If anyone hasn't played this game yet: don't read the article!
I highly recommend you experience this for yourself while knowing as little as possible about it. Top tier game.
this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2024
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A million percent agree. If you haven't played it yet, look nothing up and play it as blindly as possible. I'm so glad I did and wish I could do it again.
My go-to game for the question: "if you could forget a game just to experience it all over again" such a perfect game
I got confused more than anything - think I was missing a few key things.
Saying that, my answer would be subnautica.
This was the game where I couldn't figure out how to fly the space ship properly, and then I went to land on a strange abandoned space station and couldn't figure out what to do there beyond reading some alien text that didn't make much sense, right?
I'm sure I didn't give it a fair lick, it's just it took up 2 hours of my time and didn't hook or particularly engage me up to that point, so I didn't feel like going back in and slogging through the slow burn to get to the good stuff.
That's on me I suppose, I should try it again!
Does it pick up and get a little more interesting and robust, at least? I'm not looking for hardcore shooter action, but like, I dunno, interesting people, engaging quests and cool places to go whilst doing them, and such. Something to keep me interested, you know?
Everyone's different, of course, walking simulators with the occasional small bit of world building text to read just aren't for me is all.
Without giving any specific spoilers, the game has a primarily archaeological feel, you will be following breadcrumbs around to various places in the solar system (your journal is important!!!) and learning about the ancient civilization that mysteriously disappeared. finally piecing together the whole picture is one of the most powerful moments I've ever had in gaming. while there are some NPCs to talk to, the game is primarily driven by your own exploration and the knowledge you pick up along the way.
there's no "correct order" to do things in, so if you feel like you've hit a dead end or you can't figure out what you should be doing at a particular place, consider going somewhere else. and most importantly: follow your curiosity
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It really should be part of the title of the game. Outer Wilds: don't look anything up, just play it.
I very nearly had to use a guide at one point but I stayed strong as everything I'd read said I'd regret it if I did. So glad I didn't as the joy of discovery in this game is unparalleled. Top 5 gaming experience of all time, I reckon.
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If I could erase any game from my mind and experience it again for the first time, it would be this game. One of my favorites of all time.
When you do, please leave yourself a note reminding you to send me the mind eraser afterwards.
One of those games you can only experience once. Such a masterpiece!!
Once you finish it, it's actually really fun watching other people's playthroughs as well - getting to relive some of the moments vicariously through other people's eyes is almost as much fun as experiencing them yourself the first time.
It's also quite amazing just how different each playthrough can be, since the game is so non-linear, people take some crazy paths to get to the end ! It can be frustrating as well when someone just can't see what is in front of their face though :)
There are also so many subtle elements scattered around that most people miss on their first playthrough, and watching someone else play it really made me appreciate many of the details I missed on my own playthrough and even make connections I didn't before, and understand aspects of the story that I didn't fully get the first time.
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I played this game and loved it but never finished it. I feel like I was either too dumb to figure out what to do next, or I could tell what I needed to do but couldn’t maneuver my ship/character well enough. Total skill issue on my part, though I intend to dive back in at some point.
Read a walkthrough if you have to. The ending is 10,000% worth experiencing, even if you need a little help to get there.
In fact, getting to the end with help from strangers actually feels more in keeping with the themes of the game.
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On the same boat.
I definitely want to go back and complete it some day.
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one of my top favourite games of all time! And one of the two narrative experiences on that list that I can't talk about with the "uninitiated" (other is Inscryption)
if you like space, and you like thinking - don't look up anything about this game. Watch maybe 5 minutes of some gameplay if you're hesitant.
Though a word of warning, this is a game that'll take all of your focus, it's very hard to play it with a YouTube video or a movie in playing the background. And yes the ship movement can feel clunky at first, you'll get used to it don't worry - the story is worth it
In my experience, if people are going to bounce off the game it’ll come down to one (or more) of three reasons:
- They hate the flight controls
- They hate the feeling of being on a constant timer
- They hate the lack of explicit direction in what to do next
It’s one of my favourite games of all time, and it has good reasons for all of the above, but it’s definitely not for everyone!
