Outward 2

Outward 2 is a survival action RPG by Nine Dots Studio and the sequel to Outward. It is again set in the fantasy world of Aurai. Instead of playing an all-powerful chosen one, you start as an ordinary person who has to earn food, orientation and combat skills in a dangerous world.

Travel, equipment and the consequences of your own decisions are essential parts of the game. The open world is designed for exploration without convenient navigation aids. The studio thus continues the basic idea of its predecessor, but expands combat, character creation and the influence of changing seasons, among other things.

Nine Dots announces Feb 8, 2027 as the start of Early Access on PC. The date follows the delay of the launch originally planned for July 2026. The studio explained the extra development time with feedback from the beta and the aim of delivering a more stable and convincing paid early version.

The February date explicitly does not mean a finished version 1.0. No reliably confirmed date for the end of the development phase exists yet. Nine Dots Publishing and Gamersky Games are listed as publishers.

For the announced Early Access launch, Nine Dots names PC via Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store. These three stores sell the same native PC platform and do not represent separate console releases.

No binding native release date for PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo has been documented yet, based on the current studio announcement. An old trailer with a broadly worded platform announcement does not replace a confirmed new console release. The PC version supports online co-op and local split-screen, among other things.

Unlike RPGs with scaling enemies, Outward 2 does not guarantee that every encounter matches your progress. Getting through Aurai requires judging distance, danger and supplies. There is no fast travel and no constantly marked position on a magical map.

Weather and seasons change the conditions on the road. Anyone who travels too far from a safe shelter has to reckon with exhaustion and illness as well as bandits and creatures. The game world is therefore meant to be not just a setting but a real challenge.

Steam lists the minimum requirements as Windows 10, an AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, 8 GB RAM, a GeForce GTX 960 and 25 GB of free storage. The store page lists the recommended configuration as Windows 11, Ryzen 5 5600X, 16 GB RAM and a GeForce RTX 3060.

A resource-saving “Potato Mode” is meant to make access easier for weaker PCs. However, Nine Dots states that the same game experience cannot be guaranteed below the minimum requirements. The details refer to the PC version before Early Access and may change during development.

Hunger, thirst, illness and bad weather are obstacles that can become dangerous even before a fight. For longer journeys, you need to choose water, food, remedies, tents and other equipment. A full backpack provides security through supplies but costs mobility.

The backpack can be dropped before a fight to make dodging easier. Armour also has a cost: weight affects speed, and material affects protection against different threats. This makes travel planning part of character development.

Combat styles arise from weapon combinations, dodge moves, blocks, abilities and a limited selection of learnable specialisations. Nine Dots mentions up to three classes developed at the same time. Teachers in Aurai do not pass on their skills for free.

If you want to hold your own in melee combat, you must watch your opponents' stance and attack windows. Other paths combine ranged combat with traps, or spells with seals and reagents. Two-handed weapons and quick switches between equipment are meant to allow flexible builds without removing all risks.

The game is designed as a single-player adventure but allows online co-op and local split-screen co-op on PC. The developers do not mention automatic matchmaking. Instead, players can team up for individual tasks or longer stretches and leave a world again.

Co-op does not change the basic survival concept: even with two players, pathfinding, supplies and preparation remain important. The supported co-op formats are part of the announced game structure and not a separate paid expansion.

The game relies on continuous automatic saving rather than endlessly repeatable battles. If your character falls, different scenarios can follow: rescue by strangers, an injury or the loss of possessions. Wrong decisions thus remain part of the adventure's course.

For players who want an even greater risk, Nine Dots announces a hardcore mode. According to the store description, after a defeat there is a 20 percent chance the save game ends. This risk is a deliberate optional extra and not the default for all players.

At the start, you can choose from various starting situations and personal backgrounds, such as a miner from Tramontane, a resident of the underground city Haboob, or a vagabond from Simeon's Bastion. According to the developers, traits affect dialogue, starting equipment and initial skills.

The world also centres on the so-called Immaculates, once feared beings who, after a magical pacification, seek a place in Aurai. Factions pursue different goals, from building a mercenary organisation to historical research and humanitarian aid. Which paths and conflicts will be fully included in Early Access cannot yet be conclusively determined from this description.