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During my first playthrough of the original Outer Worlds game, I was quickly hooked by its irreverent, Fallout-inspired brand of humor. This title featured lively conversations, personal journals, and propaganda materials that portrayed a corporate dystopia that was at once bleak and amusing. My main fear heading into the sequel was that this version – without blame on its part – could fail to be as humorous compared to the first.

Certainly, situations weren't flawless. Yet society certainly seemed a bit less broken at that time. The Outer Worlds presented a dystopia that didn't strike extremely relatable, and nonetheless succeeded to be at once touching and uproarious. I started The Outer Worlds 2 pretty sure that this release wouldn't be able to pull this off again, but I'm delighted to state that I was mistaken. This follow-up is just as smile-generating as the game that came earlier, and furthermore presents new themes as opposed to just recycling the same content similar to a worn-out business tune.

Evolving Characters

The majority of the non-player characters users found in the first title had been defeated by the activities of business corporations such as the fictional company, and were painfully aware of the degree that their situation was terrible. The Outer Worlds 2 progresses matters in a different direction, including personalities who are brainwashed (periodically symbolically, frequently actually). Many of these characters aren't conscious of how extremely disordered their situations are, or that there may exist alternatives to a life lived under the boot of a huge company or bound by the beliefs of a high-demand religion.

This second installment explores types of business domination that are more insidious than merely maintaining the population impoverished. Many NPCs have been brainwashed into the type of extremely eager "hustle mentality" discourse you might encounter on digital platforms that vow to show the key to success should you purchase a costly program, or participate in a questionable digital currency plan. Even the game's corporate propaganda has evolved.

Contemporary Issues

There continue to be numerous unmotivational posters throughout facilities warning about deducting employee wages who so much as contemplate requesting leave, but furthermore exist mentions of network marketing methods, such as an employee manual that proudly declares, "Unknown people are merely customers YOU have yet to encounter!" As an individual who grew up in a network marketing family, I instantly erupted laughing upon viewing this mention, because it's a phrase I have often heard stated precisely by those at the bottom of those structures.

Fortunately, this follow-up is as comedic and irreverent as the initial release.

This installment additionally investigates the dilemma various individuals find ourselves in when it comes to occupation, government, and even consumer choices: Having to pick the reduced of multiple bad options. When trying to decide whether to back a risky company or a problematic faith organization in the game, I realized I became supporting the familiar evil: A recognized corporate entity that is terrible (but only uses promotion to indoctrinate its followers), as opposed to the cult, which is similarly terrible, but uses an awful technique termed "mental refreshment" to control its members in line.

Questionable Employers

Furthermore, the characters you work for might not be dependable. As an space operative, your mission involves working to return stability to this settlement subsequent to an aggressive business acquisition, and you'll soon discover that both the attackers and the defenders follow distinct (but similarly terrible) beliefs. But a quick inspection of the communications on your vessel's computer reveal that this agency isn't exactly the galaxy's most moral authority too, as shown by a response to a help request that informs the caller it will take "several corporate years" for a reply to their communication. (This period is approximately the time it takes for numerous individuals to reach a real customer service agent over the phone currently.)

Familiar Situations

Many moments in The Outer Worlds 2 are extremely familiar, but it's a cathartic sort of relatability, and this release achieves equilibrium between its grim future world with wit that's truly humorous while avoiding out of place. A primary concept is the near-instant onset of deterioration that seems to take place in the wake of any major corporate acquisition. Staff members from all factions of The Outer Worlds 2's big merger see their quality of life decrease consequently, while the CEOs in control of the food chain are, of course, collecting profits quickly.

Well, at minimum I know my situation.

Comparable to the first game, this sequel is naturally humorous, but furthermore isn't afraid to get serious. At one point, while exploring around the title's initial discoverable location, I stumbled across a deceased individual with a recording nearby. The audio log showed that this individual (who was aligned with the indoctrinating cult) had died in an accident during efforts to hunt down and kill her romantic partner. This partner had reportedly deserted from their faction, and the now-dead NPC was incensed at her partner's {traitorous