The Outer Worlds 2 Gets Side Effects Guaranteed DLC on Dec 2

After a long silence, Obsidian has revealed the first expansion for The Outer Worlds 2. Here's what it brings in story, gameplay, and loot. Side Effects Guaranteed launches December 2 for $14.99 as part one of a two-part story for The Outer Worlds 2.

The second DLC lands in spring 2027, and Obsidian says your choices now will directly shape it. One early previewer expects five to ten hours of play, and it's unclear how much of the bigger consequences will wait until then.

It opens with a distress signal that sends you and your Incognito crew to a derelict ship, where everyone aboard is in suspended animation.

Foul play looks likely. You find a puddle of what was probably a person and a video message from the captain, who says the crew was contaminated during a heist and faces explosive cell death without a cure. Going by the floor, that means liquefaction.

The message points you to Gordon Hazen, a leading agent in Sub Rosa, a criminal group that steals from factions instead of working for them. He sends you to Elysium Valley, a new region on Eden where former Protectorate subjects live, forgotten by their leaders.

He thinks they can save his crew, and although he prefers diplomacy, he wants answers by whatever means necessary. Another agent, Algernon Lankester, wants you to help him exploit the people of Elysium Valley for personal gain. The fate of the settlers, the frozen agents, and Sub Rosa itself is yours to decide.

You rarely deal with that faction in the base game of The Outer Worlds 2, so a storyline built around it fills a gap, much like the first game's expansions did. Returning to Eden may point to a tighter budget after layoffs and the studio's admission that sales fell short, and one previewer noted limited visual variety.

Still, Elysium Valley is a fully new region, not an extension of areas you've explored.

New threats in The Outer Worlds 2 include vicious canids and primal sprats, normal sprats roughly 100 times the size. After all the small ones you shot around Arcadia, expect no forgiveness. The level cap rises from 30 to 36, adding skill points and three more perks, with over 15 new perks overall.

Four new flaws arrive too. Lethally Tolerant raises your maximum toxicity, but a toxicity crash kills you instantly. Must Have Been the Wind marks an assassination target in a combat group. Kill it for a 20% damage and speed boost until combat ends, but miss or hit someone else and you take a 10% penalty for 30 seconds.

Build crafting is a strength of The Outer Worlds 2, arguably the studio's best since New Vegas. Loot is already plentiful in The Outer Worlds 2, and much of it goes unused because it demands specific skills and perks. A higher cap opens more options. One screenshot also shows you shrunk down, hinting at Grounded influence.

Side Effects Guaranteed adds new weapons, armor, and companion outfits to The Outer Worlds 2, plus a Sub Rosa-run radio station with 20 songs. A new option under New Game also starts you with a custom save at the DLC's beginning, letting you allocate points and jump straight in.

An update ships alongside it.

You can now respec your character, and a custom option lets you set skill points per level, up to 10. First-time players should skip that, since the limits are central to The Outer Worlds 2, but returning players have more reason to experiment. It's still unknown whether the story focuses on one companion, as Murder on Eridanos did for Ellie in the first game.

The two-part split also recalls Burial at Sea, where the second half outshone the setup. For now, this looks like more of The Outer Worlds 2, and with the studio also working on a new Fallout, it could be the last content of its kind for a while. You don't need the first game to jump in, since The Outer Worlds 2 stands on its own.