Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds
85
Metacritic
95
Steam
91.703
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$24.99
Release date
18 June 2020
Developers
Steam reviews score
Total
95 (53 727 votes)
Recent
94 (1 211 votes)

Named Game of the Year 2019 by Giant Bomb, Polygon, Eurogamer, and The Guardian, Outer Wilds is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop.

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Outer Wilds system requirements

Minimum:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 | AMD FX-4350
  • Memory: 6 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB | AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB
  • Storage: 8 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: Gamepad or Controller Recommended (Xbox and PS4 Natively Supported)
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David_J
David_J

A game that you'll only get the joy of experiencing through the first time with great sense of exploration and adventure.

Having finished both the base game and DLC, this feels like one of the few rare gems you'll get to carry with you at all times.

Recommend it to as many friends as possible!

calvy32
calvy32

I want to love this game but I am struggling to convince myself to play it. The game has little objective and mostly just open-world exploration but without a clear objective, I don't love going out and going from one thing to another.
That being said the first few hours of exploration are some of the best times I have had in a while. There are so many secrets and puzzles everywhere, I highly recommend it to most people, and the price is 100% worth it even if you just get a few hours out of it like me.

ploo
ploo

This game had a huge emotional impact on me at the end, even though it took me a few hours to get into. 100% worth it, easily one of the best games I've ever played. Exploring this solar system for the first time is a completely unique, captivating experience, every planet feels creative and novel, and carefully crafted with great attention to detail. PLAY THIS GAME

lunaaa
lunaaa

one the best games i've ever played and i wont tell u why because that'd be a spoiler

just trust me ok? :)

DingDong
DingDong

This is a truly wonderful game but best left unexplained to be enjoyed the fullest. A mix of lore, story and active participation makes you feel like your experience is not curated at all. If you have a few hours to play and explore this experience will keep you going for a good amount of time, broken down into short chunks ;) I feel like this kind of story is uniquely told through the first person and really pushes the medium to it's fullest potential.

KindlyFire
KindlyFire

Amazing game that I would recommend to anyone. Good sound track as well. Played in VR with the NomaiVR mod.

camp
camp

i can count on one hand the amount of games that have ever made me cry, and this is one of them. The story-telling is absolutely phenomenal, and the ways you can interact with the world(s) around you is unlike anything i've ever experienced. This game is truly something special.

Triyam
Triyam

You're not supposed to be in here
While you are here. This game is best experienced knowing nothing about it.

swim
swim

I call this the best game I've ever played. It's not for everyone, but if you like to read and don't mind banging your head against a wall a bit to figure out some tough puzzles the payoff is immense.

bananas
bananas

I have more than 25 years of gaming experience and I can easily tell you this is one of the best games ever made. Period. Like many of the other reviews I highly suggest you stop reading reviews right now and go play the game. ANYTHING that you read or see about this game before playing it will be a spoiler. You should play this game as blindly as posible.

Outer Wilds is a solid 10/10, pretty much a flawless game.

RamenThnead
RamenThnead

I first played through Outer Wilds I expected it to be about space, and exploring a small detailed solar system. What I found was a game that reflected myself. Sad to say; this game showed me how alone I am; whether it was talking to other aliens that I was told were my friends yet I didn't know, or drifting through space unable to reach my ship, heading towards the Sun at Mach speed, or hearing the music of a single instrument being echoed into the back of my ears playing the same tune indefinitely until the end of my journey. Playing the game, gave me this motivation inside and out of the immersion it brought to me. I can definitely say that Outer Wilds is my favorite game, and always will have a special place in my heart.

Viable88
Viable88

This game is an incredible piece of art, and I recommend it to people who enjoy thinking. Go in as blind as a bat (or an Anglerfish XD) and expect the unexpected.

