Despite the original being my favourite PS2 game and in my top 10 games of all time, I'd never wanted to play the remake before. The graphics and lighting always looked a bit 'off' to me, and lacking the atmosphere that those fuzzy, misty PS2 graphics gave off.
After I got used to the sharpness of the visuals though and the slightly terrible rendition of Wanda's face, I really fell for this remakes charms.
It feels like a real labour of love to a game that two decades on, is still one of a kind. It's been so long since I replayed the original that I can't tell if this is greatly altered, but it didn't seem to be to me.
That feeling of isolation, sadness and that you are doing a bad thing is still very much there. The ruined landscape is largely empty and devoid of life, but the glimpses of a lost civilization and nature are beautiful.
The music is as incredible as I remember it. And this remake is gorgeous. I lost track of how many times I stood marvelling at the vistas, colossus and world.
Gameplay wise, the quirks are still there that I largely like. The awkward controls convey this sense that you might fall hundreds of feet at any moment and that you are a small, insignificant blight on these majestic beasts. Some of the shoddy 20 year old camera work and controls did bug me on that final, disappointing colossus but that aside, they were fine for me.
The star of the show is still the colossi. I'd forgotten several of them and felt like a genius working out the solutions, only resorting to a guide once when I knew what to do, just not how to trigger it. Giant, living platforms to climb. A simple idea on paper, a staggering achievement in reality.
It feels like witchcraft to me, even now, how someone came up with that idea and pulled it off. And with such variety. I'm still not sure gaming has bettered that feeling of when you grab onto the flying colossus here or work out how to ride beneath the waves on another.
Ueda's work has always been magical to me. He's the greatest game designer in my eyes for his 3 titles to date. They represent singular, huge thoughts, executed to a level that whole AAA studios never get near. I understand why people get annoyed at the controls or how clear instructions are left vague; but that mystery and fragility are what make these games so special to me.
And you can see how Shadow of the colossus has inspired so many great games since; Breath of the wild. Xenoblade Chronicles. Bayonetta. Elden Ring.
I am so glad that it's now got a playable version that will endure for many years to come.
After I got used to the sharpness of the visuals though and the slightly terrible rendition of Wanda's face, I really fell for this remakes charms.
It feels like a real labour of love to a game that two decades on, is still one of a kind. It's been so long since I replayed the original that I can't tell if this is greatly altered, but it didn't seem to be to me.
That feeling of isolation, sadness and that you are doing a bad thing is still very much there. The ruined landscape is largely empty and devoid of life, but the glimpses of a lost civilization and nature are beautiful.
The music is as incredible as I remember it. And this remake is gorgeous. I lost track of how many times I stood marvelling at the vistas, colossus and world.
Gameplay wise, the quirks are still there that I largely like. The awkward controls convey this sense that you might fall hundreds of feet at any moment and that you are a small, insignificant blight on these majestic beasts. Some of the shoddy 20 year old camera work and controls did bug me on that final, disappointing colossus but that aside, they were fine for me.
The star of the show is still the colossi. I'd forgotten several of them and felt like a genius working out the solutions, only resorting to a guide once when I knew what to do, just not how to trigger it. Giant, living platforms to climb. A simple idea on paper, a staggering achievement in reality.
It feels like witchcraft to me, even now, how someone came up with that idea and pulled it off. And with such variety. I'm still not sure gaming has bettered that feeling of when you grab onto the flying colossus here or work out how to ride beneath the waves on another.
Ueda's work has always been magical to me. He's the greatest game designer in my eyes for his 3 titles to date. They represent singular, huge thoughts, executed to a level that whole AAA studios never get near. I understand why people get annoyed at the controls or how clear instructions are left vague; but that mystery and fragility are what make these games so special to me.
And you can see how Shadow of the colossus has inspired so many great games since; Breath of the wild. Xenoblade Chronicles. Bayonetta. Elden Ring.
