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During my first encounter with the initial Outer Worlds title, I was quickly hooked by its irreverent, Fallout-esque style of comedy. The game boasted dynamic dialogues, individual logs, and advertising displays that illustrated a company-run society that was simultaneously dark and humorous. My biggest worry heading into The Outer Worlds 2 was that this version – without blame of its own – might not be as funny as its predecessor.

Sure, things weren't perfect. But the world definitely felt slightly less fractured in those days. This universe showed a bleak future that didn't strike overly familiar, and still managed to be both touching and comical. I started The Outer Worlds 2 pretty sure that this release couldn't succeed to pull this off once more, but I'm delighted to announce that I was mistaken. This sequel is as smile-generating as the game that came earlier, and furthermore presents new themes as opposed to merely repeating the same content comparable to an worn-out business tune.

Evolving Characters

The majority of the game characters users found in the first title had been beaten down by the actions of company organizations including Spacer's Choice, and were acutely conscious of the extent to which their situation was terrible. This sequel takes things in a different direction, presenting individuals who are indoctrinated (occasionally metaphorically, regularly truly). Numerous characters aren't conscious of how deeply screwed up their circumstances are, or that there might be options to an existence spent beneath the control of a massive corporation or restricted by the beliefs of a demanding cult.

This follow-up examines forms of business domination that are more insidious than only making the masses poor. Various personalities have been programmed with the sort of overly enthusiastic "work ethic" discourse you can discover on online profiles that claim to disclose the secret of achievement if you pay an expensive course, or participate in a sketchy crypto scheme. Even the game's company advertising has developed.

Contemporary Issues

There are still many unmotivational posters throughout facilities indicating reductions in pay from workers who dare to contemplate having a break, but furthermore exist references to network marketing tactics, including an employee manual that boldly states, "Strangers are just clients you have yet to encounter!" As an individual who was raised in a multi-level marketing family, I instantly erupted in amusement when encountering this reference, because it's a saying I have often heard spoken verbatim by individuals in lower positions of such schemes.

Thankfully, this sequel is just as funny and sarcastic as the initial release.

This sequel also examines the situation various individuals encounter regarding employment, politics, and even consumer choices: Needing to pick the lesser of two or three evils. When trying to determine if to support a harmful business or a dangerous religious group in the game, I discovered I was aligning with the familiar evil: A recognized company structure that is terrible (yet merely employs propaganda to brainwash its subjects), instead of the faith organization, which is equally bad, but uses a horrible approach named "cognitive reset" to maintain its followers obedient.

Unreliable Masters

Additionally, the individuals you serve may not be trustworthy. Playing as an Earth Directorate agent, you're tasked with working to return control to this outpost following an aggressive business acquisition, and you will quickly find that both the invaders and the invadees follow differing (but similarly terrible) doctrines. But a quick inspection of the transmissions on your spacecraft's system reveal that this agency isn't exactly the galaxy's most moral organization as well, as demonstrated by an answer to an emergency signal that notifies the contact it will take "three to five business years" for a response to their message. (This duration is approximately the time it takes for numerous individuals to get a hold of a human help desk employee over the phone currently.)

Relatable Moments

Various situations in The Outer Worlds 2 are highly recognizable, but it's a cathartic type of familiarity, and the game achieves equilibrium between its grim future world with wit that's authentically amusing yet not seeming out of place. An important idea is the rapid beginning of decline that happens to unfold in the wake of significant business mergers. Employees on both sides of this installment's major acquisition experience their living standards worsen consequently, while the executives in charge of the food chain are, expectedly, collecting money quickly.

Hey, at least I know my position.

Comparable to the first game, this sequel is intrinsically comedic, but it also doesn't shy away to turn solemn. During a moment, while exploring around the game's first explorable world, I discovered a body with an audio log nearby. The audio log disclosed that this NPC (associated with the programming faith group) had perished in an incident while trying to locate and kill her romantic partner. This romantic partner had reportedly deserted from their faction, and the deceased character was incensed at her lover's {traitorous