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When I first encounter with the original Outer Worlds, I was immediately drawn by its satirical, Fallout-esque brand of humor. The game boasted engaging exchanges, individual logs, and promotional posters that depicted a business-controlled nightmare that was at once dark and humorous. My primary concern heading into the sequel was that this entry – through no fault from itself – wouldn't be as humorous as its predecessor.

Certainly, conditions weren't ideal. But the world definitely felt somewhat less damaged back then. This game presented a dystopia that didn't hit overly familiar, and still managed to be simultaneously heartwarming and uproarious. I started the sequel pretty sure that this installment wouldn't be able to pull this off a second time, but I'm pleased to announce that I was mistaken. The Outer Worlds 2 is just as chuckle-inducing as the title that preceded it, and furthermore presents original ideas instead of just recycling similar elements like an tired company slogan.

Changing NPCs

Most of the non-player characters players encountered in the first title had been defeated by the actions of business corporations like Spacer's Choice, and were painfully aware of the degree that their existence was miserable. The Outer Worlds 2 moves events in a different direction, featuring characters who are brainwashed (sometimes figuratively, often literally). Many of these NPCs aren't even aware of how extremely screwed up their conditions are, or that there may exist alternatives to a life lived under the domination of a huge company or limited by the creeds of a demanding cult.

This follow-up examines forms of business domination that are more deceptive than merely maintaining the population impoverished. Many NPCs have been indoctrinated into the kind of excessively zealous "grindset mindset" language you can discover on online profiles that promise to reveal the path to accomplishment should you purchase for an overpriced workshop, or put money into a sketchy crypto scheme. Additionally, the title's business promotion has developed.

Modern Themes

There are still numerous discouraging displays on the walls warning about deducting employee wages who so much as contemplate taking a day off, but there are also allusions to multi-level marketing methods, featuring a staff guide that boldly states, "Unfamiliar individuals are simply patrons you have yet to encounter!" Being a person who developed within a multi-level marketing family, I immediately burst out laughing upon viewing this mention, because it's a phrase I have regularly listened to spoken verbatim by individuals in lower positions of such schemes.

Luckily, The Outer Worlds 2 is just as funny and sarcastic as the original title.

The Outer Worlds 2 additionally investigates the predicament numerous people experience concerning employment, political matters, and including buying decisions: Having to pick the reduced of several poor choices. During efforts to decide whether to support a risky company or a dangerous religious group within the title, I realized I became siding with the known negative: A recognized business organization that sucks (yet merely employs advertising to indoctrinate its followers), instead of the cult, which is similarly terrible, but employs a terrible method termed "psychological renewal" to keep its adherents obedient.

Unreliable Masters

Even the people you represent might not be trustworthy. In the role of an space operative, you're tasked with attempting to restore stability to this outpost subsequent to a forceful company buyout, and you will quickly find that both the attackers and the residents subscribe to separate (yet equally horrific) doctrines. However, a rapid examination of the transmissions on your vessel's computer reveal that the Earth Directorate isn't precisely the universe's most principled employer too, as evidenced by a reply to an emergency signal that informs the caller it will take "3-5 organizational cycles" for a reply to their communication. (This period is approximately the time it takes for numerous individuals to contact a non-robot support representative over the phone currently.)

Relatable Moments

Numerous instances in The Outer Worlds 2 are highly recognizable, but it's a therapeutic kind of recognition, and this title manages to balance its depressing dystopian setting with humor that's genuinely funny yet not seeming inappropriate. An important idea is the rapid beginning of enshittification that seems to take place following significant business mergers. Employees on both sides of this sequel's big merger find their existence decrease as a result, while the leaders in control of the food chain are, of course, collecting profits hand over fist.

Hey, at least I understand my situation.

Just like the first game, The Outer Worlds 2 is naturally humorous, but additionally isn't afraid to become dramatic. At a certain time, while traveling around the title's initial explorable world, I came upon a deceased individual with a message in the vicinity. This message showed that this NPC (associated with the indoctrinating cult) had perished in an incident while attempting to track down and eliminate her romantic partner. This romantic partner had reportedly deserted from their faction, and the deceased character was angry about her partner's {traitorous