I am so glad that it's now got a playable version that will endure for many years to come.
A fun victory lap that does a decent (if hardly revelatory) job of filling in some blanks in Leon's story and resurrects a few settings from the original game that were chopped from the remakes main campaign.
Playing the game on Hardcore meant the bosses were a bit of an unwelcome challenge spike, but I got through it once I worked out the desired tactic.
The grapple gun makes some of the combat encounters a bit more varied but bar that, it's really just more of the same. Which isn't bad at all, given it's a wonderful game. But it just lacks any real surprises.
Not sure personally it's worthy of the adoration that many reviews bestowed upon it, but it's a decent enough bit of DLC for the price.
Playing the game on Hardcore meant the bosses were a bit of an unwelcome challenge spike, but I got through it once I worked out the desired tactic.
The grapple gun makes some of the combat encounters a bit more varied but bar that, it's really just more of the same. Which isn't bad at all, given it's a wonderful game. But it just lacks any real surprises.
Not sure personally it's worthy of the adoration that many reviews bestowed upon it, but it's a decent enough bit of DLC for the price.
I love the Prince of Persia series. Traps, platforming, sunny colour combos, flared trousers, fun combat... Top stuff. Sands of Time is an all timer for me and I've played most of the games either side of it.
So after the positive reviews, I was keen to try this. However I'd say that 15 hours into this game, I was slightly willing it to end. It felt too big, padded, happy to borrow ideas from other games and with a story that's frankly not overly interesting.
Fast forward another 20, and I'm completing the game at 92% completion, waxing lyrical about it to others, seeking out almost every last treasure and putting it in my top 3 Metroidvanias ever.
It's up there with Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight for me. It has the slick movement and levelling up of the former and the challenging combat and exploration of the latter.
The only thing that arguably stops it knocking those off that pedestal is a very slight lack of it's own identity. It handles the series' core conceit of manipulating time really smartly in ways I've not seen before, but shall keep quiet for spoiler reasons; there are several abilities here I've not seen in 2D games before, and they're executed brilliantly.
But there were a lot of moments that broke the immersion and reminded me of other games. A lot of character interactions and treatment felt ripped off of Hades. The combat is pure Dead Cells. The platforming at its toughest reminds me of Celeste and Guacamelee.
But when it's good, man it's good. The abilities you unlock are really great. They forced me to tackle bosses and navigate sections in ways no other games of this type has ever asked me before. The combat got more and more layered, the bosses as tricky as you'd find in a Souls game, the secrets as devious as you'd find in any decent side scroller and I found myself wanting to see every last bit of the map.
I gave up on a few of the stupidly hard trap platforming bits, but on the whole I loved almost every section. The rush I felt for clearing the harder parts was immense.
And the game does have some of its own ideas, from placing screenshots on the map (to recall previously visited areas) to levels frozen in time via capabilities that will become staples in lesser platforms for years to come. By the end of the game, I had mastered the moveset and felt invincible.
It's one of the best reimaginings of a game series I can think of in years, and I hope it gets the success it deserves. All in all, this is exactly how you bring back a long lost series and find a new audience.
So after the positive reviews, I was keen to try this. However I'd say that 15 hours into this game, I was slightly willing it to end. It felt too big, padded, happy to borrow ideas from other games and with a story that's frankly not overly interesting.
Fast forward another 20, and I'm completing the game at 92% completion, waxing lyrical about it to others, seeking out almost every last treasure and putting it in my top 3 Metroidvanias ever.
It's up there with Metroid Dread and Hollow Knight for me. It has the slick movement and levelling up of the former and the challenging combat and exploration of the latter.
The only thing that arguably stops it knocking those off that pedestal is a very slight lack of it's own identity. It handles the series' core conceit of manipulating time really smartly in ways I've not seen before, but shall keep quiet for spoiler reasons; there are several abilities here I've not seen in 2D games before, and they're executed brilliantly.
