I was nearly 30 hours into The Outer Worlds 2 when I lied to a character during a conversation. A few moments later, a message popped up on my screen. I had lied enough times, apparently, that I was offered the chance to take a new secret trait that would force me to lie whenever possible, but I could do so perfectly. This is the Flaws System, and it’s one of my favorite features in a game I’ve played this year.
Released earlier this year, The Outer Worlds 2 is Obsidian’s bigger and better open-world RPG sequel to 2019’s The Outer Worlds. If the first game was a fun attempt at recreating Bethesda’s Fallout formula, The Outer Worlds 2 is the studio nailing it. In fact, I think in some ways the team has beaten Bethesda at its own game, with improved writing, better combat, and some other cool ideas, like Flaws.
Technically, Flaws were a feature in the first Outer Worlds. But in that game, they offered a choice to take extra perk points in exchange for your stats being lowered in specific ways. Like, taking too much head damage would make you 100 percent worse at aiming guns. It was an okay idea that felt too punishing and wasn’t much fun. In The Outer Worlds 2, the Flaw system has been revamped to add more chaos to a playthrough. Now, Flaws can be really wild and offer a mix of negative and positive effects. For example, in The Outer Worlds 2, if you steal a lot of items, the game will eventually detect this and offer you a Flaw that lets you sell stolen goods for double their value, but it also forces you to steal anything you get close to, which could cause some awkward moments in a store or town.
Flaws in Outer Worlds 2 can, if you desire, throw a wrench into your RPG experience and shake things up even dozens of hours into a playthrough. If you don’t look them up ahead of time, which you shouldn’t, they can spice up the latter half of the game, which can suffer from the same problem so many RPGs suffer from: letting you get stuck in a comfortable but boring rut.
How Flaws in The Outer Worlds 2 make it a better RPG
You know that point in an RPG where you’re nearing max level, have the weapons that work perfectly for your build, and have your skills dialed in. Fights become boring. Exploration isn’t as exciting either, as you’ve been to most places a few times now. This is the point at which many players put down the game and walk away. Maybe you push through to wrap it up, having less fun as you go. But with Flaws, the final stretch of Outer Worlds 2 was still a wild time for me.
When I tried to speed through dialogue too much, I was offered a Flaw that would let me gain more XP, but would randomly choose options during dialogue. Another Flaw offered to make my melee strikes more deadly in exchange for taking more damage when I blocked, an offer which came after I spent too much time punching random baddies and not enough time blocking and dodging.
I didn’t accept all of them (and I definitely didn’t take the Flaw that makes you accept all Flaws moving forward), but just having such strange choices to contemplate 20+ hours into the game was fantastic. Each time a Flaw notification appeared, I perked up. And when I accepted one, like the Flaw that made me scared of mechs but able to do more damage to them, it altered my playthrough in a way I really appreciated and helped get me out of that “stuck in a rut” phase so many RPGs tend to end up in.
The only problem now is that when I started playing a different game, I found myself longing for silly, interesting, and possibly game-breaking flaws to appear as I played. It was a treat to have the game react to how I was playing, actively tempting me with ways to indulge in bad behaviors or silly habits (like reloading too much) in exchange for some equally silly punishments. Now I want more games to do that. So here’s me permitting RPG devs to steal Flaws from The Outer Worlds 2. I’d like that, please!
