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Upon my initial playthrough of the first Outer Worlds, I was quickly hooked by its sarcastic, Fallout-esque style of comedy. This title boasted lively conversations, individual logs, and promotional posters that illustrated a business-controlled nightmare that was both dark and humorous. My biggest worry heading into the follow-up was that this installment – without blame from itself – could fail to be as comedic as its predecessor.

Certainly, conditions weren't ideal. But the world certainly seemed slightly less fractured at that time. This universe depicted a grim society that didn't hit overly familiar, and yet accomplished to be at once heartwarming and uproarious. I commenced the follow-up feeling quite confident that the sequel wouldn't be able to pull this off a second time, but I'm happy to state that I was mistaken. The Outer Worlds 2 is equally smile-generating as the release that came before it, and additionally brings original ideas instead of simply reusing the same content like an worn-out business tune.

Changing NPCs

Most of the NPCs players encountered in the initial release had been defeated by the activities of business corporations including the in-game corporation, and were acutely conscious of how much their situation was terrible. This sequel moves events in a different direction, featuring characters who are brainwashed (occasionally metaphorically, regularly truly). A lot of these NPCs don't even realize of how deeply screwed up their situations are, or that there may exist alternatives to an existence spent under the boot of a massive corporation or restricted by the doctrines of a high-demand religion.

This follow-up explores types of corporate control that are more subtle than merely maintaining the people destitute. Various personalities have been indoctrinated into the type of overly enthusiastic "grindset mindset" rhetoric you might encounter on digital platforms that promise to reveal the secret of achievement if you pay a costly program, or invest in a questionable digital currency plan. Even the game's business promotion has evolved.

Modern Themes

There are still many discouraging displays on the walls warning about deducting employee wages who dare to consider requesting leave, but furthermore exist mentions of network marketing methods, featuring an employee manual that proudly declares, "Strangers are just clients you still need to meet!" Being a person who developed within a multi-level marketing environment, I promptly exploded laughing upon viewing this allusion, because it's a saying I have often heard stated precisely by individuals in lower positions of those structures.

Luckily, this follow-up is equally humorous and irreverent as the initial release.

The Outer Worlds 2 also examines the situation many of us experience when it comes to employment, political matters, and even personal purchases: Being forced to select the smaller of two or three evils. During efforts to choose whether to support a dangerous corporate entity or a problematic faith organization throughout the experience, I realized I became siding with the familiar evil: A familiar corporate entity that is awful (though just utilizes advertising to indoctrinate its followers), instead of the religious group, which is equally bad, but employs a terrible method termed "psychological renewal" to control its members in line.

Questionable Employers

Additionally, the individuals you work for may not be reliable. Playing as an Earth Directorate agent, you're tasked with attempting to restore control to the Arcadia colony subsequent to a forceful company buyout, and you'll soon discover that the two the attackers and the invadees follow separate (though equally awful) ideologies. But a quick examination of the communications on your spacecraft's system reveal that the Earth Directorate isn't precisely the galaxy's most moral authority as well, as demonstrated by a response to a help request that informs the caller it will take "three to five organizational cycles" for a response to their message. (This duration is roughly the duration it takes for numerous individuals to get a hold of a real help desk employee via telephone these days.)

Relatable Moments

Various situations in this installment are highly recognizable, but it's a therapeutic kind of recognition, and the game achieves equilibrium between its bleak societal vision with wit that's genuinely funny while avoiding inappropriate. An important idea is the quick commencement of decline that happens to unfold following any major corporate acquisition. Staff members from all factions of this installment's big merger experience their living standards decrease as a result, while the executives in charge of the structure are, naturally, collecting money quickly.

Hey, at least I recognize my situation.

Comparable to the first game, this sequel is inherently funny, but additionally isn't afraid to become dramatic. At one point, while wandering around the game's first accessible planet, I came upon a corpse with a message nearby. This recording showed that this NPC (connected to the brainwashing religious faction) had perished in an incident while attempting to hunt down and kill her lover. This loved one had apparently defected from their organization, and the perished individual was enraged by her lover's {traitorous