Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds 2 gets lambasted over lack of innovation by Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 director
The director of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Daniel Vavra, has openly criticized Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds 2, claiming that the studio has failed to innovate since its Fallout: New Vegas heyday, despite 15 years of experience and funding from Microsoft.
Vavra gave The Outer Worlds 2 a 7 out of 10, commenting that the game lacks fresh ideas and stated on X:
Finished. 7/10. But what I find sad is that the company and the people who gave us one of my favorite games ever (Fallout: New Vegas) have been unable, even after 15 years and with all of Microsoft’s money and latest technological advances, to come up with a single new game mechanic that could take this proven but ancient formula somewhere new.
Can you think of a single new game mechanic in The Outer Worlds 2 that wasn’t already in Deus Ex or the original Fallout games more than 25 years ago? Unfortunately, I can’t. Give me a living, simulated world! True non-linearity! Give me something more than loot boxes, maintenance shafts, loading screens, and level grinding in a static, scripted world.”
Vavra also suggested that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 pulled off an incredibly realistic world simulation on a smaller budget, directly taking a jab at Obsidian Entertainment, stating: “I would bet that budget for KCD2 was WAY LOWER than Outer Worlds 2.
Vavra was flooded with responses, some questioning whether Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 introduces any new gameplay mechanics. Vavra pushed back, stating that his game’s advanced simulation allowed thousands of NPCs to maintain meticulous daily routines, something that isn’t found in The Outer Worlds 2’s “scripted world.”
The Outer Worlds 2 has fared well with a Metacritic score of 83/100 based on 54 critic reviews, but an Average user score of 6.6 out of 278 ratings. Gamers have praised the game for being a stark improvement over the 2019 original, offering players greater choice.
However, recent hit titles like Larian’s cRPG Baldur’s Gate 3 garnered critical acclaim not for new innovative mechanics, but for the masterful execution of existing gameplay systems. The same goes for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which introduced an addictive real-time twist to turn-based combat.
Public developer critiques, like those from major developers, are few and far between — and with good reason: they can be polarizing in ways least expected. Vavra’s review of The Outer Worlds 2 has prompted fans to defend Obsidian’s title for improving the sequel instead of taking things to the next level in terms of world simulation, with many stating Vavra took a massive gamble with KCD2, which, despite all odds, paid off.
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