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Upon my initial playthrough of the first Outer Worlds title, I was immediately drawn by its sarcastic, Fallout-esque style of comedy. This release included engaging exchanges, character diaries, and advertising displays that depicted a company-run society that was at once grim and entertaining. My biggest worry approaching the follow-up was that this version – through no fault of its own – wouldn't be as humorous like the original.

Sure, conditions weren't ideal. Yet society certainly seemed slightly less fractured back then. This universe presented a dystopia that didn't strike overly familiar, and nonetheless succeeded to be simultaneously touching and hilarious. I commenced The Outer Worlds 2 feeling quite confident that this installment wouldn't be able to pull this off again, but I'm pleased to announce that I was wrong. This follow-up is equally chuckle-inducing as the game that preceded it, and also introduces fresh concepts instead of merely repeating identical material similar to a overused corporate jingle.

Evolving Characters

A large portion of the non-player characters gamers met in the original game had been worn out by the actions of company organizations including Spacer's Choice, and were acutely conscious of the extent to which their situation was terrible. This installment takes things in a different direction, including personalities who are programmed (periodically symbolically, regularly truly). Many of these characters aren't conscious of how deeply disordered their circumstances are, or that there could be alternatives to an existence spent beneath the control of a large business or bound by the creeds of an intense faith.

This second installment investigates methods of business domination that are more insidious than merely maintaining the population impoverished. Numerous characters have been indoctrinated into the kind of extremely eager "work ethic" language you'll find on social media accounts that promise to reveal the secret of achievement when you buy a costly program, or participate in a dubious blockchain project. Furthermore, the release's business promotion has evolved.

Current Topics

There continue to be plenty of demotivating signs throughout facilities threatening to dock employee wages who even think about having a break, but furthermore exist allusions to multi-level marketing methods, featuring a staff guide that proudly declares, "Unknown people are merely clients you still need to meet!" As an individual who developed within a network marketing family, I immediately burst out with laughter when encountering this allusion, because it's a refrain I have frequently encountered stated precisely by those at the bottom of such schemes.

Fortunately, this follow-up is just as funny and satirical as the first game.

This sequel also examines the predicament various individuals encounter when it comes to work, government, and even personal purchases: Having to choose the reduced of multiple bad options. During efforts to decide whether to assist a harmful business or a problematic faith organization within the title, I realized I became aligning with the known negative: A familiar company structure that is awful (but only uses promotion to indoctrinate its followers), instead of the cult, which is similarly terrible, but uses a horrible approach named "mental refreshment" to maintain its followers in line.

Questionable Employers

Additionally, the individuals you represent might not be reliable. Playing as an Earth Directorate agent, you're tasked with attempting to restore stability to this outpost subsequent to a hostile corporate takeover, and you will quickly find that both the invaders and the residents adhere to separate (though equally awful) ideologies. Yet a speedy inspection of the messages on your spacecraft's system demonstrate that this agency is hardly the world's most ethical organization too, as evidenced by a response to a distress call that notifies the contact it will take "several business years" for a response to their message. (That time frame is approximately the time it takes for me to reach a non-robot customer service agent through calling nowadays.)

Familiar Situations

Numerous instances in this sequel are highly recognizable, but it's a cathartic sort of relatability, and the game manages to balance its grim future world with comedy that's authentically amusing while avoiding incongruous. An important idea is the near-instant onset of deterioration that seems to take place following large company takeovers. Workers from each party of this installment's big merger experience their living standards decline as a result, while the CEOs at the top of the structure are, of course, raking in money hand over fist.

Well, at minimum I know my situation.

Similar to the original title, The Outer Worlds 2 is inherently funny, but additionally isn't afraid to turn solemn. At one point, while exploring around the game's first accessible planet, I came upon a corpse with a recording in the vicinity. The audio log disclosed that this NPC (associated with the indoctrinating cult) had died in an accident during efforts to track down and eliminate her lover. This loved one had reportedly deserted from their organization, and the perished individual was incensed at her partner's {traitorous