And for anyone wondering, my counterpoints to the above would be:
- Learn to use the autopilot but don’t trust it; learning to manoeuvre precisely will come over time
- Don’t overthink the timer element; pick just one thing to investigate and focus on that, anything else is a bonus
- Use the ship’s computer and follow the unknowns; avoid walkthroughs unless you’re absolutely 100% stumped on what to do next
in my experience as a impatient person you simply need to make peace with the timer, it stings at first but then- i think thanks to Outer Wilds i can play souls likes now ::: spoiler because it shows clearly how death is simply a part of the learning experience, it's not a failure :::
i have no idea if this spoiler is working
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I have a friend who stopped for a whole other reason. But I can't talk about it without revealing too much. But basically had to do with bramble and deep, things that don't bother most people much, triggering some actual phobias.
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One of the many games just sitting in my steam library, waiting to be played.
Play it today. You need to go in blind. It's straightforward to learn and super rewarding to ay.
I still wish I didn't watch a playthrough
My condolences
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At first, the game will not make sense. But somewhere around the 20 minute mark (it varies depending on what you do) you will encounter The Event. It will happen. You will know it has happened. It will be, unmistakably, The Event. Nothing else could be The Event. Nothing else could possibly be as momentous as The Event. And then you will have your first real understanding of what the game is about, and it will be very, very exciting.
After that happens, look at the computer in the back of your ship (to the right as you enter). For the rest of the game this will be your most important tool. You'll understand why. Once it happens.
Have fun.
But somewhere around the 20 minute mark (it varies depending on what you do) you will encounter The Event. It will happen. You will know it has happened. It will be, unmistakably, The Event. Nothing else could be The Event.
I love explanations like this, at first you don't know what it might be, so anything could be the event, is this the event? No, is that the event? Also no. And then you come across the event and you just know, yes, that's the event
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A friend begged me to play this and I just didn't for a couple years despite owning it. Once I finally did it quickly became an all-time favorite. You should fix this yourself.
This is one of the best games I have ever played. I know this phrase goes around every day, but I wholeheartedly mean it.
This is the type of game you can only place once, and the experience is incomparable to much of anything else
This game is a Masterpiece!
I beat it last week. Amazing game.
Can't wait to get the DLC and play it!
I'm really struggling with this game. I got it on sale and played for 3+ hours, but somehow it didn't grip me. It was really annoying having to constantly start over. Not trying to detract from other people's experience of it.
So one thing I didn't realize right away is that in the ship there is a board where the game auto stores your discoveries detective-style. It really helps provide guidance when you feel like you're out of leads or don't know what to do.
It takes some getting used to. And maybe looping games isn't everyone's cup of tea(e.g. Majora's mask).
But the exploration, the knowlesge based progression, the cleverness of the story, and its delivery is absolutely brilliant.
It's a hard game to get into. Played for 2 hours on my first run and didn't know where to go.
After 2 weeks or so I tried again because everyone was recommending it to me. Now it's one of my favorites, even though it took another 2 hours before I had any idea what I was doing.
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My favourite lets player has finally picked this up. I will neverbe able to experience it fresh ever again.... So watching others is the closest I'll ever get.
After playing this game I watched so many streams and let's play of it. I enjoyed seeing how people did it differently than me.
I also convinced my partner to play it on Christmas as my gift for me to watch. (They were instantly hooked)
This is one on my favorite games ever
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There’s a really well done VR mod for this game. It’s actually the only way I’ve played it so far. If you can run Steam VR I highly recommend it! I had to do a reinstall of some stuff so haven’t finished the game yet, but it’s been high on my ‘to-do list’.
Yes it is wonderful, especially floating in space and just drifting. But be aware, certain parts are... intense in VR.
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one of the best games of all time🙏
if you haven't played please don't spoil yourself as The Outer Wilds is an incredible and enjoyable journey that many and I wish to experience for the first time again
this is a game classified in the legendary status
fellow mods; if possible I'd like to personally request a pin for silverchase's post
It looks like I will be nearly the only dissenter here. I didn't care for the game.
