Outer Wilds Update: I didn’t even make it five minutes into my first session with Outer Wilds, Annapurna Interactive, and Mobius Digital’s interesting open-world adventure game. As a newly minted astronaut from the little world of Timber Hearth, I lingered a little too long admiring my shiny new spaceship on the platform before plunging to my death.
The following time I went into space, I even landed on the moon to see a local called Esker. Still, while listening to Esker’s whistling, I was so preoccupied with launching space probes at my campground back home that I didn’t notice the sun bursting until the shockwave covered the planet.
I haven’t been the most successful Outer Wilds space explorer, but the beauty is that I’ll get there someday, 20 minutes at a time.
Outer Wilds: A Fantastic Sci-fi Game
Of course, it’s not all about dying horrifically, though recurrent, often humiliating death is a crucial means to an end in the Outer Wilds. After all, how else would one deal with the game’s setting’s Groundhog Day-style temporal loop?
Players should spend 20-odd minutes – the time between waking to roast marshmallows before your first departure… and the sun exploding – exploring the solar system as much as they can in search of information and adventure. They are the only member of the Outer Wilds Endeavors exploration crew who remembers what happened across each loop.
What a solar system it is. Outer Wilds’ solar system is unique and intimate in scale, influenced by a cartoonish, even infantile grasp of astronomy. Here, rounded edges, clumsy charm, and evocative, ancient mystery precede crisp technology and photorealism. Even your trusty spacecraft is made of wood.
On the other hand, Outer Wilds isn’t a “role-playing game” in the traditional sense. There is no advancement system, no unlockable perks, no side tasks to do, and no quest-giving NPCs. The only “experience” you gain is through seeing through each loop and beginning afresh with new pointers on how to go the following time. A proper ship’s log does offer some assistance in the shape of a spiderweb-like network of linked suggestions, as well as a telltale indicator showing when you haven’t gathered every potential clue in a specific spot.
Conclusion
The journey may be enjoyable most of the time, but it is not without its challenges. The log can be helpful, but when you get closer to the last clues you need to complete a puzzle or break into the most difficult or time-sensitive parts, frustration might set in. Sometimes I want a more precise (but voluntary) hint system, a button to hit when I’m ready to accept defeat but not quite ready to ask someone to ruin it for me.
Outer Wilds demonstrates that there is still a sense of true adventure in games that adhere to a predetermined, fixed structure and design rather than the expansive, infinite areas that many modern releases aim for. Playing it reminded me of my favorite parts of Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go…except with more sun erupting.
