It’s hard to talk about Outer Wilds for 2 reasons:
1. People tell you that you must go in with no information at all (which I don’t necessarily think is true for everyone)
2. It’s hard to put what makes this game so great into words
I say I don’t believe #1 to be true because well… This is my 3rd time playing Outer Wilds, and the first time finishing it. This is also the first time I’ve realized how great this game is. The other times I would’ve just said “It’s fun.” I feel like it should be said to new people that getting to the end is the key to this game, especially to those who aren’t immediately on board by just being told to explore. Sure this is an exploration game but in truth this is also a detective game, and these 2 genres are seamlessly melded together. The entire game is one big puzzle box, made out of intricate clues that’ll have you bouncing from planet to planet to see every puzzle thread to its end. Hidden under all that is a deep emotional core that only shows its face if you put in the work.
Every planet within the solar system of Outer Wilds is perfectly built to easily find points of interest. This universe is miniscule but the feelings of running into the weirdo phenomena hidden within are grand. A water world of twisters. Twin planets filling each other up with sand. Whatever the fuck Dark Bramble is. Oh hey look I’m crashing into the sun. All of this is enhanced by a magnificent score by Andrew Prahlow. Makes sense that one of the games that will go down in history would also have potentially historical music. AND it’s got banjos.
The wonder of exploration is only matched with a fear of the unknown, and it makes sense to fear the unknown. It’s freakin’ space! you should be afraid, one wrong move and you’re dead. Outer Wilds once again uses fantastical eeriness to capture these feelings. There’s rocks that move when you don’t look at them and they emit a low droning frequency. There’s the Echoes of the Eye DLC which freaked me out way too much. There’s fucking FISH IN SPACE. That may not sound scary but just you wait, nerd.
To me Outer Wilds is a lot like Death Stranding. Both will have times where maybe you aren’t having fun. You may get stuck. You may even rage quit at points. There’s some creepy ass shit in there too. All of this however is important to the fabric of what makes these games great. For Death Stranding it’s to show you how connection and relationships can better the world around you. For Outer Wilds it’s about embracing the journey. Living life through its ups and downs because that’s what life is all about. To focus on finding purpose to why we’re here will make you miss out on life itself. Go hug a loved one and hang with a friend.
1. People tell you that you must go in with no information at all (which I don’t necessarily think is true for everyone)
2. It’s hard to put what makes this game so great into words
I say I don’t believe #1 to be true because well… This is my 3rd time playing Outer Wilds, and the first time finishing it. This is also the first time I’ve realized how great this game is. The other times I would’ve just said “It’s fun.” I feel like it should be said to new people that getting to the end is the key to this game, especially to those who aren’t immediately on board by just being told to explore. Sure this is an exploration game but in truth this is also a detective game, and these 2 genres are seamlessly melded together. The entire game is one big puzzle box, made out of intricate clues that’ll have you bouncing from planet to planet to see every puzzle thread to its end. Hidden under all that is a deep emotional core that only shows its face if you put in the work.
Every planet within the solar system of Outer Wilds is perfectly built to easily find points of interest. This universe is miniscule but the feelings of running into the weirdo phenomena hidden within are grand. A water world of twisters. Twin planets filling each other up with sand. Whatever the fuck Dark Bramble is. Oh hey look I’m crashing into the sun. All of this is enhanced by a magnificent score by Andrew Prahlow. Makes sense that one of the games that will go down in history would also have potentially historical music. AND it’s got banjos.
The wonder of exploration is only matched with a fear of the unknown, and it makes sense to fear the unknown. It’s freakin’ space! you should be afraid, one wrong move and you’re dead. Outer Wilds once again uses fantastical eeriness to capture these feelings. There’s rocks that move when you don’t look at them and they emit a low droning frequency. There’s the Echoes of the Eye DLC which freaked me out way too much. There’s fucking FISH IN SPACE. That may not sound scary but just you wait, nerd.
To me Outer Wilds is a lot like Death Stranding. Both will have times where maybe you aren’t having fun. You may get stuck. You may even rage quit at points. There’s some creepy ass shit in there too. All of this however is important to the fabric of what makes these games great. For Death Stranding it’s to show you how connection and relationships can better the world around you. For Outer Wilds it’s about embracing the journey. Living life through its ups and downs because that’s what life is all about. To focus on finding purpose to why we’re here will make you miss out on life itself. Go hug a loved one and hang with a friend.