The Outer Worlds 2 may be a sequel, but it's definitely doing some things differently than its predecessor. One of those things is the ability for players to 'respec', that is to say, to change their allocation of perks, traits, and whatnot. The first game supported that, but the new game director Brandon Adler, who did not work on the original The Outer Worlds (but has credits in Obsidian RPGs like Neverwinter Nights 2, Alpha Protocol, Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity and its sequel, and Avowed), has a different view on the matter. Speaking to RPG Site, he explained:
We don't allow respec. Lots of people love respec… that is definitely one way you can 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.
For me, it's not wrong that people like to play like that. But I just like to make sure... Look, if we're going to do The Outer Worlds 2, I want to make sure 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.
It's definitely an interesting view. I can see where he's coming from, although others will be disappointed by the lack of flexibility when building their new character. However, you are still allowed a bit of experimentation in the beginning, as you can still respect while in the tutorial area.
The Outer Worlds 2 will debut on October 28 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X and will be available on Game Pass from day one.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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