Summary
The Outer Worlds 2is slated for release later this year, and the developers at Obsidian Entertainment have spoiled fans with gameplay footage and deep dives into some of the new features the game has to offer.The Outer Worlds 2takes plenty from its predecessor, and much like the legacy series from which it draws much inspiration, it is looking to take the critically acclaimed RPG shooter to new heights.
Obsidian is best known forFallout: New Vegas, a standalone built on Bethesda’sFallout 3engine. Regarded as one ofthe best RPGs of its era, it helped that Obsidian is composed of the developers who madeFalloutfor Interplay. One major feature fromFallout, the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.), was the main inspiration for a feature inThe Outer Worlds.
The Outer Worlds 2’s TTD vs. Fallout’s V.A.T.S.
Tactical Time Dilation (TTD) slows time, allowing the player to pinpoint weak spots and obtain special bonuses when attacking enemies. In-universe, it is also known as skip flu, as it’s a side effect of extended hibernation, such as during interstellar travel. Much like The Stranger fromThe Outer Worlds, the protagonist — known either as the Earth Directorate Agent, the Agent, or the Commander — ofThe Outer Worlds 2is coming to the Arcadia Star System from afar, meaning they will likely spend some time in hibernation. It’s still unclear whether their TTD will be a result of interstellar travel or a result of the rifts in spacetime that make up the backbone ofThe Outer Worlds 2’s story.
Some of the cooler features shown inThe Outer Worlds 2gameplay are the new ways that TTD can be utilized. In one clip, the player tosses a grenade from cover, goes into TTD, and shoots the grenade midair over an enemy’s head. Grenades were not present in the firstThe Outer Worlds, but this feature was present in some form inFallout 3andFallout 4, where the player could throw a grenade, go into VATS mode, and target the grenade with their firearm, granted that they had enough accuracy and luck.
One thingFalloutdoesn’t have, and has never had, is power sliding. It’s one of manymechanics used in modern shootersthat gives players extra maneuverability through the environment.The Outer Worldslacked this feature as well, but not anymore. Later in the same clip fromThe Outer Worlds 2, the player power slides from a running start, and then once again — while sliding — tosses a grenade, goes into TTD, and shoots the grenade midair. It shows that the player has much more freedom in how they can mix and match skills to achieve a certain outcome and up the cool factor.
Bethesda’sFallout 3played with a more shooter-oriented style over the isometric point-and-click style ofInterplay’s originalFalloutgames. Obsidian honored and improved on Bethesda’s vision forFalloutby adding aim-down-sight (ADS) to the guns inFallout: New Vegas.Fallout 4leaned even further into the shooter by improving the gun mechanics, adding sprint, and making it so that V.A.T.S. slows time rather than stops it.
What TTD’s Evolution in The Outer Worlds 2 Means for V.A.T.S. in Fallout 5
With that in mind, Bethesda is likely to stay on that road withFallout 5, looking for more ways to evolve and position it as a modern RPG shooter. One of the best ways it could do that is by providing more maneuverability for the player, particularly inside V.A.T.S. It could be that the player character’s ability to do things like power slide and shoot grenades in V.A.T.S. are tied into theirPerception and Agility S.P.E.C.I.A.L. statsand associated perks, asFallout 4changed it so that Perception now affects V.A.T.S. accuracy.
