🔗 Share this article

Upon my initial playthrough of the original Outer Worlds game, I was instantly captivated by its irreverent, Fallout-inspired brand of humor. The game featured dynamic dialogues, individual logs, and promotional posters that illustrated a corporate dystopia that was at once bleak and amusing. My primary concern approaching the follow-up was that this installment – through no fault from itself – wouldn't be as comedic like the original.

Admittedly, things weren't perfect. Yet society definitely felt somewhat less damaged back then. This universe showed a bleak future that didn't strike overly familiar, and still managed to be at once heartwarming and hilarious. I commenced The Outer Worlds 2 pretty sure that the sequel wouldn't manage to accomplish this once more, but I'm happy to report that I was wrong. The Outer Worlds 2 is as chuckle-inducing as the game that came before it, and also introduces original ideas instead of simply reusing similar elements comparable to an worn-out business tune.

Developing Personalities

A large portion of the non-player characters gamers met in the first title had been defeated by the activities of corporate entities such as the fictional company, and were painfully aware of how much their situation was terrible. The Outer Worlds 2 progresses matters in an alternative path, featuring characters who are programmed (occasionally metaphorically, frequently actually). Numerous NPCs aren't even aware of how extremely disordered their situations are, or that there could be choices to an existence spent beneath the control of a huge company or limited by the doctrines of a demanding cult.

This follow-up investigates methods of company influence that are more subtle than merely maintaining the people destitute. Many NPCs have been brainwashed into the type of overly enthusiastic "hustle mentality" rhetoric you can discover on digital platforms that vow to show the key to success should you purchase a costly program, or participate in a questionable digital currency plan. Additionally, the title's business promotion has evolved.

Modern Themes

There remain many demotivating signs throughout facilities indicating reductions in pay from workers who dare to think about having a break, but there are also mentions of pyramid scheme methods, featuring an employee manual that proudly declares, "Unfamiliar individuals are simply customers YOU have yet to encounter!" Being a person who developed within a direct sales family, I instantly erupted laughing when encountering this mention, because it's a saying I have regularly listened to repeated exactly by individuals in lower positions of those structures.

Fortunately, The Outer Worlds 2 is just as funny and sarcastic as the initial release.

This installment furthermore explores the situation numerous people find ourselves in concerning work, politics, and including buying decisions: Having to pick the smaller of multiple bad options. When trying to determine if to back a risky company or a problematic faith organization in the game, I discovered I was aligning with the devil I know: A recognized corporate entity that is terrible (though just utilizes advertising to indoctrinate its followers), as opposed to the religious group, which also sucks, but uses a horrible approach called "cognitive reset" to keep its adherents obedient.

Doubtful Authorities

Even the people you serve may not be trustworthy. As an galactic official, your mission involves working to return control to this outpost subsequent to a hostile corporate takeover, and you will quickly find that the two the attackers and the invadees follow differing (though equally awful) beliefs. But a quick review of the transmissions on your spacecraft's system show that this agency isn't precisely the world's most ethical organization too, as shown by an answer to a help request that tells the sender it will take "3-5 business years" for an answer to their transmission. (This period is approximately the time it takes for me to get a hold of a non-robot customer service agent through calling nowadays.)

Relatable Moments

Numerous instances in this sequel are highly recognizable, but it's a cleansing type of familiarity, and the game achieves equilibrium between its depressing dystopian setting with comedy that's authentically amusing while avoiding out of place. An important idea is the near-instant onset of decline that appears to occur in the wake of significant business mergers. Workers from each party of The Outer Worlds 2's major acquisition see their quality of life decline consequently, while the executives at the top of the hierarchy are, naturally, collecting profits hand over fist.

Okay, at the very least I recognize my position.

Similar to the initial release, this follow-up is naturally humorous, but additionally doesn't hesitate to get serious. During a moment, while traveling around the release's primary discoverable location, I came upon a corpse with a recording in the vicinity. This recording showed that this individual (associated with the brainwashing religious faction) had perished in an incident while attempting to hunt down and dispatch her romantic partner. This partner had reportedly deserted from their faction, and the now-dead NPC was enraged by her partner's {traitorous