PROS:
- The music and sound design were completely appropriate and fit the world.
- An initially interesting story setup.
- Some of the planets have a SUPER cool premise and are a joy to explore.
- The DLC adds some much-needed (albeit mild) horror elements.
NEUTRALS:
- Achievements are implemented, but are mostly for irrelevant side activities. Do you like using a guide to figure out how to get all the achievements? Well, you will have to.
CONS:
- This is not an adventure game, this is a puzzle game first and foremost. If you are not down with figuring out hundreds of vague Dark Souls-style lore blurbs scattered all over in order to work out how to solve environmental puzzles to progress, do not get this game.
- In the same vein, if you are not down with having a loop end before you're done exploring an area only to have to trek all the way back there and go through everything all over again in case you missed something, do not get this game. This could be partially solved by having the logs you find on a planet permanently NOT GLOW any more after you had read their chain, or maybe a ship notice letting you know there were undecyphered texts on a planet still. I had to re-tread an astounding amount of ground just to make sure I wasn't missing something.
- When your ship directs you to a planet that you need something from, the navigation on some of them is so obtuse that I found several places I could not find again even after dozens of visits to their planets. A map or better signposting would alleviate this.
- The characters were deeply forgettable, and you are constantly inundated with dozens of gibberish alien names so unless you follow a lore guide or take notes, you're not going to figure out who did what. And speaking of...
- The story has a veneer of "pretty good sci-fi" but is told quite poorly. You will beat the game, get the incredibly lacklustre ending that doesn't close out the story in any way, and watch one of many lore explanation videos that will make things click into place. The fact that the lore videos have SO MANY HITS is endemic of the fact that this is a narrative poorly delivered. You will find the lore in random order. If spread over multiple sessions like I played, this will mean you will not make some absolutely needed connections.
- Many things do not make sense within the context of the world and there is no reason for them to be happening at the time except for the hand-waving "It's a video game" excuse, which breaks immersion. Why only now is sand being moved from one planet to another at the beginning of a cycle? Why only now is one planet being broken by lava? These (and other that I can not speak about due to spoilers) are not explained - the systems have existed for ages and would have (and should have given the environments they set up) occurred before this, but because it makes for a more interesting setup, it all happens now.
- The controls are... an acquired taste at best. Look at many of the negative reviews; many state the controls as an issue. There is a reason for this, even though I did become accustomed to them over time. I swapped to a controller and it was less bad. The keyboard and mouse controls are abysmal.
- I played the final build after the DLC came out, and even this far in development, I had some severe bugs. Controls would get "stuck" and force a game restart, achievements didn't unlock correctly, etc.
- I wound up quitting because I didn't know what to do next and didn't care to watch yet another video to figure it out. There were hundreds of text logs that may or may not have been useful, and no idea how to find what was missing to help me progress without consulting guides, and it became too much. I eventually realized that I was just throwing time into a hole with nothing to show for it. It genuinely felt like it wanted me to give up and I couldn't help but oblige. I just... stopped. I hated it. I kept doing the same thing over and over and eventually felt that I wasn't enjoying anything. I hate the very concept of repetition as a game mechanic unless executed well; this wasn't executed well.
- Despite quitting, I have seen all the endings. The real ending is legitimately nonsense and is basically an appeal to emotion while leaving the reality of the universe behind. It abandons the premise with what can only be described as a narrative hug that does essentially nothing, but presents the veneer of "feel good." It is nothing. It is empty. Everyone but me loves it for this, and I can't figure out why.
CONCLUSION: Meh? I really don't understand the adoration people have for this game. It's a mediocre non-combat roguelike with about 3 hour of content they've spread over 20 hours. It feels very much like a case of style over substance. This game genuinely makes me sad. I really wanted to like it, but... ugh. It feels like work.
The alien names aren't gibberish - they're all mineral and plant names. Made it really easy for me to keep track of lore, actually, having something to tie the characters to conceptually. Absolutely true that it's a puzzle game first and foremost.
I'm testing it in VR, the modder did an amazing job. Unfortunately my GPU absolutely blows with VR games (Intel Arc A770)
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