After the success of the originalThe Outer Worlds, there’s a lot of pressure forThe Outer Worlds 2to be another standout hit among RPGs. As a sequel,The Outer Worlds 2will naturally follow in the original game’s footsteps with plenty of returning features, except with a new chapter in the franchise’s story that takes place in a separate solar system, and presumably, plenty of gameplay improvements.
One area thatThe Outer Worlds 2may not want to follow in the original game’s footsteps is with a level cap. Despite being a staple, recurring feature throughoutObsidian’s iconic RPGs, the level cap in the originalThe Outer Worldsturned out to be quite a controversial feature. Ultimately, though, there are fair arguments both ways for this feature to return. However, if it does return, it might be for the best to learn from what made this feature so controversial in the first game and make some minor adjustments to prevent this same controversy from affectingThe Outer Worlds 2.
The Argument Against a Level Cap in The Outer Worlds 2
While there are manydifferent endings in the originalThe Outer Worlds, most of these endings were likely out of reach for players on their first playthrough, simply because of the base game’s level cap. In order to pass the specific skill checks required to reach some of these endings, players would need to have had prior knowledge of the skills required for this, and/or have needed to skip out on plenty of useful skills related to combat and exploration. Because the level cap was so low in the base game, players would generally have to sacrifice parts of their character’s build for an entire playthrough just for the sake of specific skill checks that would affect the final few moments of the game.
What Is the Level Cap in The Outer Worlds?
The level cap ended up becoming such acontroversial feature inThe Outer Worldsthat it was raised multiple times in the game’s post-launch DLCs, eventually being raised over three times what it originally was in the base game. However, by the time the level cap was eventually raised, this was too little, too late for many players who had already beaten the game or used community mods to override the game’s level cap. In hindsight,The Outer Worlds 2may want to avoid meeting the same controversial fate as the original game by completely removing the level cap altogether.
The Argument For a Level Cap in The Outer Worlds 2
As withFallout: New Vegas,The Outer Worlds, andAvowed, Obsidian’s past RPGs typically come to a finite end after the main story is completed, where players can no longer continue their character’s journey without loading a prior save. So, assuming thatThe Outer Worlds 2sticks to thistradition among Obsidian’s RPGs, a level cap would be a fitting feature, and one that would have no consequences for the endgame replayability of a given playthrough, since this is nonexistent.
Although this turned out to be a controversy in the first game,The Outer Worlds 2’s level cap can avoid the same fate by making the level cap more generous. This way, players’ progression could still be impactful and consequential, while the game would be able to avoid those pesky omnipotent,meta builds of modern RPGs, which are a separate controversy. Ultimately, ifThe Outer Worlds 2can find a better balance than the original game with its level cap, this returning feature could prove to be a welcome addition to the game.
