Outer Wilds

please please PLEASE play this game
This game absolutely delivers in everything from game mechanics to story to visuals. It's stunningly beautiful, every single inch of this solar system has been designed with so much care and tells a magnificent story.

My only wish for this game is that I could forget all about it so that I can experience it for the first time again
This game will stick with me for a long, long time

When people say that games cannot be a form of art, that they can't express ideas or beliefs in a meaningful way.

Show them this game.

While it is true that not all games are deep with meaning, they can be made with that in mind. Games can allow beautiful ideas, experiences, and thoughts to be expressed in the most beautiful of ways.

Outer Wilds is both a game and a work of art, and one that you can only ever experience ONCE.

Do not spoil yourself, do not ask for guidance unless you are entirely and utterly stumped or stuck. This is a journey, an experience that you will savor every moment of once you have finished it.

May curiosity guide you onto one of the most emotional stories I have had the privilege of listening to, and may your marshmallows be toasted to perfection traveler!

One truly wishes to witness the last moments of this life surrounded by their loved ones, unfortunately, it's not always possible. I hope that we'll cross paths again in some way, if not… well, it was a good ride.

It's a newtonian/space/flight/exploration/quantum entangled/puzzle game with horror elements that is SUPER sad but also THE MOST wholesome game I have ever played. Its like if you crossed a space flight sim with Portal... only its genuinely a lot lot lot better then Portal. The music is genius.

Top 3 games I have ever played. I struggle to think of a better game, but I know it can't be the best so top 3.

I am sad it's over.

Wow. Just wow.

I just finished my first blind play through of the game. I had heard good things about the game, only knew that it was a space game and that I should stay away from spoilers. It was on my wish list since it came out and I got it over the last winter sale. I would pay full price for this game. It is by far one of the best games I have ever played. Amazing adventure, brought me to tears. Fully recommend.

Mind-blowing. As you can see in my profile I play a lot of games and Outer Wilds just jumped into my Top-10 of all time. The overall game design, world design and immersion are as good as it gets. And I haven't even played the DLC yet. Do yourself a favor and give them your money. There's no better way to spend it (forget food, drinks, rent!).

10/10

Log 1 - An extremely short slow, boring beginning to a grand adventure

My first impressions weren’t positive. I love getting to the action real quick. So when I'm delegated to walking and reading early on. Doesn’t excite me to move on especially since I already want to progress past the atmosphere. And usually, there’s a clear prerogative of what to do. Here there’s not a hand-holding overarching narrative to follow consistently. You have to build your own goals and discover what lies in the vastness of the universe a bit. A central 'plot' does exist though, so don't worry if you think this is purely a sandbox. Moreover, upon finishing the basic tutorials, I wish I could march back in a hot instant to slap my past self silly for thinking ridiculous nitpicks. Because I’m so glad to be wrong.

Log 2 - Appreciating the fear of the unknown

Any interstellar film or game worth its salt needs to evoke the presence of horror, hopelessness, anxiety, and tension. We can use examples from earlier works like Alien(1979) by Ridley Scott or Mass Effect(2007) series. The former needs no introduction where we see struggling survivors encountering a deadly alien threat. Managing to keep our suspense intact and the ‘surprise’ of what occurs in the future moving. Among other elements of horror such as fear. The latter presents a decent spread of hostile and friendly species to converse. Yet the traits differ. You never know what to expect despite talking to them. The element of ‘surprise,’ is inherent in the above aspects. Thus I am treated to a host of emotions I find unsettling, but not off-putting.

Log 3 - Fleeting wonder and magically enraptured from beginning, middle, and end

You know the idiomatic expression the third time's the charm? Well let me tell you how it's true. I can’t dive into specifics of what I saw. In terms of relatability and vibes, I found it breathtaking. An animated film I still love today is called Treasure Planet(2002). A story about a young lad coming across stories of a cool wandering pirate with the ability to disappear with nary a trace. To the point he has amassed a great treasure. Enchanted by his tales, he resolves to follow in similar footsteps. I won’t discuss anymore, but if you splice the movie with Interstellar(2014)’s planetary discovery, with displayed awe in both protagonist's facial expressions. Then you can figure out what my face turned into.

Log 4 - For now a little step. Later, a giant leaps for lorebuilding

The genius of worldbuilding worth its salt is the ability to strongly capture an individual’s attention and let the user form their conclusions based on information given from religion, culture, laws, physics, and other info. There's merit in connecting. In video games, we discern this through dialogue given by NPCs and books we can read. What blows my mind further is the placement of lore exercised to the fullest limit. Knowledge is extremely instrumental in conducting further actions. Thereby the primary strengths result in the varied text. Ancients in humorous stories and hobbies full of quirks yet it doesn’t detract from their passion in their craft. Leans into the minimalistic design without being overbearing. There is enough to ride the fine line of not extracting over-complicated to the point of excess. And I 100% believe 99% of everything here is gold. Loan Verneau(Other designer) emphasizes the characteristics from a 2020 Noclip documentary. “Minimalism is actually advantageous.”

