🔗 Share this article

When I first experience with the initial Outer Worlds title, I was immediately drawn by its satirical, Fallout-like style of comedy. This release boasted lively conversations, personal journals, and promotional posters that portrayed a company-run society that was simultaneously grim and entertaining. My primary concern approaching the follow-up was that this entry – without blame on its part – could fail to be as humorous compared to the first.

Certainly, conditions weren't ideal. But the world certainly seemed a bit less broken back then. This game presented a dystopia that didn't feel overly familiar, and nonetheless succeeded to be simultaneously touching and comical. I commenced the sequel rather certain that this installment couldn't succeed to pull this off again, but I'm happy to state that I was wrong. This sequel is just as laughter-provoking as the game that came before it, and also introduces fresh concepts rather than just recycling identical material like an tired company slogan.

Developing Personalities

Most of the non-player characters players encountered in the original game had been beaten down by the activities of company organizations including the in-game corporation, and were fully cognizant of the degree that their lives sucked. This installment progresses matters in a distinct route, presenting individuals who are programmed (sometimes figuratively, regularly truly). A lot of these personalities don't even realize of how deeply disordered their situations are, or that there could be alternatives to a lifetime passed beneath the control of a large business or restricted by the beliefs of a high-demand religion.

This follow-up examines forms of company influence that are more deceptive than merely maintaining the population impoverished. Various personalities have been indoctrinated into the kind of extremely eager "grindset mindset" language you might encounter on online profiles that promise to reveal the path to accomplishment should you purchase an expensive course, or invest in a sketchy crypto scheme. Even the game's business promotion has progressed.

Modern Themes

There continue to be many discouraging displays in various locations threatening to dock employee wages who even consider having a break, but furthermore exist mentions of multi-level marketing tactics, including a new hire handbook that boldly states, "Unfamiliar individuals are simply customers YOU have yet to encounter!" As an individual who grew up in a network marketing household, I promptly exploded with laughter when I saw this mention, because it's a saying I have often heard repeated exactly by those at the bottom of such schemes.

Luckily, this follow-up is as comedic and irreverent as the first game.

This installment furthermore explores the situation numerous people experience concerning employment, politics, and including buying decisions: Being forced to pick the smaller of multiple bad options. While attempting to decide whether to back a harmful business or a concerning cult within the title, I found myself supporting the devil I know: An established company structure that sucks (yet merely employs advertising to program its members), rather than the religious group, which also sucks, but utilizes a terrible method named "psychological renewal" to maintain its followers compliant.

Unreliable Masters

Furthermore, the characters you represent may not be reliable. Playing as an galactic official, you're tasked with attempting to restore order to the Arcadia colony following a hostile corporate takeover, and you will quickly find that each of the aggressors and the defenders subscribe to separate (yet equally horrific) ideologies. But a quick examination of the communications on your ship's terminal reveal that this agency is hardly the world's most ethical authority too, as evidenced by a response to a help request that notifies the contact it will take "3-5 organizational cycles" for an answer to their communication. (This period is approximately the time it takes for many people to get a hold of a human customer service agent via telephone currently.)

Familiar Situations

Various situations in this installment are highly recognizable, but it's a cleansing sort of relatability, and this title achieves equilibrium between its bleak societal vision with humor that's truly humorous yet not seeming incongruous. One major theme is the quick commencement of enshittification that seems to take place following large company takeovers. Staff members from all factions of The Outer Worlds 2's major acquisition see their quality of life worsen as a result, while the CEOs in control of the food chain are, of course, accumulating profits quickly.

Hey, at least I recognize my position.

Just like the original title, this sequel is intrinsically comedic, but furthermore isn't afraid to get serious. During a moment, while exploring around the title's initial accessible planet, I came upon a corpse with a recording close by. This recording showed that this individual (connected to the programming faith group) had died in an accident while trying to track down and dispatch her significant other. This loved one had apparently defected from their organization, and the perished individual was enraged by her significant other's {traitorous