this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2024
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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.
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
For real. It's an amazing game that just can't be the same again once you know all its secrets.
I bought it for two of my friends, and they both ended up hating it lol. I don't blame them, but I think it's very much to do with the mentality of how you approach the experience.
One friend just got plain stuck and gave up. The other found it frustrating that they were doing the same thing several times over, and just wanted to rush as quickly as they could to make progress.
Personally, I enjoyed the slow pace of discovery. I loved that feeling of being a true explorer, discoving facets of lost civilisation. Watching in melancholic awe as a world crumbled around me. Finding just a small piece of new information was always a joy, and made it feel worthwhile to get there, even if I'd done 90% of the journey before.
Slowly getting richer in a game where the only currency is knowledge.
I think if I played this game myself I never would have finished it. I actually watched a play through on YouTube by someone that was actually competent at puzzle games, and had a great experience. Then I ended up playing through it myself a few years later, knowing the story actually helped keep me motivated. It really is an incredible game.
Even if the common advice is to avoid spoilers, I'm glad you found your own way to enjoy it :)
I'm sure I could play it again myself and still enjoy the atmosphere, even if the discoveries weren't new. Or maybe it would be fun to watch a stream of someone else playing for the first time instead!
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
There's two essential ship functions, auto pilot and match velocity, it makes flying much easier
The auto pilot literally steered me into the sun.
Yeah it'll do that. The little rascal.
Well it aims for the planet you want to go to, goes in a straight line and makes sure you don't hit that planet by slowing down when getting close to it, if something gets in the way it doesn't course correct though
In your ship there is a computer at the back (to the right when you enter). That computer contains a digital investigation board - y'know, with the photos connected by string and stuff.
Once you find that, the game really starts to make sense. It's not a walking simulator, it's an active crime scene. I won't say what "crime" (and I'm being somewhat metaphorical here), in case you didn't play long enough (about 12 minutes after you encounter the statue in the museum) for The Event to happen (The Event will make you think very differently about what this game is, but I can't talk about that. We don't talk about The Event). But that's basically what's happening. There's a problem, and you have to solve it, but to do that you'll have to unearth years of lost history, piecing together the story of an alien civilization that has visited your star system. The gameplay is primarily about exploration, trying to figure out where to find and how to get to the clues you need to put everything together. Slowly, the murder board fills in, the pieces connect, the list of suspects narrows, and you spiral in towards a genuinely shocking and heart wrenching conclusion.
Does it get good? My friend, it gets EPIC. The sheer scale the plot operates on is mind blowing. The ending destroyed me; easily one of the best stories I've ever encountered in a video game.
The flight mechanics are intentionally fiddly. You will get used to them eventually. The gameplay is exciting, sometimes terrifying, but don't expect them to like give you a gun or anything. It's a puzzle game, but the puzzles are never a fucking Sudoku. If you can handle that, it's one of the best games ever made.
The investigation board didn’t really help me. Basically just said somewhere on this planet is a clue, so spend several loops trying to get into the locked areas. I also got tired of the janky physics and quit, even after successfully navigating the portal bramble place
Eh, if you made it that far then you made it far enough to know that the game just isn't for you.
Don't feel bad, on my first flight I ran into the sun by accident.
Kept working on it and was rewarded with the rest of the game. For real I continued to die to spaceship piloting issues but it didn't ruin the game for me.
There's an achievement for that though, so it all works out.
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.
I tried, I really did. But a few hours in, I just didn't like the gameplay even though I thought I would've loved it and the other new games I had waiting won.
Maybe I should grind through. Is there a point where it suddenly gets good a few hours in? Or is it just not for me, despite everything on the book's cover?
If exploration, discovery, and puzzling out mysteries aren't engaging for you, it might just not be your type of game.
I think it was the puzzles and lack of guidance. Not really knowing if I'm in the right place doing the right thing. Maybe I'll try again with a bit of a guide until it hooks in and I get it.
There's an in-game log of hints you've been given in the ship, the "rumor mode" on the terminal can help you stay goal-oriented.