Log 5 - Secrets, have secrets. And the critical usage of tools

Navigation I found to my pleasant surprise isn’t tough. To me, I found the experience easy to get a sense of orientation to decide your ensuing travel destination. Helped by the fact you have your globe compass. Thankfully entire locations are not absurdly complex. Plenty of locations are developed with care. Distinct enough to stand on its own. Standing in the middle of nowhere, you undoubtedly easily find themselves lost on where to forge next!

Log 6 - It's okay to make mistakes. History is full of them

I believe one of the hardest and maybe underappreciated qualities is to capture the attention of an individual for a prolonged period depending on the fun factor. Overcoming obstacles, finding new treasures, discovering secrets, winning against an opponent completing an objective, and my favorite is learning supplementary erudition that can be used retroactively to encounter alternate paths and solutions to obstacles. A slice different from metroidvanias with required items/abilities to progress. Similar, but different from how a rogue-lite conducts after failure. Operates by handing you enough necessary devices, not ability-gating, but sending them off at their own pace is an immensely enjoyable endeavor. 'If you can go there, you can reach it.'

Log 7 - My Mixed Feelings is Zero, as I Expected

I’ll be frank. I have zero mixed feelings. No negative nitpicks, and frustrations were due to the fact of my inability to jump the gun and Rambo my way to the credits. A shameful bad habit I still have trouble deterring myself from. Although, I’m glad I played until I finished the final act. The lesson I gently reminded is exercising a lesson in patience. Breathing deeply and re-focusing on my priorities whilst undergoing a process of elimination. Determining what I haven’t explored and what I couldn’t pass before, but with extra information gained.

Log 8 - Stories & mysteries. A positive appraisal

I always love heavy stories. It's the primary reason I look for within the medium. Everything else 2nd. So I'm extremely shocked to play a title where the plot is [redacted] in a way I didn’t expect. I’m no stranger to storytelling methods of unreliable narrators, ludo narrative dissonance, and connecting essential literary elements to craft a compelling plot. A climax full of importance and gawking. Supposedly with a loveable cast as well. I received none of these yet achieved an indescribable experience using a non-traditional progression. Which I find enormously challenging to describe in minute details.

Log 9 - Tips, hints, and a single weird outlier- A confession and the choice

I will confess to using a FAQ and hint guide near the very last stretch of my playthrough. I won’t say specifics. I primarily missed two things but I already knew beforehand and the execution. I simply missed the diminutive connection. This isn’t advocating to check FAQ or a guide. Merely suggesting if you need help. Or contacting a close friend. A blind playthrough is still highly recommended.

Log 10 - The Final Log

“...Outer Wilds is more than the sum of its parts. It's the type of game that leaves you with a feeling that can’t be explained. It has to be experienced.”

I echo the same sentiment. The herculean effort the developers at Mobius Digital created is truly one of a kind. Infrequently have I played a science fiction type hitting utterly the things I love and fear from the cosmos yet contained in a moving revolving door of themes tiny and grand. I found the grand finish line of my expeditions.

I implore any curious souls looking for an excellent sci-fi space adventure such as this as a one hell of a wake up palette cleanser to try between games, game pass, or even if they had an experience a stark contrast to mine then that’s entirely fair and valid. What matters is how your journey started, during, and ended. What you find at the closing of the day is the sincerest conclusion you reached with both hands and mind. Literally and figuratively. For better or worse. The cosmos exists, but so do we. And thus we venture forth to the stars. Undeterred, unbowed, and unflinchingly in the face of its daunting expanse, striving past our normal means.

10/10

I just beat this masterpiece of a game and i think i might never play a game that is as good as this, the game perfectly encourages the player to do whatever they want while still providing gentle nudges to assist the player, the sound design is also top notch and sets the mood when discovering something. I wish i could experience this again for the first time 11/10 truly nothing else like it.

Probably more fun on reflection than when actually playing the game. Bit of a time-sink - good for those with lots of time to play games. Can be frustrating if you don't often have extended periods to play, as you need to really get stuck in and make the connections between different pieces of information.

Mechanically it's great, really fun flying around space. You'll remember it fondly even if you don't mesh with the style of puzzles.

The saddest part of this game is that you can only truly experience it once. But at the same time I think that it is one of the things that make it as great as it is.

This game wasn't for me. I ended up returning it a few hours in. I still recommend this game (especially the dlc!!) beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's an incredible, wonderful, sweet game with a rich story. However, the game play elements/puzzles and mechanics just don't work well with me personally. I recommend even if you don't buy it to watch a play through of it. There was a hell of a lot of thought, love and care put into this game and it deserves every bit of praise it gets.