But there were a lot of moments that broke the immersion and reminded me of other games. A lot of character interactions and treatment felt ripped off of Hades. The combat is pure Dead Cells. The platforming at its toughest reminds me of Celeste and Guacamelee.
But when it's good, man it's good. The abilities you unlock are really great. They forced me to tackle bosses and navigate sections in ways no other games of this type has ever asked me before. The combat got more and more layered, the bosses as tricky as you'd find in a Souls game, the secrets as devious as you'd find in any decent side scroller and I found myself wanting to see every last bit of the map.
I gave up on a few of the stupidly hard trap platforming bits, but on the whole I loved almost every section. The rush I felt for clearing the harder parts was immense.
And the game does have some of its own ideas, from placing screenshots on the map (to recall previously visited areas) to levels frozen in time via capabilities that will become staples in lesser platforms for years to come. By the end of the game, I had mastered the moveset and felt invincible.
It's one of the best reimaginings of a game series I can think of in years, and I hope it gets the success it deserves. All in all, this is exactly how you bring back a long lost series and find a new audience.
Completed Mar 10th 2024
I've never played this sequel, but bought it on sale years ago, so the cheap upgrade offer felt like a good excuse to rectify that.
For context, I liked Part 1, but didn't love it. I really rate the world design aesthetic and appreciate the production values, but I didn't care for the story as much as I feel the game wanted me to. It was more daring as AAA games go, and well handled, but nothing life changing for me. The bigger issue was I found the actual gameplay amongst the cut scenes, on rails escapes and slow walking sections a bit sluggish. It just never quite clicked in a way the combat did in Tomb Raider / Horizon, nor did I feel the stealth was as solid as Metal Gear / Deus Ex / Hitman.
I tonally struggled a bit with Part 1 too. It's pretty bleak and unrelenting, but also very silly. It goes to such great lengths to be realistic in it's visuals and writing, but your character seems to be fine after taking an axe to the head and safe combinations are left written on walls 5 feet away. So I found that a bit jarring.
My friend recommended I up the difficulty here to Hard to make scavenging items more vital and combat encounters more tactical, and it was a great shout. If anything I wish I'd played it on an even harder setting, as by the end I was pretty unstoppable and realised I ended the game having saved up, but never used, a Molotov / nail bomb / smoke bomb. That shift in tension transformed my enjoyment of this series; and whilst I do feel it's thematically still more of a far fetched game than it is a deep essay on humanity, I loved Part 2 so much more than Part 1. I'm tempted to buy and replay the Remaster of the original one day.
Abby and Ellie's increased movement and move sets make things so much more fluid, and I felt like I was chaining together my abilities so smoothly. I went from stealth, to picking off a few people, to setting traps and then unleashing bullet hell on people often within one encounter. I stealthed through whole camps, without being spotted once. I avoided whole sections of the game. I set infected on enemies without doing anything. I walked into an infected room with a flamethrower and stood my ground like Elena Ripley. Picked off whole patrols without them ever knowing I was there. The variety and control I had felt thrilling. In particular Days 2 and 3 for both characters were amongst some of the best I've experienced in a while.
I also liked that this game felt a bit more human on human, than a zombie fest. I am not the bravest gamer and shy away from jump scares and horror titles, so that probably also added to my increased enjoyment of Part 2 Vs 1.
I should also say, whilst I'm not someone who always gets swayed by visuals, this game is pretty remarkable for a game half a decade old. Many times I found myself taking photos or marvelling at how gorgeous it was. I loved the change in light and tone in the final section too. And played with headphones on, the sound was really quite spectacular. The sound design of things like the workbench upgrade table and the infected is immense.
I won't go into anything storywise for spoilers, but I think it builds on Part 1 smartly and goes interesting places. The story (and probably the game itself) could have done with some editing and landing it's points a bit faster in places, but I'm intrigued to see where a further chapter goes narratively.
