The Outer Worlds 2 Manages to Be Funny, Despite Everything

When I first playthrough of the first Outer Worlds game, I was instantly captivated by its satirical, Fallout-inspired style of comedy. The game boasted lively conversations, individual logs, and advertising displays that portrayed a corporate dystopia that was at once dark and amusing. My main fear approaching The Outer Worlds 2 was that this installment – not due to on its part – wouldn't be as funny compared to the first.

Admittedly, situations weren't flawless. Yet society certainly seemed somewhat less damaged in those days. This universe presented a dystopia that didn't feel overly familiar, and still managed to be both touching and comical. I started the follow-up pretty sure that this installment wouldn't manage to pull this off once more, but I'm pleased to report that I was incorrect. This sequel is just as chuckle-inducing as the game that came before it, and additionally brings new themes as opposed to simply reusing the same content comparable to an overused corporate jingle.

Developing Personalities

Most of the non-player characters players encountered in the original game had been defeated by the actions of business corporations like Spacer's Choice, and were painfully aware of how much their existence was miserable. This sequel takes things in a distinct route, presenting individuals who are programmed (periodically symbolically, frequently actually). Many of these personalities aren't even aware of how deeply messed up their situations are, or that there might be choices to a lifetime passed under the boot of a large business or restricted by the beliefs of a demanding cult.

This second installment examines forms of corporate control that are more insidious than only making the population impoverished. Numerous characters have been programmed with the kind of excessively zealous "work ethic" discourse you can discover on online profiles that claim to disclose the path to accomplishment when you buy a costly program, or participate in a sketchy crypto scheme. Even the game's business promotion has evolved.

Modern Themes

There are still numerous discouraging displays in various locations warning about deducting staff compensation who dare to think about having a break, but there are also mentions of multi-level marketing strategies, such as a staff guide that proudly declares, "Strangers are just clients you have yet to encounter!" As someone who was raised in a direct sales family, I immediately burst out laughing when encountering this reference, because it's a phrase I have frequently encountered repeated exactly by those at the bottom of these systems.

Fortunately, this sequel is just as funny and satirical as the original title.

The Outer Worlds 2 additionally investigates the dilemma various individuals find ourselves in concerning work, politics, and even personal purchases: Being forced to select the lesser of multiple bad options. While attempting to decide whether to support a harmful business or a problematic faith organization within the title, I discovered I was aligning with the known negative: A familiar business organization that is awful (but only uses propaganda to indoctrinate its followers), rather than the faith organization, which is equally bad, but uses an awful technique termed "psychological renewal" to keep its adherents obedient.

Unreliable Masters

Even the people you serve may not be reliable. As an space operative, you're tasked with trying to reestablish order to this outpost after a forceful company buyout, and you rapidly learn that each of the aggressors and the defenders follow differing (but similarly terrible) ideologies. 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 as well, as demonstrated by a reply to a distress call that informs the caller it will take "three to five corporate years" for a reply to their transmission. (That time frame is about how long it takes for many people to get a hold of a non-robot support representative via telephone currently.)

Familiar Situations

Many moments in The Outer Worlds 2 are extremely familiar, but it's a cathartic type of familiarity, and this release manages to balance its bleak societal vision with comedy that's truly humorous without feeling out of place. One major theme is the near-instant onset of decline that seems to take place following any major corporate acquisition. Employees on both sides of The Outer Worlds 2's major acquisition find their existence decline therefore, while the executives in control of the structure are, expectedly, accumulating profits hand over fist.

Well, at minimum I understand my situation.

Comparable to the initial release, this sequel is inherently funny, but furthermore doesn't shy away to become dramatic. At a certain time, while wandering around the release's primary accessible planet, I discovered a deceased individual with an audio log in the vicinity. This recording disclosed that this individual (who was aligned with the brainwashing religious faction) had died in an accident during efforts to hunt down and kill her significant other. This partner had reportedly deserted from their organization, and the now-dead NPC was angry about her lover's {traitorous