The best game you can only finish once.
I promise once you finish you'll be begging all your friends to get it and play so you can live vicariously through them.

Let curiosity guide you, become the conscious observer, learn to love the unknown, and enjoy some marshmallows by the fire.

There's really no way to review such a great game without spoiling it. Outer Wilds is a beautiful space exploration game with accurate physics and spaceship maneuvering, a must play for people with an interest in astronomy.
The main content here are knowledge-based puzzles. While a spoiler in other games will ruin the surprise, a spoiler here will reduce both the surprise and the amount of content the game has to offer you.
It's truly a beautiful one in a lifetime experience, something you can only witness once. You'll wish you could play it for the first time again.

For alot of the time my friends said this game was really something, most of the time i spent exploring and learning/figuring puzzles i never really understood what about it made them all recommend it so much; the ending was worth experiencing without spoilers.

As for the DLC, i may not have enjoyed it as much as the base game initially but it too was really good and just adds to the whole experience and story after figuring out how things work.

It's a beautiful game.

Amazing game. There are multiple moments where something just clicks in your head. As many others have said: Don't get any spoilers

One of the best games I've ever played PERIOD.
Also has one of, if not THE best DLC any game has received imo.

OMG It should be the game of the year! Just do NOT look anything up before playing! Don't even watch a trailer! Just dive right on in and enjoy this amazing experience and mind-blowing discoveries!

Outer Wilds is the most stunning and unique game I have ever played.
Please, don't spoiler yourself anything and play the game yourself. The progress is purely knowledge based and, once it's over, you won't be able to play it again

Awesome game. Don't look up spoilers, the ship log is your friend and if you're stuck, go try something else. Enjoy the ride!

This game is a work of art. Don't read about it. Don't watch reviews. Don't look up hints. It is best played with no preconceptions or outside influence.

It's impossible to say anything to you about the game itself, without ruining the experience for you.

If you are motivated by your own curiosity, then this is literally the perfect video game.

If you are incurious, uninterested in observing and reading, you will have a bad time.

Genuinely one of my favorite games of all time. This game offers such a unique experience that would be very hard to replicate. It may feel like a slow burn at first, but once the dots start connecting the payoff is huge. I started the journey on the Steam Deck (which ran flawlessly) and switched over to the PS5 shortly after. Upon completion of this game, it doesn't fully leave your mind for a long while.

After a long string of "infinite' playtime game I finally decided to play Outer Wilds. A game I was told to play countless times, over and over again by different forms of media and some friends. This game is a one time only play through type game and it is well worth the Journey. I sit here typing this review my tears still drying from my face. Please play this game.

Words do not do this game justice. This game fundamentally broke me and changed my outlook on a lot of things in life. I know every review you see is praising it, but I will warn you that there are some “flaws.”

Yes you will have to go through this completely blind. You will get stuck. You will get frustrated, annoyed, angry, at some parts. You will also experience true fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of empty space.

You will also experience beauty. Peace. Friendship. Sadness. Joy.

This game, or rather something MORE than a game isn’t for everyone. But it is something special for many people. So I encourage you, pour your soul into this game, and it will reward you with a new perspective, a new sense of peace.

Time to act like the other reviews and say yes, if there was one thing I could do in life again, it is play outer wilds for the first time.

This game is really really really special. I struggle with patience with games like this but letting the world sell itself to me, it became hard to stop playing. The mystery comes together so naturally, best enjoyed with zero spoilers. All the questions get answered through natural discovery.

If you read all the positive reviews they are spot on. Buy it, go into it blind, don't look at walkthroughs.

The best damn game ever. Wish I could play it again for the first time.

If you are on the fence about buying this game, do it. This has been the most cinematic masterpiece I have ever played and has rightfully deserved its place as my all time top favourite game.
The puzzles can be a bit complex in some parts but solutions can be found in other places so there is little to no incentive to even open google for help, which is always a sign that the devs have put their heart and soul into making this game the best they and their community could possibly wish for.

Absolutely legendary, best game ever created. Great story, great gameplay, best dlc I've ever played.

The best game.

There's nothing else like it.

I beat it months ago and still think about it regularly.

No other piece of media has had the same impact on me before or since.

A mystery of a lost civilization to unravel through exploration space, funny characters, tricky planets, tricky dead space fish and jellyfish, with a bit of armageddon... yes, that's some of the things in the game and I literally just tried it out once, but deserves the best credits. AMAZING

I can't say much, because this is such a spoiler heavy game. Simply, it's a space exploration "archaeology" game, meaning you are uncovering and learning things. It's possibly the best game I've ever played in all my 28 years on this planet. It's a 10/10.

