Outer Wilds

1. Clinteastwood13

   Jul 31, 2020

   10

   This game encapsulates exploration and curiosity better than any book, movie, Tv show, or any piece of media ever. I'd argue it does soThis game encapsulates exploration and curiosity better than any book, movie, Tv show, or any piece of media ever. I'd argue it does so perfectly. Yes, it is the only thing it does (there are no combat/ minigames/ game modes) but seriously who cares. This game's superb soundtrack, atmosphere, and visuals are there to make you curious, to keep us in touch with our adventuring nature. And frankly, if that doesn't move you, you might be more alien than the lines in this game.… Expand

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2. The_Eleatic

   Jun 3, 2019

   10

   This is very nearly a perfect game: beautifully designed and executed, intelligently written, and engaging from beginning to end.
   
   TheThis is very nearly a perfect game: beautifully designed and executed, intelligently written, and engaging from beginning to end.
   
   The setting is a miniature solar system in which the planets are subject to something like realistic orbital mechanics. Each planet may be small - on the scale of hundreds of meters in diameter - but together they offer up a wide variety of dynamic and visually striking environments. At moments, the imagery is breathtaking.
   
   The aesthetic is stylized, but consistent - and consistently appealing. (I'm tempted to say: "you know, like a game published by Annapurna.")
   
   The game-play mechanics are well crafted: navigation - in ship or in suit - and walking work smoothly, and all the tools the player has available function as they should.
   
   As for the writing, this game should be held up as the very model of how to integrate a tight, coherent narrative into an open-world setting. You really can explore in any direction and in any order you like, following one line of clues or another. All the clues fit together, though, and all lead to the same place . . . when you're ready for them to do so.
   
   The clues left behind by long-dead alien visitors provide a glimpse into their lives and hopes and loves - and their disagreements as to how far their experiments should go - without ever being heavy-handed about it.
   
   In terms of story and game play, the 22-minute loop has a lot of appeal. Most of the time, it means you can be really relaxed about exploration, knowing there will always be another loop ahead of you. Sometimes, though, it gives you license to take outrageous risks in exploration, burning all your bridges behind you, confident that you'll be back at the launch pad at home soon enough.
   
   ----
   
   Postscript: The thing about the controls is that this is one of the few space-based SF games that takes Newton's laws of motion seriously: you know, an object in motion remains in motion, and so on. If you hit one thruster, your ship starts moving in that direction . . . and keeps going in that direction unless you counteract it with another thruster. If you hold your finger on the button for a thruster, you will continue to accelerate in that direction.
   
   It also takes seriously the law of gravity: if you are near a planet, you will start accelerating toward that planet unless you counteract that acceleration with a thruster blast in the opposite direction.
   
   Most other SF games with a flying mechanic seem to assume that spaceships in a vacuum work just like airplanes in an atmosphere. They don't.
   
   So, yes, the controls in Outer Wilds take some getting used to, but they are manageable with practice. Also, the developers have included an autopilot and a velocity-matching mechanic that can help you out of tight spots . . . though sometimes you do have to abort the autopilot if it plots a course through the sun. There is no substitute for your own judgment in such situations.… Expand

   • 47 of 63 users found this helpful
4. DanThePirate

   Nov 29, 2021

   10

   I made an account just to review this game and give it the max amount of points possible. A beautiful, mesmerizing game from the start toI made an account just to review this game and give it the max amount of points possible. A beautiful, mesmerizing game from the start to finish. Amazing story, great concept, fun space flight and 100% unique. The ending almost brought me to tears, which I can't say has happened in any game before (and I'm a 32 year old man.) My only regret was spoiling myself by looking up how to beat the game, when in reality beating the game should be by being able to see and experience everything.… Expand

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5. Puumpkin345

   Jun 2, 2020

   10

   One of the best experiences I've had in my life, Outer Wilds is not only an extremely rich exploration game, it brings a genuine feeling ofOne of the best experiences I've had in my life, Outer Wilds is not only an extremely rich exploration game, it brings a genuine feeling of discovery. Unlike other exploration games that are extremely linear, this one gives you the freedom to take the route you want and the story progresses anyway. There is no correct route, there is the best route for you, just decide which one it is. Outer Wilds made me feel like a child, when you discover something new and for you it is extremely amazing. Thank you very much for the experience.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
6. davidh219

   Dec 31, 2019

   10

   In honor of Giant Bomb, my most watched video game website, naming Outer Wilds their Game of the Year, despite all my cynical predictions toIn honor of Giant Bomb, my most watched video game website, naming Outer Wilds their Game of the Year, despite all my cynical predictions to the contrary, I finally decided to try and write some kinda review-ish something of this game I've been trying to sort out my thoughts on for almost half a year now. The fact that I've even been thinking about it for that long already places it among rare company. Dark Souls, Bioshock, Braid, The Witness, Outer Wilds. These are the games that delicately drum on my dendrites day after day.
   
   Outer Wilds does so many things that, I think, most other games are too afraid to do, even if they wanted to. It doesn't have combat. It, only in the most technical of senses, has a save system. If you knew how, you could beat the game in the first twenty minutes you spent with it, no speed-running skills required, and yet for most people (including me) it takes about twenty hours to finish. There are no upgrades, there is no exp. The only upgrade happens in your brain, as you accumulate knowledge about this solar system and its history and nature, and the only experience are the ones you have while attaining that knowledge, which include, but are not limited to:
   
   falling in a black hole
   accidentally hurtling into the sun
   going inside a comet full of lethal ghost farts
   getting launched into space by a waterspout
   getting eaten by a giant angler fish
   riding inside a jellyfish
   toasting marshmallows on the moon
   playing music around a campfire with your buds while the universe ends
   
   Outer Wilds is, in many ways, a metroidvania game were you to replace the arbitrary abilities and corresponding doors those abilities open with a completely open, delicately crafted clockwork world where the only thing preventing your forward progress is what you know or have been able to figure out. That it manages to meaningfully stretch a twenty minute series of actions into twenty hours this way is completely mind-boggling. You can go to the planets in any order you want and not only will you not break the progression, but the story that unfolds will be just as satisfying as the order than anyone else chose. It's a giant set of interlocking gears, a game of rock-paper-scissors on an interplanetary scale.
   
