Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 director Daniel Vavra has spoken negatively about The Outer Worlds 2 developer Obsidian Entertainment. While Vavra seems to have enjoyed some of the The Outer Worlds 2, he expressed his opinion that Obsidian is relying on pre-existing game mechanics rather than doing anything innovative.
Daniel Vavra is the co-founder of Warhorse Studios and is known for his work on multiple Warhorse titles, including Mafia, Mafia 2, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. He is also known for making opinionated statements on social media, including responding to negative reviews of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 earlier in 2025. His statements have previously been the source of controversy, and often spark discussion and receive large numbers of comments.
Daniel Vavra Feels That The Outer Worlds 2 Offers No New Mechanics
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Vavra compared The Outer Worlds 2 unfavorably to Fallout and Fallout: New Vegas, which he described as among his favorite games ever. The director described the world of The Outer Worlds 2 as "static" and "scripted," and spoke negatively about elements including loot boxes, level grinding, and loading screens. He went on to suggest that a "living, simulated world" as well as a true non-linear structure could have made the game feel more innovative. His largest complaint was that the mechanics of the game did not feel fresh, finding it "sad" that Obsidian Entertainment "[has] 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."
Responses to Vavra's post were mixed. Some commenters praised Kingdom Come: Deliverance and its sequel for delivering the innovation that they felt Obsidian lacked. Others extrapolated on Vavra's thoughts and shared opinions about the state of AAA gaming as a whole. Still others blamed bureaucracy, Microsoft, and even the success of Game Pass, which set new revenue records early in 2025, as the reason that Obsidian had played it safe with its latest game. Others, however, disagreed and shared aspects of The Outer Worlds 2 which they found to be exciting or unique.
Ultimately, some critics agreed with Vavra, while others disagreed — as of October 5, The Outer Worlds 2 was rated favorably by 88% of critics on OpenCritic; it also has a player rating of 90. However, some reviews have echoed Vavra's complaint that the game feels stale, stating that it felt like a rehash of the first game and did not add enough new content or mechanics to be compelling. The Outer Worlds 2 certainly seems to have sparked an ongoing conversation among gamers about the state of RPG development in general and Obsidian games in particular. While Vavra's comments are certainly harsh, perhaps they will continue to encourage further discussion from both players and industry professionals.
The Outer Worlds 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- October 29, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
WHERE TO PLAY
The Outer Worlds 2 is the eagerly-awaited sequel to the award-winning first-person sci-fi RPG from Obsidian Entertainment (just look at the exciting number of dashes in this sentence!). Time to clear your calendar – get ready for an action-packed adventure with a new crew, new weapons, and new enemies in a new colony! So much newness!
- Prequel(s)
- The Outer Worlds
- Franchise
- The Outer Worlds
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- October 29, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- October 29, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- October 29, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- Wiki
