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Upon my initial encounter with the original Outer Worlds title, I was quickly hooked by its satirical, Fallout-esque brand of humor. The game boasted engaging exchanges, character diaries, and promotional posters that depicted a business-controlled nightmare that was simultaneously grim and amusing. My main fear starting the follow-up was that this entry – not due to of its own – wouldn't be as humorous like the original.

Admittedly, conditions weren't ideal. Yet society definitely felt somewhat less damaged in those days. This game showed a bleak future that didn't hit extremely relatable, and nonetheless succeeded to be simultaneously heartwarming and uproarious. I began The Outer Worlds 2 rather certain that the sequel wouldn't be able to pull this off again, but I'm delighted to announce that I was mistaken. This follow-up is equally smile-generating as the game that came earlier, and also introduces new themes as opposed to merely repeating identical material comparable to an tired company slogan.

Developing Personalities

Most of the NPCs gamers met in the initial release had been defeated by the actions of corporate entities like Spacer's Choice, and were acutely conscious of the degree that their situation was terrible. This sequel progresses matters in an alternative path, featuring characters who are brainwashed (sometimes figuratively, often literally). Many of these characters don't even realize of how profoundly messed up their conditions are, or that there might be alternatives to a life lived under the domination of a massive corporation or restricted by the beliefs of an intense faith.

The sequel examines forms of business domination that are more subtle than simply keeping the population impoverished. Numerous characters have been brainwashed into the kind of overly enthusiastic "hustle mentality" rhetoric you might encounter on online profiles that promise to reveal the path to accomplishment if you pay a costly program, or put money into a dubious blockchain project. Additionally, the title's business promotion has evolved.

Contemporary Issues

There continue to be plenty of unmotivational posters in various locations threatening to dock staff compensation who dare to contemplate requesting leave, but additionally there are mentions of pyramid scheme tactics, such as an employee manual that boldly states, "Strangers are just clients you still need to meet!" As an individual who developed within a network marketing environment, I immediately burst out with laughter when I saw this allusion, because it's a refrain I have frequently encountered stated precisely by those at the bottom of those structures.

Luckily, this follow-up is equally humorous and sarcastic as the initial release.

The Outer Worlds 2 also examines the dilemma many of us encounter when it comes to employment, politics, and even personal purchases: Being forced to choose the smaller of two or three evils. During efforts to choose whether to assist a harmful business or a concerning cult throughout the experience, I realized I became supporting the devil I know: A familiar company structure that sucks (but only uses promotion to program its members), instead of the faith organization, which is similarly terrible, but uses an awful technique termed "mental refreshment" to control its members in line.

Doubtful Authorities

Even the people you serve could fail to be reliable. In the role of an Earth Directorate agent, your mission involves working to return order to this outpost subsequent to a hostile corporate takeover, and you rapidly learn that each of the aggressors and the residents subscribe to separate (though equally awful) doctrines. However, a rapid examination of the transmissions on your spacecraft's system show that this agency is hardly the galaxy's most moral authority as well, as evidenced by a response to an emergency signal that tells the sender it will take "three to five corporate years" for a response to their transmission. (This duration is roughly the duration it takes for many people to reach a real help desk employee via telephone currently.)

Familiar Situations

Many moments in this sequel are highly recognizable, but it's a cathartic kind of recognition, and this title manages to balance its grim future world with humor that's authentically amusing yet not seeming out of place. One major theme is the near-instant onset of decline that happens to unfold following large company takeovers. Workers from each party of this sequel's big merger experience their living standards worsen consequently, while the executives in control of the structure are, expectedly, collecting profits quickly.

Hey, at least I know where I stand.

Comparable to the initial release, this follow-up is naturally humorous, but furthermore doesn't hesitate to turn solemn. During a moment, while exploring around the release's primary accessible planet, I came upon a deceased individual with an audio log in the vicinity. This recording showed that this character (connected to the brainwashing religious faction) had perished in an incident while attempting to track down and kill her significant other. This loved one had apparently defected from their group, and the deceased character was enraged by her significant other's {traitorous