The Outer Worlds 2 Is Forcing Me Not to Look Down, and…

After six long years of waiting, The Outer Worlds 2 is finally here for those who are able to play it already during its early access period. I'm one of those, but only because I'm all but obsessed with The Outer Worlds and I didn't want to wait even five more days to play it. So far, it's been worth it, too, because not only is The Outer Worlds 2 shaping up to be loads better than its predecessor, but it's also one of the best RPGs I've played this year — and I've played both Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

I wouldn't put The Outer Worlds 2 in the same league as either of those games, but it's still far from one of those RPGs I think I'll forget once I'm finished with it. The improved gunplay, deeper build options, fulfilling exploration, world design, and the writing are all major strong points for me, and I just don't want to put it down — even though it's the responsible thing to do. However, while all of those things are great and will undoubtedly keep me playing, I refuse to look down. I already did it once and regretted it. Now, I'll never do it again.

I Can't See My Feet in The Outer Worlds 2

Why can't I see my feet in The Outer Worlds 2? I look down, and there's nothing there but the ground, making my gun look like it's just floating in the air. It might seem like a weird thing to be bothered by, but in a game where playing in first-person really does get me more immersed in its world, I prefer not to feel like the bottom half of my body is missing the whole time I'm running around.

Maybe I'm being a bit too picky about something others might find to be such an insignificant flaw. After all, the rest of the game is great, and I'm having a hard time finding much wrong with it almost 15 hours in at this point. At the same time, I know I'm not alone in this fairly common criticism of first-person games, as there are plenty of players out there who would rather look down and see their character's feet than nothing at all.

I mean, I understand why some first-person games forego showing the bottom half of the player character. The camera would need to take into account more body geometry to include legs and feet, which can cause issues like feet clipping into the environment, awkward limb movement, or blocking the player's focus. And the cost of implementing the animations required for it may not align with the vision some developers have for their games. But what makes this case more difficult to justify is The Outer Worlds 2's third-person mode.

Camera modes available in The Outer Worlds 2:

First-person
Third-person Near
Third-person Far

I can already see my character's legs and feet when the game is in third-person mode, only worsening the fact that I can't see them in first-person. The character model in third-person already exists, so, in principle, The Outer Worlds 2 does have the assets that could be used in first-person and my immersion would be preserved. Rather than feeling like a camera with a gun, then, I might actually feel like I'm the one running around Arcadia. Alas, every time I look down, I'm reminded that's not the case.

Again, I could probably find bigger things to complain about, but there really isn't much else negative about my journey so far. I'm really loving The Outer Worlds 2, and I refuse to let my non-existent feet in first-person mode ruin it for me. It's just so difficult to stay immersed when I accidentally look down and notice that I haven't, in fact, been running on my character's own two feet this whole time.

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