As someone who is very easily scared by horror and atmospheric dread, I can say that Outer Wilds is most definitely an experience worth pushing past those fears to play. In fact, I think that having those fears actually makes Outer Wilds so much more impactful. Maybe it won't "change your life" or what have you, but it's a piece of interactive art that leaves you with lingering feelings.

This game is definitely worth your time. Try it out for a little, at least!

Wow, a game best played blind that brings you upon a introspective journey intertwined with quantum physics and the life cycle of the universe itself. Enjoy this gem of a game!

Definitely recommends the DLC echoes of the eye to play along with the main game.

Do yourself a favor and go into this game as blind as possible and you'll experience a masterclass in game design unlike anything you've ever played.

I'm not at liberty to disclose the events of this game, so I'll give you a brief breakdown of the game play and why its so fun. The core game play loop:
- Step into the shoes of Bill Murray and explore a hand crafted solar system that features real time interactions between the planetary bodies which comprise the system.
- Utilize a versatile set of tools to explore, solve puzzles, and navigate obstacles. They only sometimes violate the laws of reality.
- Solve an ancient mystery, older than Tommy Lee Jones.
- Get the band back together for one last concert.

Go explorer, something stirs in the sky, solemnly hoping to be found.

Everyone is depending on you, waiting an eternity just for this moment.

Those who exist, those who never will, they silently await the chance you give them.

Do not lose heart, you can do this.

Now you must go, there is much to discover.

Flew into the sun on 1st loop: ✅
Forgot to put on my suit before walking into space on 2nd loop: ✅
Got lost for the next 1000 loops: ✅
Peed my pants on Dark Bramble: ✅
Finally figured everything out and experienced a life-changing ending: ✅

Peak gaming

Everyones always like "play blind or yours a fucking idiot" I played blind up until I started looking up guides. At the bottom of every guide was a summery of what you learned by doing that. By giving the summery, you have entirley removed the need for a guide in the first place, because every single way you progress in this game is through knowledge. Thats why you play blind. if you dont, you remove the need to even play the game.

I cannot give this game a high enough score. This is your sign to buy it. Stop reading and just buy it now.

A story game filled with science and interesting game mechanics

This game has genuinly changed my perspective on life, death, and the universe itself, 10/10 would get amnesia to play it again,

The DLC is potentailly the best DLC for any game ever and is an easy 11/10, get Outer WIlds and its DLC

Easily the most special, jaw-dropping, and beautiful piece of media I've ever played or seen. Go in blind, your future self will thank you.

This game is one big puzzle and also one of the greatest game I've ever played. It make sense to only play it once, but you wish you could play it forever. DLC is also great, spooky and quite scary with no jumpscares. Music very nostalgic. There is only one downside that I saw after playing it. You need to go back to locations that you've been already quite often, but it is part of the plot. In short masterpiece. Hope games such as this one will appear more often.

play this now, dont go to work, just play and beat this. wipe your memory, then play this again.

Lots of things to like here, but could never get invested due the repetition this game inherently has.

This game really affected me deeply. I went into it almost completely blind, as one should, and exploring space piece by piece was one of the greatest experiences I've had in gaming. I tried my hardest not to rely on tutorials and rather figure things out by myself, and it worked almost completely. The game does exploration really well and you often do not feel truly stuck. The soundtrack, world, characters and story will definitely stick with me for the rest of my life. Highly recommended.

My tip for the game is, do not look up anything about it and take your time with it, as there will be no first time ever again. (oh and use the fuel refill in your ship because I didnt know about it for the first 10 hours)

Never in my life have I seriously thought that I wish I could play a game for the first time again, but this game changed that. Outer wilds is one of the best experiences I've ever had not only playing a game but ever. The game feels like more than just an amazing game, but an amazing experience in general. The ending is beautiful and the game play leading up to it is both extremely interesting and immersive. I have never wanted to write a review before but after finishing this game it felt like I needed to. Now that it's over, no other game for a while will feel as good as Outer Wilds.

Outer Wilds is a phenomenal game about discovering the secrets of a small solar system. The planets are all hand crafted and dense with things to explore. The game keeps notes of important things for you, which helps keep track of where there's still hidden secrets. It is easily a contender for the best game I've ever played, and I would strongly recommend going into it blind as the entire game is about discovering things for yourself.

I'm clearly in the minority, but I didn't find the charm of the game sufficient to outweigh its clunkiness. The infrequent save points require repeating dialogues if you need to leave the game before you encounter a random save point. Perhaps i didn't give this enough of a chance, but the the controls for flight I also found too difficult to achieve at least adequate competence to make continuing to learn worthwhile.

I wish all those well who've had such an amazing experience with the game, it just didn't work for me.