If you want to know a little going into it, here's what I can offer:
-If you exclusively enjoy space combat and more action-oriented games, this game is not that. This game is based on methodical exploration, and people not willing to branch out into more tranquil, thought-provoking experiences should maybe skip it. But who knows? Play it for 2 hours and see if it grabs you. If not, no harm no foul, refund it and move on.
- Give yourself time to play it. If you get stuck on a conundrum, take in everything you've done so far, and sleep on it. Don't rush through - this game is meant to be slowly yet thoroughly enjoyed, and explored.
- Don't worry if you only get, like, 3-5 achievements in your entire first playthrough. Many of them are very specific and either require a guide or a good bit of screwing around.

That's all I can say. Buy it and try it out for yourself. It's powerful, moving, and a blast of an experience.
10/10

Splendid Mossman
Splendid Mossman

I never leave reviews for games, but Outer Wilds is a work of art that compelled me to do so. It's fun, engaging, funny, sometimes scary, and overall a beautiful experience. I wasn't expecting to be in tears near the end of the game, but here we are. It was worth every penny.

john3croft
john3croft

Go in blind, don't read guides, don't cheat when you're frustrated, trust that you have everything you need and that all the mysteries are fair, don't give up, keep exploring new things, over and over.
Then, just immerse yourself in one of the most mind-bending, intriguing, exhilarating and intellectually stimulating games of your life.
It will challenge you, but it sincerely wants you to succeed. It won't handhold you, but at the same time it'll tell you exactly as much as you need to know to start putting the pieces together. It's not always convenient; it reminds you that you are but a speck in an indifferent universe.

This game is extraordinarily ambitious and pulls it off with style. It's not long (by current standards), but certainly feels long due to its intensity. and is worth more than its asking-price.
You don't want to miss this one.

Tyronald_
Tyronald_

Honestly, this is amazing.
I've played a lot of games, but have never felt the need to do leave a review. This one is different...
This game has mechanics and game play feats that should be commonplace within the gaming sphere. And what is it? Personality. This game is handcrafted, like it says, and you can truly feel that. It has soooo much personality to it. When i play some other games it feel i could skip most of content and things won't change. that is linear and it can get kinda boring. This game though?
The best way i can put it, is that this game lets you do you. You can follow the mystery at your pace, understand it at your own pace, and you can end it at your pace. There is an end to the game of course *you* get that point when *you* want to get to that point. The worlds and the solar-system they are simply just there for *you*
Story is also pretty good and you feel so engaged in it because the story is one the puzzle of the game, not just the mystery. Mobius Digital knew that story and mystery must be one and the same, knowing more about the story gives you more information about the mystery. They don't waste your time with that stuff either every piece to the puzzle you find leads to another piece of the puzzle. And its just brilliant how its done, because it feels natural and real and leads to some really amazing events to happen that you can only experience in a game like this. for example; your reading some important information and just right before you read that last, most important line. You die. I felt like i was playing a movie that i was controlling.
I will say though, one thing that felt kinda useless was the information you got from the NPC's. It felt like you(your character) had to do everything and couldn't rely on anyone else. even the information they give you is kinda meh, although my adventures on brittle hollow that lead up to Riebeck felt like a poetic story.
If i any advice for someone who wants to play this game but doesn't know how to go about it. Play it blind(read nothing on the game, just play it), and read it everything(dialogue and messages)
Buy the game whenever they deserve the money lmao

selmancand
selmancand

It took considerable amount of time to beat this game. It's partly due to loop thing, sometimes you want to try an approach, but you need to wait for that part of loop or there is no enough time.
But puzzles are satisfying and original, echoes of the eye part is different from the main game. The main game requires a lot of reading, but dlc game has mostly visual instructions. In my opinion, the main game is better and it's a really great experience. Dlc game has less flight and planetary travel and somewhat resembles adventure games.
Applause to the producers.

LT. Thadeu
LT. Thadeu

Immensely immersive exploration game that relies heavily on uncovering small story pieces and learning the gameplay core mechanics. Unique game experience right here.

Mayer
Mayer

the best science fiction game which i have played for almost 20 years.
its like a real world.
you can do anything in its physical rule.

kanjam
kanjam

Criminally-underrated masterpiece of a video game.
I wish I could go back and play it for the first time again.

burning_pixel
burning_pixel

A game that you can finish in 30 minutes but also can't finish in 30 minutes.
Love it and I'm not even at the DLC parts.

random_script
random_script

An open world filled with weird space stuff, simple puzzles and lore snippets.
The exploration in this game is fantastic. It's probably my favorite game in that regard.