I'm excited to play the cut content now with the commentary on and replay a few chapters I particularly loved in a different way. I definitely favoured stealth over firefights, so an alternate play on those levels would be fun.
All in all, TLOU2 just feels a far better game to me than 1. And I can see why the people who love it, really love it. Whilst the story of the first probably stays with you longer, I know which one I'd rather play.
And if... or rather when... Part 3 lands, I'll be there day one.
I've never played this sequel, but bought it on sale years ago, so the cheap upgrade offer felt like a good excuse to rectify that.
For context, I liked Part 1, but didn't love it. I really rate the world design aesthetic and appreciate the production values, but I didn't care for the story as much as I feel the game wanted me to. It was more daring as AAA games go, and well handled, but nothing life changing for me. The bigger issue was I found the actual gameplay amongst the cut scenes, on rails escapes and slow walking sections a bit sluggish. It just never quite clicked in a way the combat did in Tomb Raider / Horizon, nor did I feel the stealth was as solid as Metal Gear / Deus Ex / Hitman.
I tonally struggled a bit with Part 1 too. It's pretty bleak and unrelenting, but also very silly. It goes to such great lengths to be realistic in it's visuals and writing, but your character seems to be fine after taking an axe to the head and safe combinations are left written on walls 5 feet away. So I found that a bit jarring.
My friend recommended I up the difficulty here to Hard to make scavenging items more vital and combat encounters more tactical, and it was a great shout. If anything I wish I'd played it on an even harder setting, as by the end I was pretty unstoppable and realised I ended the game having saved up, but never used, a Molotov / nail bomb / smoke bomb. That shift in tension transformed my enjoyment of this series; and whilst I do feel it's thematically still more of a far fetched game than it is a deep essay on humanity, I loved Part 2 so much more than Part 1. I'm tempted to buy and replay the Remaster of the original one day.
Abby and Ellie's increased movement and move sets make things so much more fluid, and I felt like I was chaining together my abilities so smoothly. I went from stealth, to picking off a few people, to setting traps and then unleashing bullet hell on people often within one encounter. I stealthed through whole camps, without being spotted once. I avoided whole sections of the game. I set infected on enemies without doing anything. I walked into an infected room with a flamethrower and stood my ground like Elena Ripley. Picked off whole patrols without them ever knowing I was there. The variety and control I had felt thrilling. In particular Days 2 and 3 for both characters were amongst some of the best I've experienced in a while.
I also liked that this game felt a bit more human on human, than a zombie fest. I am not the bravest gamer and shy away from jump scares and horror titles, so that probably also added to my increased enjoyment of Part 2 Vs 1.
I should also say, whilst I'm not someone who always gets swayed by visuals, this game is pretty remarkable for a game half a decade old. Many times I found myself taking photos or marvelling at how gorgeous it was. I loved the change in light and tone in the final section too. And played with headphones on, the sound was really quite spectacular. The sound design of things like the workbench upgrade table and the infected is immense.
I won't go into anything storywise for spoilers, but I think it builds on Part 1 smartly and goes interesting places. The story (and probably the game itself) could have done with some editing and landing it's points a bit faster in places, but I'm intrigued to see where a further chapter goes narratively.
I'm excited to play the cut content now with the commentary on and replay a few chapters I particularly loved in a different way. I definitely favoured stealth over firefights, so an alternate play on those levels would be fun.
All in all, TLOU2 just feels a far better game to me than 1. And I can see why the people who love it, really love it. Whilst the story of the first probably stays with you longer, I know which one I'd rather play.
And if... or rather when... Part 3 lands, I'll be there day one.
2023
So I went on a right journey with this. Literally and critically.
On the face of it, it's a simple enough game; climb to the top of a tall mountain.
