The Outer Worlds 2 (PlayStation, Xbox, PC, £59.99 or included with Xbox Game Pass)

Verdict: Character building

Rating:

On a coldly rational planet, The Outer Worlds 2 would barely have any reason to exist. Its 2019 predecessor was just fine, really; a Fallout-esque first-person RPG with all-rounder gameplay and satirical pretensions that didn’t live up to its cosmic setting. The clamour for a follow-up was, well, far from clamorous.

But, thankfully, we’re not on a coldly rational planet. We’re on Earth, space cadet, and Earth sometimes allows for sequels that don’t just deliver merely on the ambitions of their predecessors — but also far outstrip them. Such is the case with The Outer Worlds 2.

You start off as an agent of a square-jawed law-enforcement organisation known as the Earth Directorate. After a breathless prologue, you’re left betrayed and abandoned among the stars. Your mission: bring the perpetrator to justice.

But ‘start off’ really is the word. Or words. Across several planets, dozens of hours and numerous well-written and often very funny quests, you get to mould your agent however you see fit.

Want to be a charismatic thug? Or a sneaky doctor? The Outer Worlds 2 doesn’t just let you — it might have one of the fullest and most satisfying character systems I’ve ever experienced. You can even start burdening your digital self with flaws… with surprising upsides.

And, for the most part, the moment-to-moment gameplay lives up to your aspirations — especially if those aspirations involve shooting things.

The gunplay, one of the worst elements of the original Outer Worlds, has been revamped so that here it’s another brilliant system among many. Same goes for the dialogue options, the exploration, the equipment, the…

…oh, you get the point. The Outer Worlds 2 ain’t perfect; for one thing, its central story — bringing that perp to justice — isn’t strong enough to keep you from getting distracted by other parts of the game.

But what distractions! This one finally gives me what I wanted from Starfield a couple of years ago: a universe to call my own.

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, £49.99)

Verdict: Roaring back to life

Rating:

 Last year, the wonderful folks at Square Enix released a remake of the classic Japanese RPG Dragon Quest III (1988). This year — as in, right now — they’ve released a remake of both Dragon Quest I (1986) and II (1987). So much for doing things in the right order…

Except — hang on — this IS the right order, in the world of Dragon Quest. The heroes of the first two games are actually descendants of the hero of the third, and they have the same pastime as their illustrious ancestor: vanquishing evil from the land.

They also now have the same look. Square Enix has once again deployed its (literally) trademarked ‘HD-2D’ art style in remaking these two games.

This — if you haven’t seen it in other recent(ish) releases such as Octopath Traveller and Triangle Strategy — is a lovely blending of old-school pixels and new-school 3D. It makes the on-screen action look almost like a delicate little model, and is one of my very favourite things in modern gaming.

But the combined remake of Quests I and II does differ from that of III in one crucial regard — it’s a much more rudimentary experience overall. The turn-based combat, in particular, feels rather basic and susceptible to off-putting spikes in difficulty.

And neither of the first two games have the storytelling sophistication of the prequel. Their (relative) age does show a little.

Thankfully, Square Enix have clearly tried to combat this. More changes have been made to the basic games this time round — including whole new stretches of narrative and play — than were made to Dragon Quest III last year.

Which kinda tells its own story. The third game really is where you should start — it’s a masterpiece. But as follow-ups go, this remade edition of the first two games is pretty good too.