A charming and philosophical dip into science fiction, Outer Wilds has you taking the role of an alien who is coming of age and as tradition holds it's time for you to become a space explorer. You'll go on a little tour of the village, learn about your people, visit the museum of their discoveries and then take to the starry sky to explore your solar system - and my is there much to discover.

This game really captures the essence of exploration and discovery in ways few other games have. The majority of gameplay is more akin to archaeology than anything as you set down on a planet, begin roaming, and learn about the beings that formerly inhabited this system. You'll discover their relics, and uncover how their past affects your future. There's little I can discuss without getting into spoilers but if you can get into the core loop of exploring and you enjoy the lore there's a ton of value to be discovered here.

Interwoven with the history are the puzzles that each planet embodies with underwater ruins on an ocean world, the strange way two planets trade their sand, a world collapsing into itself, deadly tunnels on the edge of the system, and more. Each of the planets makes for an adventure of its own and you have the freedom to explore each in any order at your own leisure, with all the clues you discover and how they are linked being helpfully curated on a screen in your space ship.

It may sound simple and obtuse but Outer Wilds and its breath-taking twists had me snared from the end of the first 'day' exploring its sandbox. The mix of clever environmental puzzles, well written lore, and fractal 'secrets within puzzles within secrets' design makes it a gem of mechanical design meets worldbuilding.