The original Outer Worlds utilized the tried and true melee combat from its era, but the sequel should take things up a notch. By now everyone who has played a Western RPG is familiar with the standard recipe for first-person melee combat, so hopefully future RPGs like The Outer Worlds 2 will add some new bold flavoring to the mix. Especially since The Outer Worlds has such a wide variety of melee weapons, the game’s diverse melee weapons could truly shine with a bit more complexity to the melee combat systems.
In the original Outer Worlds, melee combat consisted of a light attack, a sweep attack, a heavy attack, and a block that could briefly stun enemies when executed with proper timing. These standard melee combat options could benefit from the player’s combat ability skill, as well as stealth damage modifiers, and varying attacks in different combinations. Ultimately though, the game’s melee combat can be a bit repetitive and lacks depth, especially for players who invest in melee builds in The Outer Worlds.
Melee Weapons, Abilities, and Skills in the Outer Worlds
The Tactical Time Dilation ability in The Outer Worlds was where combat really shined, so fixing or changing the ability for the sequel isn’t necessary. The ability applied very well to melee combat just as well as ranged weapons, so it was useful for any and every playstyle in The Outer Worlds. Not only did the ability apply universally and effortlessly to the game’s combat, but it was also one of the few things that made The Outer Worlds' combat stand out from other RPGs. Whether TTD returns in the sequel or if the player character in The Outer Worlds 2 has an entirely new combat ability, it needs to have the same universal effectiveness across the different weapon types in the game. Otherwise, melee and ranged weapons having exclusive abilities could turn some players away from experimenting with more than one type of weapon. While limiting players to particular weapon types could be beneficial for optimizing skill point investments, it ultimately hinders players from using some of the best weapons in The Outer Worlds.
The different variations of melee weapons could stand to have unique attacks that capitalize on each weapon type’s different special effects. This could ultimately give the unique weapons more bang for their buck. Unique melee weapons in The Outer Worlds are essentially the game’s version of legendary weapons, as they come with exclusive special effects and/or combinations of weapon modifications. If both standard and unique melee weapons had a unique attack, like the Ashes of War in Elden Ring, for example, it could add some much-needed complexity to the melee combat in The Outer Worlds.
Science weapons in particular are the most deserving of alternative attacks when it comes to melee combat. Science weapons are some of the most powerful weapons in sci-fi video games, but they suffer from the same shortcoming as the unique melee weapons in The Outer Worlds. Since the science and unique weapons all share the same attacks as the standard melee weapons, it’s really only their residual effects that set them apart from their standard counterparts.
Parrying and blocking in The Outer Worlds is certainly effective, though they could stand to have more depth. One way The Outer Worlds 2 could improve upon the defensive side of melee combat is to give players some shield options that are dedicated to blocking and parrying incoming attacks. With the benefits that shields could provide, this could potentially turn some lackluster weapons into some of the best melee weapons in The Outer Worlds. Additionally, allowing shields with 1-handed melee weapons could give this weapon type the boost that it deserves in order to compete with the powerful, yet slow 2-handed melee weapons.
The Outer Worlds 2 is in development.