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During my first encounter with the first Outer Worlds game, I was instantly captivated by its satirical, Fallout-like brand of humor. The game boasted lively conversations, personal journals, and propaganda materials that depicted a business-controlled nightmare that was both dark and amusing. My main fear starting The Outer Worlds 2 was that this entry – through no fault from itself – could fail to be as comedic like the original.

Certainly, situations weren't flawless. 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 hilarious. I commenced the follow-up pretty sure that this installment couldn't succeed to pull this off again, but I'm delighted to report that I was wrong. This follow-up is equally smile-generating as the title that preceded it, and furthermore presents fresh concepts instead of just recycling identical material like an tired company slogan.

Developing Personalities

Most of the non-player characters players encountered in the first title had been worn out by the activities of company organizations like the in-game corporation, and were acutely conscious of how much their situation was terrible. This installment progresses matters in an alternative path, presenting individuals who are brainwashed (occasionally metaphorically, regularly truly). A lot of these personalities aren't conscious of how profoundly screwed up their situations are, or that there may exist options to a lifetime passed beneath the control of a large business or limited by the doctrines of an intense faith.

The sequel examines forms of corporate control that are more subtle than only making the population impoverished. Numerous characters have been indoctrinated into the sort of extremely eager "grindset mindset" rhetoric you can discover on social media accounts that vow to show the secret of achievement when you buy an expensive course, or participate in a sketchy crypto scheme. Furthermore, the release's company advertising has developed.

Contemporary Issues

There are still many demotivating signs on the walls indicating reductions in pay from workers who even contemplate having a break, but additionally there are allusions to pyramid scheme methods, including an employee manual that confidently announces, "Strangers are just patrons you have yet to encounter!" As someone who grew up in a direct sales household, I immediately burst out laughing upon viewing this reference, because it's a refrain I have regularly listened to spoken verbatim by people at the base of these systems.

Thankfully, this sequel is as comedic and satirical as the first game.

This installment furthermore explores the dilemma numerous people experience concerning work, politics, and even consumer choices: Having to pick the smaller of multiple bad options. During efforts to decide whether to support a harmful business or a dangerous religious group within the title, I found myself supporting the devil I know: A familiar corporate entity that is awful (though just utilizes propaganda to indoctrinate its followers), instead of the faith organization, which is equally bad, but utilizes a terrible method named "psychological renewal" to keep its adherents obedient.

Questionable Employers

Even the people you serve may not be dependable. As an space operative, your assignment includes attempting to restore order to the Arcadia colony subsequent to a hostile corporate takeover, and you rapidly learn that each of the invaders and the defenders follow separate (though equally awful) beliefs. Yet a speedy review of the communications on your ship's terminal show that this organization is hardly the galaxy's most moral organization either, as evidenced by an answer to an emergency signal that notifies the contact it will take "several corporate years" for an answer to their communication. (This period is about how long it takes for me to contact a real help desk employee via telephone these days.)

Familiar Situations

Many moments in this installment are extremely familiar, but it's a cleansing sort of relatability, and this title manages to balance its depressing dystopian setting with comedy that's authentically amusing yet not seeming inappropriate. One major theme is the rapid beginning of deterioration that seems to take place in the wake of significant business mergers. Staff members from all factions of The Outer Worlds 2's big merger experience their living standards worsen consequently, while the leaders in control of the structure are, expectedly, collecting the cash hand over fist.

Well, at minimum I recognize my situation.

Just like the original title, this sequel is inherently funny, but furthermore isn't afraid to become dramatic. At one point, while wandering around the game's first accessible planet, I came upon a deceased individual with an audio log close by. This recording disclosed that this individual (who was aligned with the programming faith group) had been killed in an event while attempting to track down and kill her romantic partner. This partner had reportedly deserted from their organization, and the perished individual was incensed at her lover's {traitorous