obsidian is slowly revealing some interesting details about what players can expect from the game, and everything points to it being bigger and better this time around.
Speaking toRPGSite,The Outer Worlds 2game director Brandon Adler confirmed that players will not be able to respec their character during their playthrough, saying, “Lots of people love respec. And that is definitely one way you may go about things. I personally want the player to understand their choices are permanent - they matter - and then they think more about their choices. There’s a lot of times where you’ll see games where they allow infinite respec, and at that point I’m not really role-playing a character, because I’m jumping between – well my guy is a really great assassin that snipes from long range, and then oh, y’know, now I’m going to be a speech person, then respec again.”
This is Why You Can’t Respec in The Outer Worlds 2
Adler also clarified that “it’s not wrong that people like to play like that,” but he just wants to “ensure that the role playing is really strong. I want to make sure that you’re building your character and really doubling down - making sure that role-playing comes through the whole experience.” Players could respec their skills and perks using the Vocational Competence Respecification Machine in the originalOuter Worlds, so it’ll be interesting to see if this change proves to be animprovement inThe Outer Worlds 2.
Respec isn’t quite astandard RPG feature across the board, although it is popular in the games in which it appears. For example, massive games such asThe Elder Scrollsdon’t allow respec, and force players to build into a playstyle or risk making the game harder for themselves. Meanwhile, the likes ofBaldur’s Gate 3andElden Ringare examples where respec is available and works really well as a way to switch up a playthrough and try something new. There are positives and negatives to both approaches and frankly, there’s no correct answer.
I personally want the player to understand their choices are permanent - they matter - and then they think more about their choices.
A lack of respec is just one wayThe Outer Worlds 2is avoiding some features many see as important to the RPG experience. Like its predecessor, it was previously confirmed thatThe Outer Worlds 2won’t have romance options, which is definitely a big thing for some. However, it’s interesting to see a studio subverting the norms, as otherwise every RPG would pretty much be the exact same game.
