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During my first experience with the original Outer Worlds game, I was instantly captivated by its irreverent, Fallout-like brand of humor. This release boasted engaging exchanges, character diaries, and advertising displays that illustrated a company-run society that was both bleak and entertaining. My main fear approaching the sequel was that this entry – without blame from itself – could fail to be as funny as its predecessor.

Admittedly, conditions weren't ideal. But the world undoubtedly appeared a bit less broken back then. This universe showed a bleak future that didn't strike extremely relatable, and yet accomplished to be at once emotional and comical. I began The Outer Worlds 2 feeling quite confident that this release wouldn't be able to achieve this once more, but I'm pleased to announce that I was wrong. This sequel is as smile-generating as the title that preceded it, and furthermore presents fresh concepts instead of simply reusing similar elements similar to a overused corporate jingle.

Changing NPCs

The majority of the NPCs users found in the original game had been defeated by the activities of company organizations like Spacer's Choice, and were fully cognizant of how much their situation was terrible. This installment takes things in a different direction, featuring characters who are brainwashed (occasionally metaphorically, frequently actually). Many of these characters aren't conscious of how profoundly messed up their situations are, or that there may exist alternatives to a life lived under the boot of a large business or bound by the beliefs of a high-demand religion.

The sequel investigates methods of company influence that are more insidious than only making the population impoverished. Many NPCs have been programmed with the type of extremely eager "hustle mentality" rhetoric you'll find on digital platforms that promise to reveal the path to accomplishment when you buy an expensive course, or put money into a dubious blockchain project. Even the game's company advertising has developed.

Current Topics

There are still many unmotivational posters throughout facilities warning about deducting staff compensation who even contemplate requesting leave, but there are also allusions to multi-level marketing tactics, featuring a staff guide that boldly states, "Strangers are just patrons you still need to meet!" As someone who developed within a network marketing family, I immediately burst out laughing when I saw this allusion, because it's a refrain I have frequently encountered spoken verbatim by those at the bottom of those structures.

Thankfully, this follow-up is as comedic and irreverent as the original title.

This installment furthermore explores the predicament various individuals experience concerning work, political matters, and even consumer choices: Being forced to pick the smaller of multiple bad options. When trying to determine if to assist a harmful business or a concerning cult within the title, I found myself supporting the known negative: A familiar company structure that is awful (though just utilizes promotion to indoctrinate its followers), rather than the faith organization, which is similarly terrible, but employs a horrible approach called "mental refreshment" to maintain its followers in line.

Questionable Employers

Furthermore, the characters you work for might not be dependable. In the role of an Earth Directorate agent, your assignment includes trying to reestablish stability to the Arcadia colony subsequent to a hostile corporate takeover, and you rapidly learn that both the aggressors and the invadees follow distinct (but similarly terrible) ideologies. Yet a speedy review of the communications on your ship's terminal demonstrate that this organization isn't exactly the galaxy's most moral authority as well, as shown by a response to a distress call that informs the caller it will take "several corporate years" for a response to their message. (That time frame is roughly the duration it takes for many people to get a hold of a real help desk employee over the phone these days.)

Relatable Moments

Numerous instances in The Outer Worlds 2 are painfully relatable, but it's a cleansing sort of relatability, and this release achieves equilibrium between its bleak societal vision with comedy that's authentically amusing without feeling incongruous. One major theme is the rapid beginning of enshittification that happens to unfold in the wake of large company takeovers. Workers from each party of The Outer Worlds 2's major acquisition see their quality of life decline as a result, while the leaders at the top of the structure are, of course, raking in money rapidly.

Well, at minimum I recognize my situation.

Comparable to the original title, The Outer Worlds 2 is inherently funny, but furthermore doesn't shy away to turn solemn. At one point, while traveling around the release's primary accessible planet, I came upon a corpse with a recording close by. The audio log disclosed that this NPC (associated with the programming faith group) had been killed in an event during efforts to locate and kill her significant other. This loved one had seemingly abandoned from their faction, and the now-dead NPC was angry about her lover's {traitorous