Some games are recommended because they’re perfectly polished, others are recommended because they iterate on the systems people already like, but Outer Wilds doesn’t meet either criteria. There are times I got frustrated, times I tried correct solutions that didn’t work, and times I was pretty bored, but I still recommend it. The reason why is because of a third criteria that’s hard to find in large-scale exploration games: total originality. I value the experience of discovering Outer Wilds’ uniqueness more than I value the comprehensiveness of my recommendation, so to keep it short and spoiler-free, it’s a first-person spacefaring adventure about uncovering the cause of a natural disaster. You’re not given any direction on how to accomplish this, you just hop in your spaceship and head out to whatever planet looks best to you. There’s no hand-holding or patronizing tutorials, you’re expected to go and explore just for the joy of uncovering a mystery. All the triumphs, the beautiful moments, they’re all earned by your diligence, and success isn’t just handed to you. While being left to your own devices can make the times you’re stuck feel a little agonizing, the payoff at the end is easily worth it. If that sounds even remotely interesting, please give it a try. If there’s any game that deserves a chance to surprise you, it’s this one.