The Outer Worlds was Obsidian’s breakout hit of 2019, dubbed an unofficial, spiritual sequel to Fallout: New Vegas by many fans. Of course, the characters and plot lines of both franchises are very different from each other, yet they have the same dark humor and flare Obsidian is known for. Completing The Outer Worlds can take anywhere from 15 to 30 hours depending on difficulty and how dedicated players are to completing side quests, and with its length, fans were delighted to hear that Obsidian would be releasing DLC for The Outer Worlds and revisiting the Halcyon system.
However, filling Halcyon with new plot lines in the form of DLC poses a predicament for the unconfirmed sequel The Outer Worlds may receive. While added content and weapons adds new layers to the existing core story, it leaves some confusion for what the sequel will entail if all the previously locked locations are covered with DLC. Just like the ship in-game, however, all hope is not lost.
Locked Planets in The Outer Worlds
As of right now, the new DLC Peril on Gorgon has not unlocked any of the planets that remain locked after completing the main story quest. Instead, it added a new planet (or asteroid, rather) in the upper middle section of the map, and players can travel here to complete the 5 to 9 hour long DLC addition.
With Peril on Gorgon only adding the asteroid, The Outer Worlds still has four locked planets: Eridanos, Olympus, Hephaestus, and Typhon. As of right now, it’s confirmed that the planet Eridanos will be unlocked following the release of Murder on Eridanos in 2021. But what about the others?
So far, Peril on Gorgon and Murder on Eridanos are the only confirmed DLC expansions for The Outer Worlds. However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be more announced and released next year. But if players gain access to all currently locked planets (or even most of them) through additional DLC, it doesn’t seem to leave a lot of new exploration for The Outer Worlds 2.
The Outer Worlds 2 and Halcyon's Future
For those whose memory of The Outer Worlds is a little fuzzy, players learned throughout the course of the game that Earth has gone dark. There has been no contact between the colonies in Halcyon and the colonies that were on Earth. The worst is assumed for those who were on the planet when it went offline. What if Earth is the next setting for the sequel? The opportunity has already been set up with all the mystery shrouding the planet and could make for some interesting in-game perks. Obsidian could very easily have players wake up as a new protagonist on Earth and make the goal of the game to reconnect the planet with Halcyon.
The sequel could feature cameo appearances from the companions players came to know and love, but ultimately have a clean slate. It’s possible it could implement a similar feature to the Mass Effect Trilogy where previous actions from The Outer Worlds impact who the player runs into and what state Halcyon is in.
Conversely, it’s entirely possible the sequel could revolve around running around the same Halcyon planets and locations. Perhaps The Outer Worlds 2 will focus on Captain "Alex Hawthorne" again and send the player on more errands with the companions the audience already knows and loves. If Obsidian does take this route, it would be wise to still utilize the choices system established by the ME Trilogy so the decisions players made really feel impactful to the story.
Regardless of the route Obsidian decides to take, both fans and new players of the game will be excited to see where it leads. For now, there’s interesting DLC to fill the void until The Outer Worlds 2 is officially announced and released.
The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.