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Upon my initial experience with the original Outer Worlds, I was immediately drawn by its irreverent, Fallout-like brand of humor. This release boasted dynamic dialogues, personal journals, and promotional posters that depicted a corporate dystopia that was both bleak and humorous. My primary concern approaching The Outer Worlds 2 was that this installment – not due to of its own – could fail to be as comedic as its predecessor.

Sure, conditions weren't ideal. Yet society undoubtedly appeared slightly less fractured back then. The Outer Worlds depicted a grim society that didn't feel too close to home, and yet accomplished to be both heartwarming and comical. I commenced the sequel pretty sure that this installment wouldn't manage to pull this off once more, but I'm pleased to report that I was wrong. The Outer Worlds 2 is just as laughter-provoking as the title that came earlier, and furthermore presents new themes instead of just recycling the same content similar to a overused corporate jingle.

Changing NPCs

A large portion of the game characters players encountered in the initial release had been defeated by the actions of corporate entities such as Spacer's Choice, and were acutely conscious of the degree that their existence was miserable. This sequel progresses matters in a different direction, presenting individuals who are indoctrinated (periodically symbolically, frequently actually). A lot of these characters don't even realize of how profoundly screwed up their conditions are, or that there could be choices to an existence spent under the boot of a huge company or limited by the creeds of a demanding cult.

This second installment explores types of company influence that are more subtle than only making the population impoverished. Various personalities have been programmed with the sort of extremely eager "grindset mindset" discourse you'll find on online profiles that promise to reveal the secret of achievement should you purchase for an overpriced workshop, or participate in a sketchy crypto scheme. Even the game's business promotion has developed.

Modern Themes

There are still many discouraging displays on the walls indicating reductions in employee wages who even consider requesting leave, but there are also allusions to pyramid scheme strategies, such as an employee manual that boldly states, "Unknown people are merely customers YOU have yet to encounter!" As someone who developed within a multi-level marketing environment, I instantly erupted with laughter when I saw this mention, because it's a refrain I have regularly listened to stated precisely by people at the base of those structures.

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

The Outer Worlds 2 furthermore explores the dilemma various individuals experience when it comes to occupation, politics, and even personal purchases: Having to pick the lesser of several poor choices. During efforts to determine if to support a risky company or a problematic faith organization throughout the experience, I found myself siding with the known negative: A familiar business organization that sucks (though just utilizes promotion to brainwash its subjects), instead of the faith organization, which is similarly terrible, but uses an awful technique called "cognitive reset" to keep its adherents in line.

Questionable Employers

Even the people you represent could fail to be dependable. Playing as an space operative, your mission involves trying to reestablish order to this outpost after a hostile corporate takeover, and you'll soon discover that each of the aggressors and the invadees adhere to distinct (but similarly terrible) doctrines. However, a rapid examination of the messages on your spacecraft's system show that this agency isn't exactly the galaxy's most moral authority too, as shown by a reply to an emergency signal that tells the sender it will take "several corporate years" for an answer to their message. (That time frame is approximately the time it takes for me to contact a non-robot help desk employee through calling these days.)

Relatable Moments

Various situations in this installment are highly recognizable, but it's a cathartic sort of relatability, and the game succeeds in balancing its depressing dystopian setting with humor that's truly humorous without feeling incongruous. An important idea is the quick commencement of deterioration that happens to unfold in the wake of significant business mergers. Employees on both sides of this sequel's significant consolidation see their quality of life decline consequently, while the leaders in charge of the structure are, naturally, raking in the cash rapidly.

Well, at minimum I know my situation.

Similar to the initial release, The Outer Worlds 2 is intrinsically comedic, but it also isn't afraid to become dramatic. During a moment, while traveling around the title's initial accessible planet, I stumbled across a corpse with an audio log in the vicinity. This recording revealed that this individual (associated with the indoctrinating cult) had perished in an incident while trying to track down and kill her lover. This loved one had apparently defected from their group, and the now-dead NPC was incensed at her partner's {traitorous