The best thing I can say about Outer Wilds is it made me genuinely say “what the fuuuUUUCK???” (cresc.) probably a dozen times, each instance with increased disbelief. It’s a truly awe-inspiring take on the video game medium about, among many other things, finding solace in uncertainty. For every time it left me frustrated with a lynchpin mystery element (I chalk one key puzzle up to a poor design choice), I had dozens of instances left with only my own problem-solving skills to blame in the near-perfection of this little solar system (I chalk this up to, um, raw hubris). I played this game at a horrible time to enjoy the gameplay loop, given the fatigue I’m feeling from my worst semester of grad school yet; I had no desire to come home to read and solve more riddles. Ironically, that timing is exactly what made the lessons Outer Wilds teaches so impactful for me: the uncertainty in my own life feels more manageable after what I felt exploring this charming universe.

And man, I felt a lot. Both existential terror and unmitigated wonder. Haunting hopelessness and dogged determination. The centrality of community and the sheer oblivion of our singular loneliness. It also kinda makes no fucking sense and that’s okay. I never knew going places and reading stuff could elicit this range of emotions, so deeply. A near-essential 22 minutes 20ish hours for anyone with a controller.