WithThe Outer Worlds 2around the corner, fans are wondering which characters will return to the series after the first game’s conclusion. Each ending featured lengthy epilogues for Edgewater, the Groundbreaker, Terra 2, Monarch, Byzantium, and DLC special locations Eridanos and Gorgon to neatly tie up loose ends, as well as tell players where their companions went after Team Unreliable disbanded (much to the dismay of many “found family” trope fans).
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While it’s confirmed thatThe Outer Worlds 2will take place in a new solar system, solar travel is still possible — old favorites could rear their beautiful heads once more. Outside the main party members — Parvati Holcomb, Vicar Maximillian DeSoto, Felix Millstone, Ellie Fenhill, Nyoka, and S.A.M.— which beloved characters should come back for the long-awaited sequel?
Please note that this is based on the “Best” ending (siding with Phineas Welles and helping the various towns in favor of the people, rather than the corporations), and not the bad ending, where the Stranger sides with the Board, orthe Crash and Burn ending, where the Unreliable is flown into the sun.
WARNING! Spoilers for the end ofThe Outer Worlds, as well as both DLC packs,Peril on GorgonandMurder on Eridanos.
10Junlei Tennyson
Did Junlei And Parvati Stay Together?
Captain of the Groundbreaker and tired engineer Junlei enlists the Stranger’s help to take care of several problems on her ship, including the overheating radiators and removing the Mantipillar infestation. She’s also a large part of Parvati’s personal quests as players help set the two of them up, which blossoms into anadorably awkward relationship.
As the leader of the Groundbreaker, Junlei had a hard task on her shoulders: keep the independent ship away from corporate grabby hands. The epilogue of the game says that she was successful, and even found time to educate a group of new engineers on the ship. Parvati came to join her on the Groundbreaker, working as an engineer and local hero, but did their courtship stand the test of time?
9Adelaide McDevitt
How’s Edgewater Doing Under Her Direction?
Adelaide was the leader of the deserters of Edgewater, a group of workers who abandoned the town due to finding current head honcho Reed Tobson’s leadership skills (and general empathy skills) lacking. After the death of her son at the local sardine cannery was ignored, Adelaide abandoned Edgewater and founded her own community in protest, refusing to return until Tobson was removed from power.
If players decided to put Adelaide in charge of Edgewater after finding her, unconventional fertilizer methods the way to save the town, how is she doing as the new leader of Edgewater? Did she find a new purpose as Edgewater’s leader, or does her son’s sardine-scented ghost still haunt her?
8Udom Bedford
Did He Ever Get To Leave The Groundbreaker?
A Byzantium bureaucrat stationed on the Groundbreaker, Udom initially strikes up a conversation with the Stranger as a result of them docking the Unreliable — the ship belonging to his dearly departed bestie, Alex Hawthorne. Udom’s main objective, and why he had an alliance with Hawthorne at all, was to find Dr. Phineas Welles and bring him to justice.
Phineas becomes a hero in the good ending ofThe Outer Worlds,saving the colonists aboard the Hope and revitalizing the Halcyon colony. How does Udom fare after losing both his BFF and his quest? Hopefully, he got to go back home at some point.
7Thomas Kemp
Did He Ever Achieve His Engineering Dreams?
Thomas provides a side quest where players find three textbooks about engineering so that he can learn the trade and help his fellow Edgewater deserters. While he’s no deft hand with a spanner (like his puppy-love crush, Parvati), Thomas is earnest and sweet, looking for his proper purpose in life after leaving Edgewater.
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After the first game’s conclusion, what’s Thomas up to after returning to Edgewater with the other deserters? Did he ever become an engineer like he wished to, or did that dream fall apart like a badly fixed car engine?
6Sanjar Nandi - CEO of Monarch Stellar Industries
How’s He Doing, Running An Entire Planet?
Sanjar is the leader of Monarch Stellar Industries and the main point of contact for the quests on Terra 2. During “Radio Free Monarch”, he showed himself to be a strong though sometimes anxious, leader.
Depending on the ending the player chose — bringing MSI and the Iconoclasts together, or eradicating the Iconoclasts in favor of MSI (for either good ending) — Sanjar has his hands full rebuilding Terra 2 after the collapse of the Board. How’s he handling that? Hopefully, his assistant Celia is still there to help him out.
5Wilhelmina “Minnie” Ambrose
What Happened To Her AfterPeril On Gorgon?
Minnie and Olivia Ambrose are the two main characters of the DLC packPeril on Gorgon, where the Stranger travels to a once-thought-abandoned asteroid to help Minnie find evidence of her mother’s involvement in Project Gorgon, which revolved around the production of Adrena-Time and how it created a wild enemy force in the Marauders.
After the fall of the Board, Olivia and Minnie Ambrose worked together to cure the Marauders from their feral condition at the hands of Adrena-Time. While their strained mother/daughter relationship is said to have “found harmony” over time, did that harmony lose its rhythm?
4Hortense Ingalsbee
Where Is She Now?
Hortense Ingalsbee plays a small, but hilarious role inThe Outer Worldsas a Byzantium bystander who verbally bullies the Stranger and their party for being “dirty vagrants”. She also offers a sidequest called “Why Call Them Back From Retirement?” for players curious about the Early Retirement District in Byzantium. The descendant of an important (but generally despised) business executive, Hortense clings to her status as an elite member of society - until Byzantium, of course, falls apart.
Did Hortense survive the world-shattering realization that she’d need to let go of her fading status symbol and (gasp) get a job? Will players meet her, or her own descendants, in the sequel? Only time will tell — but players should keep an ear out for a griping woman on a park bench when the game releases, just in case.
3Ruth Bellamy (Halcyon Helen)
What Happened To Her After Her Sister’s Death?
Ruth played the role of Halcyon Helen, the protagonist of aetherwave serial “Terror on Monarch”. During theMurder on EridanosDLC, the Stranger, and their party find out that Ruth played the role of Helen alongside her twin sister, Belinda — who was the real Halcyon Helen who was murdered at the Grand Colonial Hotel on Eridanos.
The epilogue for Ruth’s story says that she quietly disappeared from public view after her sister’s death. With no true purpose in life left, she exited stage left. Will players come into contact with her, years after her last role as Halcyon Helen?
2Martin Callahan
Spacer’s Choice In Mascots Deserves A Cameo
Martin Callahan works as the Spacer’s Choice mascot, the “moon man”, and mans the storefront on the Groundbreaker. Martin’s dry, helpless demeanor — and his frequent messages with his mother, found on one of the nearby computers — quickly turned him into a fan favorite.
The Groundbreaker is still going strong as of the epilogue, so is Martin included in that?While it’s clear that the “moon man” will return in the sequel, will Martin come back with it?
1The Unplanned Variable
How Connected Is The Stranger To The New Player Character?
The Stranger, the first colonist unfrozen from Hope’s cryostasis that lived to tell the tale, is the player’s conduit throughout thegame.Through their customized(and silent)character, players make their choices and lead Halcyon to ruin or respite after learninghelp from Earth will never arrive.
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The Stranger has two “good” endings. In the first, they use Chairman Rockwell as a puppet to lead Halcyon into the future, working from the shadows; in the second, they take the helm, and administer the colony in their own image “until the end of [their] days”. While the Stranger’s fate is clear, will characters in the new solar system remember their deeds fondly, or vehemently? What effect will the player’s choices, and the Stranger’s leadership, have on other colonies in the vast nothingness of space?
