The Outer Worlds 2 is promising a much more fleshed-out combat experience, according to senior combat designer Rob Donovan and lead systems designer Kyle Koenig.

In a new interview with IGN, the duo highlight some pretty significant improvements that should make the spacefaring sequel play a lot better than its predecessor — and it’s mostly down to enhancements on the movement and shooting sides of the action.

For starters, Obsidian’s tried to incorporate a lot more environmental interaction across fights. Players can now “parkour”, as Donovan puts it, mantling onto higher ground and sliding at speed between cover. Basically, you’ve got better movement options across the board, which could add some welcome slickness to encounters.

Next, we’ve got the inclusion of grenades and other ability-based tools that can be used by both the player and your enemies. The added depth is supposed to give you a bit more to think about, especially when you’re up against multiple foes.

Interestingly, the team namedrops shooters like Destiny and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare as inspirations for gunplay in The Outer Worlds 2. The devs are looking to make firefights feel better in general, with punchier weapons and more immediate access to a range of armaments.

Indeed, Koenig specifically mentions that the game doesn’t want you to fumble around with ineffective guns. Where other RPGs might demand skill point spending on things like reducing the recoil or spray of your firearms, The Outer Worlds 2 features guns that, again, feel good to use right from the start.

And on top of all this, it sounds like enemy AI’s been given an overhaul. Human opponents will actually take cover now, while more monstrous foes may try to rush you and get your back to a wall.

Promising stuff, then, and while we didn’t think the combat in the first game was bad (it was fine, in our humble opinion), there’s always room for improvement — and it seems as though Obsidian’s fully aware of this.

Put all of this talk together with a focus on weightier RPG systems, and this first-person adventure could end up being quite special.