Kingdom Come: Deliverance Director Lambasts Obsidian For Being "Unable" to Come Up With New Game Mechanics
"Can any of you think of a single new game mechanic in The Outer Worlds that wasn't already in Deus Ex or the original Fallout games more than 25 years ago?"
Obsidian's The Outer Worlds 2 is not off to a particularly strong start, with many gamers either ignoring the sequel or unwilling to pay $70 for it, and its Metacritic score sitting at a less-than-stellar 67. While players have voiced a range of reasons for their disappointment, one of the most frequent criticisms was recently echoed by Kingdom Come: Deliverance director Daniel Vávra, who lambasted The Outer Worlds and its creators for lacking innovation.
Obsidian
In his latest Twitter post, Vávra expressed disappointment that the studio behind one of his all-time favorite games – meaning Fallout: New Vegas, no surprises here – has been "unable" to come up with any new gameplay mechanics, even after 15 years since FNV and with "all of Microsoft's money" and the latest technological advancements being available to them. "Can any of you think of a single new game mechanic in The Outer Worlds that wasn't already in Deus Ex or the original Fallout games more than 25 years ago? Unfortunately, I can't," he commented.
Additionally, the developer spoke out against the stale formula that many modern RPGs – and open-world action-adventure games pretending to be RPGs – follow, saying he'd like to see "something more than loot boxes, maintenance shafts, loading screens and level grinding in a static scripted world." That said, it's important to note that Vávra still gave The Outer Worlds 2 a 7/10, indicating that he didn't outright dislike the game, only that he wasn't all that impressed by it.
Interestingly, in the replies to his original post, Vávra also speculated about TOW2's production cost, suggesting that KCD2's budget was likely much lower than that of Obsidian's new game.
Although we don't know the exact budget of either of those games, what we do know is that Warhorse Studios CEO Martin Fryvaldsky previously said Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's cost was "in the high hundreds of millions of crowns," and even if we assume the maximum of 999 million CZK, that's only around $47 million – a relatively small sum for a 2025 AAA title.
If Vávra is right in his assessment – which, for all we know, he might not be – it would mean Obsidian spent at least $50 million on TOW2, likely significantly more. With that in mind, and comparing the reception of the two games, it definitely doesn't reflect well on Obsidian, fueling concerns that the once-acclaimed studio may soon hear layoffs knocking at their door.
And what about you, do you agree with Vávra's assessment and his 7/10 score? What has your experience with The Outer Worlds 2 been so far? Let us know down in the comments below!
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