When I first played The Outer Worlds, I was immediately hooked by the game’s irreverent, Fallout-esque sense of humor. The game was full of lively dialogue, character diaries, and propaganda posters which painted a picture of a corporate dystopia that was simultaneously bleak and amusing. My biggest fear going into The Outer Worlds 2 was that the game — through no fault of its own — wouldn’t be nearly as funny as its predecessor. When the original game launched in October 2019, a carton of eggs could be purchased with pocket change, human employees weren’t being replaced with AI en masse, and we hadn’t yet been through a years-long pandemic that various public figures attempted to paint as a hoax.
Sure, things weren’t perfect. But the world definitely felt a bit less broken back then. The Outer Worlds depicted a dystopia that didn’t hit too close to home, and still managed to be both heartwarming and hilarious. I went into The Outer Worlds 2 feeling pretty confident that the sequel wouldn’t be able to pull this off a second time, but I’m happy to report that I was wrong. The Outer Worlds 2 is just as chuckle-inducing as the game that came before it, and also introduces new themes rather than just recycling the same content like an overused corporate jingle.
Most of the NPCs players encountered in the original game had been beaten down by the actions of a corporate entity like Spacer’s Choice, and were painfully aware of how much their lives sucked. The Outer Worlds 2 takes things in a different direction, featuring characters who are brainwashed (sometimes figuratively, often literally). Many of these NPCs aren’t even aware of how profoundly screwed up their situations are, or that there might be alternatives to a life lived under the boot of a massive corporation or bound by the creeds of a high-demand religion. NPCs who are injured and on the brink of literally working themselves to death seem baffled by the concept of opting out of the corporate machine.
The sequel examines forms of corporate control that are more insidious than simply keeping the masses poor. Many NPCs have been brainwashed into the kind of overly enthusiastic “grindset mindset” rhetoric you’ll find on Instagram accounts that promise to reveal the key to success if you pay for an overpriced workshop, or invest in a sketchy crypto scheme. Even the game’s corporate propaganda has evolved. There are still plenty of (un)motivational posters on the walls threatening to dock pay from workers who so much as think about taking a day off, but there are also references to multi-level marketing tactics, including a new hire handbook that proudly declares, “Strangers are just customers YOU haven’t met!” As someone who grew up in a Mary Kay household, I immediately burst out laughing when I saw this, because it’s a refrain I have often heard spoken verbatim by those at the bottom of a pyramid scheme.
Thankfully, The Outer Worlds 2 is just as funny and irreverent as the first game.Image: Obsidian via Polygon
The Outer Worlds 2 also examines the predicament many of us find ourselves in when it comes to work, politics, and even personal purchases: Being forced to choose the lesser of two (or three) evils. When trying to decide whether to support a dangerous corporate entity or a dangerous religious group in the game, I found myself siding with the devil I know: A familiar corporate entity that sucks (but only uses propaganda to brainwash its subjects), instead of the religious group, which also sucks, but uses an awful technique called “mental refreshment” to keep its adherents in line.
Even the people you work for may not be trustworthy. As an Earth Directorate agent, you’re tasked with attempting to restore order to the Arcadia colony after a hostile corporate takeover, and you’ll soon discover that both the invaders and the invadees subscribe to differing (yet equally horrific) beliefs. But a quick examination of the messages on your ship’s terminal reveal that the Earth Directorate isn’t exactly the world’s most ethical employer either, as evidenced by a response to a distress call that tells the sender it will take “three to five business years” for a reply to their message. (That time frame is about how long it takes for me to get a hold of a non-robot customer service agent over the phone these days.)
Many moments in The Outer Worlds 2 are painfully relatable, but it’s a cathartic sort of relatability, and the game manages to balance its depressing dystopian setting with humor that’s genuinely funny without feeling out of place. One major theme is the near-instant onset of enshittification that seems to take place in the wake of any major corporate acquisition. Employees on both sides of The Outer Worlds 2‘s big merger see their quality of life decrease as a result, while the CEOs at the top of the food chain are, of course, raking in the cash hand over fist.
Hey, at least I know where I stand.Image: Obsidian via Polygon
Just like the first game, The Outer Worlds 2 is inherently funny, but it also isn’t afraid to get serious. At one point, while wandering around the game’s first explorable world, I stumbled across a corpse with an audio log nearby. The audio log revealed that this NPC (who was aligned with the brainwashing religious faction) had died in an accident while attempting to hunt down and kill her romantic partner. This romantic partner had apparently defected from their faction, and the now-dead NPC was incensed at her lover’s traitorous actions. The audio log near her corpse revealed just how deeply this religious cult had sunk its claws into her: With her final breath, she left a message for her estranged partner:
“My darling… I am sorry. But were you here, I would use the last of my strength to slay you. Our feelings… are not even a candle to the incandescent love of the Sovereign.”
This moment is decidedly not funny. But for anyone who’s ever shared a holiday meal with a once-loving family member who has become unrecognizable due to the seething hatred they’ve developed for anyone who doesn’t share their beliefs, it’s definitely cathartic. In The Outer Worlds, NPCs were largely unwilling victims of unfortunate circumstances. In The Outer Worlds 2, many of them are enthusiastically gobbling up propaganda. Some do it because they genuinely believe in their faction’s cause, while others fall in line simply because it’s the safest course of action.
When the world’s on fire, sometimes all you can do is laugh.Image: Obsidian via Polygon
This is even reflected in the game’s various radio stations, with the corporation-backed channel blasting catchy jingles that encourage listeners to be as ruthless or unethical as they please in their business dealings, as long as they don’t get caught. Meanwhile, the station backed by the brainwashed religious cult pumps out tunes and speeches reminding members that they’re obligated to turn in friends and family members who don’t adhere to the cult’s beliefs and behave in a way that reflects its values.
The Outer Worlds 2 goes deeper than a simple “capitalism is bad,” or “religion is dangerous” message. Instead, it explores the moral conundrum of trying to make your way in a society where there are no clear “good guys,” and the most you can do is try to make the least-awful choice available. Even when you’re presented with a “good” option, one faction or another will twist your actions to suit their agenda, either blaming another faction or taking credit for your good deeds. But the game never climbs atop a moral soapbox to lecture the player on right and wrong. Instead, it leaves the player to figure out their own views on morality. But The Outer Worlds 2 does make one thing clear: Laughter is the best medicine — especially when you can’t afford interstellar health insurance.