First impressions were good. It looks gorgeous, it sounds great and the gameplay is interesting. Lots of games do climbing, but it feels on rails. Here, you definitely feel in peril and the tethering mechanic adds real suspense. Can I swing across here? If I loosen this rope, can I jump further? Shall I drop down this pit? A few times it glitched on me and went loopy, but on the whole it held up really well, and I'd be intrigued to see if future exploration games borrow it. It felt genuinely like new news to me, which in 2024 is pretty rare.
Interestingly as I played it, my feelings started to mirror those of the climbers. I started to feel a sense of fatigue when faced with another big section to climb. As I read the discarded notes, and noticed the odd grave, I started to feel desperately alone and hopeless. When I began to pay more attention to objects strewn around the empty homes, I started to figure out what was occurring in the world.
And ultimately, I really wanted to get to the top. I had to keep going. See what was up there. And I'm really glad I did.
There's no doubt that it borrows heavily from a ton of other games. The atmosphere is pure Ueda. The melancholy premise reminded me of Sable. The emotional journey harks back to Gris and Celeste. There are fleeting moments that remind me of Okami. And I do wonder if this 4 hour, slightly bittersweet indie genre has slightly run it's course, for the time being.
But equally, this game is precisely why Gamepass can be so good. I heard about it on a few podcasts, gave it a go and really found something here that I had a rewarding time with. It married the story and gameplay in a way a lot of bigger titles utterly fail to; and I can see why those it resonated with, rate it so highly.
On the face of it, it's a simple enough game; climb to the top of a tall mountain.
First impressions were good. It looks gorgeous, it sounds great and the gameplay is interesting. Lots of games do climbing, but it feels on rails. Here, you definitely feel in peril and the tethering mechanic adds real suspense. Can I swing across here? If I loosen this rope, can I jump further? Shall I drop down this pit? A few times it glitched on me and went loopy, but on the whole it held up really well, and I'd be intrigued to see if future exploration games borrow it. It felt genuinely like new news to me, which in 2024 is pretty rare.
Interestingly as I played it, my feelings started to mirror those of the climbers. I started to feel a sense of fatigue when faced with another big section to climb. As I read the discarded notes, and noticed the odd grave, I started to feel desperately alone and hopeless. When I began to pay more attention to objects strewn around the empty homes, I started to figure out what was occurring in the world.
And ultimately, I really wanted to get to the top. I had to keep going. See what was up there. And I'm really glad I did.
There's no doubt that it borrows heavily from a ton of other games. The atmosphere is pure Ueda. The melancholy premise reminded me of Sable. The emotional journey harks back to Gris and Celeste. There are fleeting moments that remind me of Okami. And I do wonder if this 4 hour, slightly bittersweet indie genre has slightly run it's course, for the time being.
But equally, this game is precisely why Gamepass can be so good. I heard about it on a few podcasts, gave it a go and really found something here that I had a rewarding time with. It married the story and gameplay in a way a lot of bigger titles utterly fail to; and I can see why those it resonated with, rate it so highly.
2023
This review contains spoilers
For anyone who hasn't seen it, A Highland Song is the new game from Inkle. Like 80 Days before it, the joy lies in tackling the game multiple times, to find faster routes to reach your target; a lighthouse out at sea. You start in the Scottish Highlands and have to navigate caves, climbs, snow covered peaks, water, weather, nightfall, ski lifts, dams and much more besides to reach your goal.
Its a 2D exploration game and it looks gorgeous. Hand painted landscapes that have you taking screenshots all the time. Being set in Scotland, the folklore, narration and music is also wonderful. It really captures the spirit of the country perfectly.
Overall though, I'm a bit conflicted on this one.
For large parts of the game, I adored it.
Finding scraps of maps, figuring out where short cuts are and navigating mountains is very rewarding. And not as easy as you'd think. And it's clear that many objects you pick up won't be useful until a future run.
