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During my first encounter with the first Outer Worlds, I was quickly hooked by its irreverent, Fallout-esque brand of humor. This release included engaging exchanges, individual logs, and promotional posters that depicted a business-controlled nightmare that was both grim and humorous. My main fear heading into the follow-up was that this installment – through no fault of its own – wouldn't be as funny compared to the first.

Sure, conditions weren't ideal. However, life definitely felt slightly less fractured in those days. This universe depicted a grim society that didn't hit extremely relatable, and still managed to be simultaneously emotional and hilarious. I began The Outer Worlds 2 pretty sure that this installment couldn't succeed to accomplish this a second time, but I'm delighted to report that I was mistaken. This sequel is just as smile-generating as the release that came before it, and additionally brings fresh concepts rather than just recycling similar elements comparable to an worn-out business tune.

Changing NPCs

The majority of the non-player characters users found in the original game had been defeated by the actions of business corporations like the fictional company, and were acutely conscious of how much their situation was terrible. The Outer Worlds 2 progresses matters in a distinct route, featuring characters who are programmed (sometimes figuratively, regularly truly). A lot of these NPCs don't even realize of how profoundly disordered their conditions are, or that there could be choices to a life lived under the boot of a large business or limited by the creeds of a high-demand religion.

This follow-up investigates methods of corporate control that are more deceptive than simply keeping the people destitute. Many NPCs have been indoctrinated into the kind of excessively zealous "grindset mindset" rhetoric you can discover on online profiles that claim to disclose the secret of achievement if you pay for an overpriced workshop, or participate in a dubious blockchain project. Additionally, the title's company advertising has evolved.

Modern Themes

There are still plenty of unmotivational posters throughout facilities indicating reductions in staff compensation who so much as contemplate having a break, but additionally there are mentions of network marketing tactics, including a staff guide that proudly declares, "Unfamiliar individuals are simply customers YOU haven't met yet!" Being a person who developed within a multi-level marketing family, I promptly exploded in amusement when I saw this mention, because it's a phrase I have often heard spoken verbatim by those at the bottom of these systems.

Thankfully, this follow-up is as comedic and sarcastic as the first game.

This installment additionally investigates the predicament many of us find ourselves in regarding work, political matters, and even personal purchases: Being forced to select the lesser of several poor choices. While attempting to determine if to assist a risky company or a concerning cult in the game, I discovered I was aligning with the familiar evil: A familiar company structure that is awful (though just utilizes propaganda to indoctrinate its followers), instead of the cult, which is similarly terrible, but utilizes an awful technique termed "cognitive reset" to keep its adherents obedient.

Unreliable Masters

Additionally, the individuals you serve might not be reliable. In the role of an galactic official, your mission involves working to return control to this outpost after an aggressive business acquisition, and you rapidly learn that each of the attackers and the defenders subscribe to distinct (but similarly terrible) ideologies. However, a rapid review of the messages on your spacecraft's system reveal that this organization is hardly the universe's most principled authority either, as shown by a response to a distress call that informs the caller it will take "several organizational cycles" for an answer to their communication. (This duration is roughly the duration it takes for me to get a hold of a real support representative over the phone nowadays.)

Recognizable Scenarios

Many moments in this sequel are extremely familiar, but it's a cleansing sort of relatability, and the game succeeds in balancing its bleak societal vision with humor that's authentically amusing yet not seeming incongruous. A primary concept is the near-instant onset of decline that happens to unfold in the wake of large company takeovers. Employees on both sides of The Outer Worlds 2's major acquisition find their existence decrease therefore, while the leaders in charge of the food chain are, of course, accumulating money quickly.

Okay, at the very least I recognize my situation.

Just like the first game, this sequel is naturally humorous, but it also doesn't hesitate to become dramatic. At a certain time, while wandering around the title's initial discoverable location, I stumbled across a body with a recording close by. This message disclosed that this character (associated with the programming faith group) had been killed in an event while trying to hunt down and eliminate her romantic partner. This romantic partner had reportedly deserted from their faction, and the perished individual was enraged by her lover's {traitorous