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When I first experience with the first Outer Worlds, I was quickly hooked by its irreverent, Fallout-like type of wit. This title boasted engaging exchanges, personal journals, and promotional posters that depicted a company-run society that was simultaneously dark and amusing. My main fear approaching The Outer Worlds 2 was that this version – through no fault on its part – wouldn't be as comedic compared to the first.

Sure, things weren't perfect. However, life certainly seemed somewhat less damaged back then. The Outer Worlds presented a dystopia that didn't feel extremely relatable, and yet accomplished to be both emotional and uproarious. I started The Outer Worlds 2 pretty sure that the sequel couldn't succeed to achieve this again, but I'm happy to announce that I was incorrect. This follow-up is equally chuckle-inducing as the game that came before it, and also introduces new themes as opposed to just recycling similar elements like an tired company slogan.

Changing NPCs

A large portion of the NPCs users found in the original game had been worn out by the deeds of company organizations including the fictional company, and were painfully aware of the extent to which their situation was terrible. The Outer Worlds 2 takes things in a distinct route, presenting individuals who are brainwashed (sometimes figuratively, frequently actually). Numerous personalities aren't even aware of how deeply messed up their conditions are, or that there may exist choices to an existence spent under the boot of a large business or limited by the beliefs of an intense faith.

This second installment examines forms of company influence that are more subtle than only making the people destitute. Various personalities have been programmed with the kind of overly enthusiastic "hustle mentality" rhetoric you can discover on social media accounts that promise to reveal the path to accomplishment should you purchase a costly program, or invest in a dubious blockchain project. Even the game's company advertising has evolved.

Contemporary Issues

There remain plenty of demotivating signs on the walls indicating reductions in pay from workers who so much as contemplate taking a day off, but additionally there are references to multi-level marketing tactics, such as a new hire handbook that confidently announces, "Unfamiliar individuals are simply customers YOU still need to meet!" Being a person who developed within a multi-level marketing environment, I promptly exploded in amusement when I saw this allusion, because it's a refrain I have regularly listened to spoken verbatim by individuals in lower positions of these systems.

Thankfully, The Outer Worlds 2 is equally humorous and satirical as the first game.

This sequel also examines the predicament numerous people encounter regarding occupation, politics, and even consumer choices: Needing to choose the lesser of multiple bad options. When trying to determine if to support a dangerous corporate entity or a concerning cult within the title, I discovered I was supporting the devil I know: A recognized corporate entity that is terrible (yet merely employs advertising to program its members), instead of the faith organization, which also sucks, but employs a horrible approach named "psychological renewal" to maintain its followers obedient.

Unreliable Masters

Even the people you represent could fail to be trustworthy. In the role of an galactic official, you're tasked with working to return stability to this outpost subsequent to a hostile corporate takeover, and you will quickly find that both the invaders and the invadees adhere to differing (but similarly terrible) doctrines. However, a rapid examination of the transmissions on your spacecraft's system reveal that this agency isn't exactly the world's most ethical organization too, as evidenced by a reply to a distress call that informs the caller it will take "several organizational cycles" for a reply to their message. (This duration is about how long it takes for me to reach a human support representative over the phone nowadays.)

Relatable Moments

Many moments in this sequel are painfully relatable, but it's a therapeutic type of familiarity, and this title succeeds in balancing its depressing dystopian setting with wit that's truly humorous yet not seeming inappropriate. An important idea is the rapid beginning of enshittification that seems to take place following large company takeovers. Staff members from all factions of this installment's big merger experience their living standards decline therefore, while the CEOs in charge of the food chain are, of course, accumulating money rapidly.

Hey, at least I recognize my position.

Just like the first game, The Outer Worlds 2 is naturally humorous, but additionally doesn't shy away to get serious. During a moment, while traveling around the game's first accessible planet, I stumbled across a deceased individual with a recording close by. The audio log disclosed that this character (associated with the programming faith group) had died in an accident while trying to locate and eliminate her romantic partner. This romantic partner had seemingly abandoned from their organization, and the now-dead NPC was angry about her partner's {traitorous