But it's not without issue. I had two or three bad crashes that locked my Switch or shut the game, losing some progress. I fell through the levels a few tmes. Some of the landscape is very hard to read, though a patch that came out tonight fixes some of that. The skill of figuring out where to go is wonderful when it works, but when you're lost it can be very frustrating; I lost 3 days trying to find a way off one mountain (which reminded me in 80 Days of that foray to Antarctica that kills you).
The biggest issue though is that after 2 runs, I'm not sure I want to do a 3rd. Whereas with 80 Days, I did about 20 as it was so much joy to experiment with new routes. Here, because the climbing is a bit laborious, it gets a bit dull, fast.
I've probably put about 6 hours in and feel like I've seen enough for now, until it's patched. And I think what is there is genuinely unique and charming.
It just didn't quite have the 'one more go' factor that I'd hoped it would.
2023
This was a very pleasant and unique surprise. I loved the demo and thought I'd pick it up as it's regularly only £25 on disc, despite not playing the original game.
How to describe it...
It's got the movement and flow of a parkour game like Mirrors Edge; if you had the traversal abilities of a Pilot in Titanfall 2. You are a cyborg ninja, and the combat plays like you're Raiden from MGS:Revengence; in first person. When you slow down time and chain some killer combat moves together, it reminds me of DOOM and Red Steel 2 at their best. And you die. A lot. Tons in fact. The last boss took me 257 attempts. But like Neon White, when you die you instantly restart at a handy point to retry it. So it becomes part of the experience, and not an issue.
That last point is key. I got some strong 'Soulsborne energy' from the game. Cursing it at first, as the tutorial is obtuse and opening boss fundamentally unfair. Sticking with it, because the sense of reward for reaching the next checkpoint was addictive. Loving the game eventually, when you start to master how to play it.
It throws some great things in along the way too. An incredible bike that shouldn't work, but is dazzling. A brief open world section to break up the indoor levels. A wingsuit that adds vertically. A ton of upgrades that let you alter your playstyle.
The story and cast of characters isnt quite top tier, but it is very original. I got some strong Astral Chain / Dishonored vibes from it. And I'm very keen to play the original now.
If any of this description intrigued you, play the demo. It won't spoil the game as - weirdly - the demo level isn't in the game. It's a remixed version of a level from it, and far more user friendly than the real game. But you'll get a sense of if it's for you or not.
But I loved it.
Your character progression and abilities stay with you permanently too, so replaying levels will now be even more fun. It's the sign of a great game and developer when you instantly replay the first two levels, where you initially died 200+ times, and clear them in 20 goes and feel like a total badass.
If you loved something about Neon White, Titanfall 2, Mirrors Edge, Dishonored, DOOM, Red Steel 2, Dark Souls, Metal Gear Solid: Revengence... you'll probably like this.
Oh, and it's got THE best parry and bullet deflect ability in a game. Ever.
How to describe it...
It's got the movement and flow of a parkour game like Mirrors Edge; if you had the traversal abilities of a Pilot in Titanfall 2. You are a cyborg ninja, and the combat plays like you're Raiden from MGS:Revengence; in first person. When you slow down time and chain some killer combat moves together, it reminds me of DOOM and Red Steel 2 at their best. And you die. A lot. Tons in fact. The last boss took me 257 attempts. But like Neon White, when you die you instantly restart at a handy point to retry it. So it becomes part of the experience, and not an issue.
That last point is key. I got some strong 'Soulsborne energy' from the game. Cursing it at first, as the tutorial is obtuse and opening boss fundamentally unfair. Sticking with it, because the sense of reward for reaching the next checkpoint was addictive. Loving the game eventually, when you start to master how to play it.
It throws some great things in along the way too. An incredible bike that shouldn't work, but is dazzling. A brief open world section to break up the indoor levels. A wingsuit that adds vertically. A ton of upgrades that let you alter your playstyle.
The story and cast of characters isnt quite top tier, but it is very original. I got some strong Astral Chain / Dishonored vibes from it. And I'm very keen to play the original now.
