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During my first experience with the original Outer Worlds game, I was immediately drawn by its satirical, Fallout-like style of comedy. This title featured lively conversations, personal journals, and advertising displays that depicted a corporate dystopia that was both bleak and amusing. My biggest worry starting the follow-up was that this installment – without blame of its own – could fail to be as humorous compared to the first.

Admittedly, situations weren't flawless. But the world definitely felt slightly less fractured back then. The Outer Worlds showed a bleak future that didn't strike too close to home, and nonetheless succeeded to be simultaneously touching and comical. I started The Outer Worlds 2 rather certain that this release wouldn't be able to pull this off a second time, but I'm happy to report that I was incorrect. The Outer Worlds 2 is just as chuckle-inducing as the game that preceded it, and additionally brings original ideas instead of merely repeating similar elements like an overused corporate jingle.

Changing NPCs

The majority of the game characters players encountered in the original game had been worn out by the activities of company organizations including Spacer's Choice, and were fully cognizant of the degree that their situation was terrible. This installment takes things in an alternative path, presenting individuals who are indoctrinated (sometimes figuratively, often literally). Many of these NPCs aren't even aware of how extremely messed up their circumstances are, or that there could be alternatives to a lifetime passed beneath the control of a huge company or restricted by the creeds of an intense faith.

The sequel examines forms of business domination that are more insidious than simply keeping the population impoverished. Various personalities have been brainwashed into the type of extremely eager "grindset mindset" rhetoric you'll find on online profiles that promise to reveal the path to accomplishment when you buy an expensive course, or invest in a sketchy crypto scheme. Furthermore, the release's company advertising has progressed.

Modern Themes

There continue to be plenty of demotivating signs throughout facilities threatening to dock pay from workers who dare to think about having a break, but additionally there are mentions of pyramid scheme methods, featuring a new hire handbook that proudly declares, "Unfamiliar individuals are simply customers YOU haven't met yet!" Being a person who developed within a network marketing environment, I instantly erupted laughing when I saw this mention, because it's a saying I have frequently encountered repeated exactly by people at the base of these systems.

Luckily, The Outer Worlds 2 is just as funny and irreverent as the first game.

This installment furthermore explores the predicament numerous people encounter concerning employment, government, and including buying decisions: Being forced to choose the smaller of two or three evils. When trying to determine if to back a harmful business or a problematic faith organization within the title, I found myself siding with the known negative: A recognized company structure that sucks (yet merely employs advertising to indoctrinate its followers), instead of the faith organization, which is similarly terrible, but employs a horrible approach named "mental refreshment" to maintain its followers compliant.

Questionable Employers

Even the people you serve might not be dependable. As an Earth Directorate agent, your mission involves attempting to restore order to this outpost following a forceful company buyout, and you'll soon discover that both the invaders and the defenders adhere to distinct (but similarly terrible) beliefs. But a quick review of the communications on your spacecraft's system reveal that this organization is hardly the world's most ethical authority too, as demonstrated by an answer to a help request that notifies the contact it will take "three to five corporate years" for a response to their message. (That time frame is approximately the time it takes for many people to contact a real help desk employee over the phone nowadays.)

Recognizable Scenarios

Various situations in The Outer Worlds 2 are highly recognizable, but it's a cleansing kind of recognition, and this title manages to balance its bleak societal vision with comedy that's authentically amusing without feeling out of place. One major theme is the rapid beginning of decline that appears to occur after significant business mergers. Staff members from all factions of this sequel's significant consolidation experience their living standards worsen therefore, while the CEOs at the top of the hierarchy are, expectedly, accumulating the cash quickly.

Hey, at least I understand where I stand.

Comparable to the original title, The Outer Worlds 2 is inherently funny, but furthermore doesn't shy away to become dramatic. During a moment, while wandering around the game's first accessible planet, I discovered a deceased individual with a recording close by. This recording showed that this NPC (who was aligned with the indoctrinating cult) had died in an accident during efforts to hunt down and eliminate her romantic partner. This romantic partner had reportedly deserted from their organization, and the now-dead NPC was enraged by her significant other's {traitorous