Holy fuck this might be my favorite game ever.
Every single moment, mechanic, and idea is fully realized and works in perfect harmony with each other. The core gameplay in this is genius. I’ve played other games where you have to explore environments and read notes to piece together the story but it’s never been very engaging. It ends up feeling like a chore to get every tidbit of poorly written lore. But I did not feel that way with this game.
Each loop felt new and exciting throughout the entirety of the game. At first you have no clue what’s going on but exploring new planets is the appeal. You really feel like an explorer when you look up, see a planet, and just go there, not knowing what you’ll find. Once you get familiar with the solar system however, instead of getting bored of the exploring-astronaut loop, the game transitions into a mysterious rabbit-hole of a story. You learn something new every time and it results in a sense of progression purely based on your ever growing knowledge of this tiny pocket of a fictional universe.
It’s also freaking beautiful. Even 20 hours in, sometimes I would just stop for a second to watch as the sun shined behind the graceful silhouette of Ember Twin. Or drop whatever I was doing to sit at a fire and roast marshmallows as Riebeck played his banjo without a care in the world. These small but powerful moments all being framed within a 22 minute window of an inescapable death.
And the ending. All I’ll say is that after praising how every cog in the wheel is immaculately designed, what an absolute masterful way to wrap everything up.
As someone who was dead set on becoming an astronaut when I was younger, this fulfilled my childlike wonder of exploration. In a game with no linear story, or voice acting, or even characters, I somehow felt the whole spectrum of emotions. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for in a game. Being immersed in a world of subtle themes and emotions in an experience only possible through the medium of video games.
Side note:
I cannot believe I watched Twin Peaks and played Outer Wilds almost within a month of each other. I’ve peaked in both mediums. Now what?
Every single moment, mechanic, and idea is fully realized and works in perfect harmony with each other. The core gameplay in this is genius. I’ve played other games where you have to explore environments and read notes to piece together the story but it’s never been very engaging. It ends up feeling like a chore to get every tidbit of poorly written lore. But I did not feel that way with this game.
Each loop felt new and exciting throughout the entirety of the game. At first you have no clue what’s going on but exploring new planets is the appeal. You really feel like an explorer when you look up, see a planet, and just go there, not knowing what you’ll find. Once you get familiar with the solar system however, instead of getting bored of the exploring-astronaut loop, the game transitions into a mysterious rabbit-hole of a story. You learn something new every time and it results in a sense of progression purely based on your ever growing knowledge of this tiny pocket of a fictional universe.
It’s also freaking beautiful. Even 20 hours in, sometimes I would just stop for a second to watch as the sun shined behind the graceful silhouette of Ember Twin. Or drop whatever I was doing to sit at a fire and roast marshmallows as Riebeck played his banjo without a care in the world. These small but powerful moments all being framed within a 22 minute window of an inescapable death.
And the ending. All I’ll say is that after praising how every cog in the wheel is immaculately designed, what an absolute masterful way to wrap everything up.
As someone who was dead set on becoming an astronaut when I was younger, this fulfilled my childlike wonder of exploration. In a game with no linear story, or voice acting, or even characters, I somehow felt the whole spectrum of emotions. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for in a game. Being immersed in a world of subtle themes and emotions in an experience only possible through the medium of video games.
Side note:
I cannot believe I watched Twin Peaks and played Outer Wilds almost within a month of each other. I’ve peaked in both mediums. Now what?