If any of this description intrigued you, play the demo. It won't spoil the game as - weirdly - the demo level isn't in the game. It's a remixed version of a level from it, and far more user friendly than the real game. But you'll get a sense of if it's for you or not.
But I loved it.
Your character progression and abilities stay with you permanently too, so replaying levels will now be even more fun. It's the sign of a great game and developer when you instantly replay the first two levels, where you initially died 200+ times, and clear them in 20 goes and feel like a total badass.
If you loved something about Neon White, Titanfall 2, Mirrors Edge, Dishonored, DOOM, Red Steel 2, Dark Souls, Metal Gear Solid: Revengence... you'll probably like this.
Oh, and it's got THE best parry and bullet deflect ability in a game. Ever.
All this talk of space exploration in Starfield, reminded me that I had unfinished business with THE best space exploration game ever. Given there's a free PS5 upgrade from my PS4 copy of the game and the DLC was on sale, I figured... why not.
It was a pleasure to be back in this world. After a couple of loops I figured out how to pilot the ship again, as I flew past some planets that for me are genuine technological and creative marvels.
But I had a new quest. One final journey.
I won't say much about the game, bar what you can glean from the opening minutes, because the joy of this game is in figuring it out for yourself. The way I play Outer Wilds is to do as much as I can, only resorting to a guide when I feel like I either know what I need to do (but can't find a certain location again) or when I'm utterly, totally stuck.
I didn't get too totally and utterly stuck on this, though I wasn't always following the story 100%. There were a couple of moments though where I kicked myself because I hadn't clocked a tiny detail that was very important, and I'm not sure I ever would have figured it out. Where I did give in a bit easily was when the big difference between the two games came to a head; the horror.
Now really, it's no more freaky or different to the main campaign. It's largely psychological and down to the emptiness of the experience. But because of the central theme at the heart of this DLC you do spend a lot of this experience in the dark. Quite literally. And there were a few times I properly jumped out of my skin (and I do not do horror games).
I am glad I pushed past that though as the way this DLC fits into the main campaign really enriches it.
To me, this closing chapter isn't quite as good as the main game, being more of a self contained mission within a larger interconnected universe, but it goes to some very unexpected places, finds new creativity within the established framework and more than anything, just made me remember what a staggering, wonderful, ambitious, original and creative game Outer Wilds is.
I just need to wait a few lunar loops so that I can one day go back in and experience it all over afresh.
It was a pleasure to be back in this world. After a couple of loops I figured out how to pilot the ship again, as I flew past some planets that for me are genuine technological and creative marvels.
But I had a new quest. One final journey.
I won't say much about the game, bar what you can glean from the opening minutes, because the joy of this game is in figuring it out for yourself. The way I play Outer Wilds is to do as much as I can, only resorting to a guide when I feel like I either know what I need to do (but can't find a certain location again) or when I'm utterly, totally stuck.
I didn't get too totally and utterly stuck on this, though I wasn't always following the story 100%. There were a couple of moments though where I kicked myself because I hadn't clocked a tiny detail that was very important, and I'm not sure I ever would have figured it out. Where I did give in a bit easily was when the big difference between the two games came to a head; the horror.
Now really, it's no more freaky or different to the main campaign. It's largely psychological and down to the emptiness of the experience. But because of the central theme at the heart of this DLC you do spend a lot of this experience in the dark. Quite literally. And there were a few times I properly jumped out of my skin (and I do not do horror games).
I am glad I pushed past that though as the way this DLC fits into the main campaign really enriches it.
To me, this closing chapter isn't quite as good as the main game, being more of a self contained mission within a larger interconnected universe, but it goes to some very unexpected places, finds new creativity within the established framework and more than anything, just made me remember what a staggering, wonderful, ambitious, original and creative game Outer Wilds is.
I just need to wait a few lunar loops so that I can one day go back in and experience it all over afresh.