   The big, obvious thing it does is something I wish more games did--place complete trust in your intelligence and patience as a player. This will be like cold refreshing rain in a desert to some, and like compelled flagellation to others, so I understand why it's uncommon. However, I personally love nothing more than a game/book/movie/whatever treating me like I'm intelligent, curious, patient, and perfectly comfortable being confused, because I am those things, and it's rare to be treated as such. In some ways I feel like Dark Souls paved the way for games like Outer Wilds despite it having no combat and not being "hard," in the traditional sense, but that's a conversation for another day.
   
   The most common complaints I've seen are that the game feels, "directionless," and, "like a waste of time." To which I can only say, nothing about Outer Wilds felt like a waste of time to me, and that it's okay to start a journey not knowing the destination, or even the next stopover. Most great works of literature are the same way. The nature of art is that often the best of the best asks a lot from you, because truly great art is not just passive entertainment but a long, satisfying, potentially challenging two-way conversation that requires your full attention, as well as patience and trust in your partner to eventually lead you somewhere interesting even if at first their anecdote seems to be going nowhere
   
   If I were to pick the most "fun," video game I played this year, it would probably be Remnant or Division 2, because who doesn't love a tight, mindless shooter you can play with friends? I put 140 hours into Division 2, and 45 into Remnant (also got all the achievements).
   
   But I can already tell I'm not going to be thinking about either of those games in ten years time. Remnant didn't bring me to tears. The end of Remnant didn't prompt mutual, misty-eyed proclamations of brotherly love with the friend I played through the game with (the same friend I played Remnant and Division 2 with, and for whom Outer Wilds is also his goty). Outer Wilds did. Outer Wilds is deeply contemplative, touching, life-affirming, and cathartic in ways only a video game could be, and if there's anything we need more of in this industry, it's more video games doing stuff that only video games can do, rather than worshiping at the altar of film and literature.… Expand

   • 4 of 5 users found this helpful
7. Bakibenz

   Jan 16, 2022

   9

   Visuals: 9.3/10
   
   - Quality: Fairly basic graphics, but still manages to create an atmospheric environment. (8/10) - Style (-uniqueness):Visuals: 9.3/10
   
   - Quality: Fairly basic graphics, but still manages to create an atmospheric environment. (8/10)
   - Style (-uniqueness): Every planet and location feels different, and every tool and system you discover has something visually unique to it. (10/10).
   - User Interface: Very minimalistic, but tells you everything you would want to know. The game doesn’t hold your hand with elaborate maps, as this game is about exploration. (10/10)
   
   Sound: 10/10
   
   - Voice acting: Not relevant. (-/10)
   - Music: Incredible score. Every location and discovery has something distinct yet very fitting. Gives you goosebumps. (10/10)
   - Sound effects: Masterfully crafted, gives you great feedback when you need to rely on sounds. (10/10)
   
   Gameplay: 9.3/10
   
   - Controls (ease of use): The ship’s controls are difficult by design. Similarly, your suit has limited resources. I found the controls reasonably responsive, I only had some issues with my drone. (9/10)
   - Unique systems: No spoilers, but there are so many unique systems you HAVE to discover and understand that it is incredible. (10/10)
   - Difficulty (settings, scaling, etc.): Challenging at points. Also, you don’t level up in the game, you gain knowledge and get more experienced with the controls. (10/10)
   - Grind: The game is about exploration, and you have to visit some locations a frustrating amount of times, in my opinion. (8/10)
   
   Story/Lore/World: 8.8/10
   
   - Characters: There are quite a few characters in the game, but I wouldn’t say they are especially memorable. Some characters you actually interact with, some you only read about. I would say that the characters may be the game’s weakest point. (6/10)
   - Writing quality: There is a lot of reading in this game. It is kind of weird sometimes: you read casual conversation, yet you gain immense knowledge from them. Some conversations can be witty or funny at times, a great experience overall. (9/10)
   - World design: Every location is so unique and the world is so alive. My only issue is that the solar system and the planets are very small, but it is impressive how much can fit in such tight spaces… (10/10)
   - Story/Lore: There is an incredible story told here, that you have to piece together yourself. Same with the lore. No spoilers, you have to experience this yourself! (10/10)
   
   Technical: 9.5/10
   
   - Optimization: Never had a problem with FPS drops. (10/10)
   - Bugs: Not much to talk about, you can get stuck a few times. (9/10)… Expand

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8. carnivorCactae

   Jun 24, 2022

   0

   Refunded the game because of horrible, horrible controls.
   
   The sensitivity is all over the place, even when fiddling withRefunded the game because of horrible, horrible controls.
   
   The sensitivity is all over the place, even when fiddling with sensitivity-controls.
   
   All controls seem totally counter-intuitive.
   
   The "controller recommended" prompt at the start-screen should've been a dead-giveaway...
   but who would've thought that you could f**k up simple FPS-controls so much?!… Expand

   • 0 of 11 users found this helpful

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