This review contains spoilers
Disclaimer: I was a playtester on Echoes of the Eye, so my initial playthrough of the DLC was quite different to everyone else. It was spread out over the course of several months, which allowed me time to speculate on the story. I think this helped my impression of the DLC - but reviews are always subjective, so.
I am proud to have helped with the building of the DLC in this small way, and I cannot claim that I came at this second playthrough without that in my head.
The Outer Wilds is comfy, right? There's a bit of gentle creepiness in the base game, but ultimately, it's a relaxed game about exploring and discovering new things at your own pace. It is fair to say that Echoes of the Eye is not the same experience. It is much, much creepier all the way through, and has some outright horror moments. I think it is perfectly reasonable to be turned off by this, and I completely understand how that vibe will have made people dislike expecially the latter half of the DLC.
With that said, god did it work for me. The exploration of The Stranger manages to truncate the planet-hopping of the base game into a single(ish) location. The Stranger feels homely in a way to me in a way that is unexpected considering the general creepiness that lurks in its deeper recesses, and sailing down its river is a fun and compellingly relaxing mechanic.
The second half of the dlc dives into something much spookier, with chases, a creeping dread, and the sense that something is truly, horribly wrong. I don't think I ever truly got over The Strangefolk coming after me. I am glad that a Less Frights option made it to the final release.
But what really made Echoes of the Eye sing for me was the tale it weaves.
SERIOUS STORY SPOILERS FOLLOW
The two races you come to know in Outer Wilds both embody the explorer's spirit completely. Nomai and Hearthians alike are voyaging across the dark, seeking answers, eventually finding what noone could have ever predicted. The contrast of The Strangefolk immediately understanding the Eye and their visceral hatred of it screams at you. Where Outer Wilds wants you to think about the future, to hope - Echoes and The Strangefolk asks you to ponder if that future is worth it?
I could not dislike The Strangefolk, no matter how many times they caught me. It is no wonder they do. The guilt they must have felt over the destruction of their home, all in pursuit of the Eye - it crushes me.
And yet somehow, someone in that simulation still believed, still hoped, still found a profound beauty in the End the Eye presents. Their actions are what sets up the events of Outer Wilds. Their reach into the blackness inspires the search for millenia afterwards.
I will carry that hope with me. And when that one-horned prisoner asked if I wanted him to be part of what was next - how could I refuse?
I am proud to have helped with the building of the DLC in this small way, and I cannot claim that I came at this second playthrough without that in my head.
The Outer Wilds is comfy, right? There's a bit of gentle creepiness in the base game, but ultimately, it's a relaxed game about exploring and discovering new things at your own pace. It is fair to say that Echoes of the Eye is not the same experience. It is much, much creepier all the way through, and has some outright horror moments. I think it is perfectly reasonable to be turned off by this, and I completely understand how that vibe will have made people dislike expecially the latter half of the DLC.
With that said, god did it work for me. The exploration of The Stranger manages to truncate the planet-hopping of the base game into a single(ish) location. The Stranger feels homely in a way to me in a way that is unexpected considering the general creepiness that lurks in its deeper recesses, and sailing down its river is a fun and compellingly relaxing mechanic.
The second half of the dlc dives into something much spookier, with chases, a creeping dread, and the sense that something is truly, horribly wrong. I don't think I ever truly got over The Strangefolk coming after me. I am glad that a Less Frights option made it to the final release.
But what really made Echoes of the Eye sing for me was the tale it weaves.
SERIOUS STORY SPOILERS FOLLOW
The two races you come to know in Outer Wilds both embody the explorer's spirit completely. Nomai and Hearthians alike are voyaging across the dark, seeking answers, eventually finding what noone could have ever predicted. The contrast of The Strangefolk immediately understanding the Eye and their visceral hatred of it screams at you. Where Outer Wilds wants you to think about the future, to hope - Echoes and The Strangefolk asks you to ponder if that future is worth it?
I could not dislike The Strangefolk, no matter how many times they caught me. It is no wonder they do. The guilt they must have felt over the destruction of their home, all in pursuit of the Eye - it crushes me.
And yet somehow, someone in that simulation still believed, still hoped, still found a profound beauty in the End the Eye presents. Their actions are what sets up the events of Outer Wilds. Their reach into the blackness inspires the search for millenia afterwards.
I will carry that hope with me. And when that one-horned prisoner asked if I wanted him to be part of what was next - how could I refuse?