If The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of The Wild hadn't been such an impeccable reimagining of the series, if it had been just slightly less tight with its controls, if the atmosphere and melancholy were just a little less palpable, Outer Wilds would likely be my favorite game of all time. Honestly, there must exist a world in which that's the case. Maybe this one, sometimes, allows its fabric to stretch and give just enough to allow Outer Wilds its (absolutely earned) place atop that list.

Outer Wilds maybe changed my life. Outer Wilds is the moment Natalie Portman plays The Shins for Zach Braff, but without all of the modern cringe we have all silently but unanimously decided to level against Zach Braff. It's a puzzle box where the puzzle is the riddle of existence itself, and the answer is a resounding, beautiful, perfect hope that maybe what we do matters. Maybe the people we love have value to an uncaring universe, simply because we love them. Maybe our tiny, fleeting creations, if given the chance, actually do contain the worlds that we imagine them to hold. Maybe the right words, the right voice, the right moment, could save us all. Maybe life, uh, does find a way, and maybe, if we’re lucky, we can be a part of it, just for a moment. It's whatever House Of Leaves is about, but with hope as its essential ingredient instead of nihilism. This is a game that I want to share with everyone I have ever loved.