I played this over the course of several months and without looking up anything, coming back every now and then when I had an idea or just felt like exploring somewhere else. I strongly believe this is the best way to experience the game.

For me the biggest issue is that's missing a way to speed up the passage of time, in order to explore those things that become available at certain intervals in the time loop.

Kebab Paradise
Kebab Paradise

I played this Outer Wilds back in early alpha stages, around 2015. Honestly the alpha might still be on one of my hard drives.

As a comparison, the overarching theme has largely stayed the same. However, the game's details have been fleshed out incredibly. More dialogue, exploration, and achievements keep me diving back into this game to fully get the story Mobius Digital is trying to tell. I love the lore, and how it ties to the alien environment the player explores. There is so much to explore in so little time. The player could spend twenty minutes or twenty hours, and there is still more to have fun with.

Buy it, it's a game you wont regret putting time into.

Stuntdrath
Stuntdrath

Imagine you wake up and decide to find out why Sumerian civilization collapsed. You go to the library and start to read about it. Soon, you realize that you need to go to another library to keep reading about the Sumerians, but... Uh Oh!! The library is closed!! So you go to sleep, and the very next day you head to the new library.

Once in the new library, you start to read. Again?? YES!! Again!! And surprise!! You realize that you need to go to another library. Along the way, you will meet new friends who, like you, are also studying the Sumerians. But once you get to the next library, you learn that there are some books that are only available at certain moments of the day. What moments do you ask? Well... Come tomorrow and realize it by yourself because we are closing the library for today.

After weeks of jumping from one library to another, reading hundreds of books, you finally have enough information to continue your exploration!! But, uh oh!!! A gang of bullies with fish heads is in your way!! Everytime you get closer to unravel the final misteries of the Sumerians they take away the books you finally managed to get after weeks of exploration in the libraries!!

After meeting some cool anti-time friends, you manage to avoid the bullies; because you know... you learned to avoid them after 50 loops... I mean days, hehehehe. 

You finally get to unravel the ancient mysteries and you gather with your cool pals that you meet at the different libraries. Your journey is over!! You finally know the secrets of the Sumerians and learn about their intentions. All you have to do now is to jump into your bed, knowing that it really doesn't matter what you do. In the end, the universe will one day reset. And no one is going to know about you.

That's exactly what you have to do in this game. READ. I always hated too much reading in videogames. I can say that the story is good. The exploration is good too. But I can't stand to read that much to realize what I have to do. And I know that's exactly the attractive of this game.

Hina Hanta
Hina Hanta

Wonderful game. Lots of places to explore and puzzles with cool mechanics, plus the emergent gameplay that can only happen when you set a stupid player like me loose in a solar system without limits (I once shot my ship out of a gravity cannon into the sun, barely skimmed by the corona myself, and landed in the village on Timber Hearth. Totally meant to do that). This is a game all about discovery, and I love it

Kingdoggydog
Kingdoggydog

Game breaking bug where on certain planets the screen goes black. The only recommended fix is to downgrade your Nvidia drivers.

evorm
evorm

Best game of all time. Nothing else competes. Quite literally ruined gaming for me, knowing I can't experience this for the first time again nor find anything like it for the forseeable future. If you are at all interested at the cosmic scale of our world and our place in it, this game will probably end up being one of your favorites.

Toto
Toto

This game supplanted Half Life 1 as my favorite game of all time. It's also one of the best horro. games ever made

Cherubim
Cherubim

I rarely write comments ... but this one deserves it sooo much.

In some minutes in the last run where I just had to wait for time pass by, I watched some videos about the noble prize 2022 in physics which is basically quantumphysics, entanglement and how measuring something makes things collapse into the measurable state. Play the game and you will undertand why this gives me chills.

I think I've never watched the credits till the end ever before ... but here I just had to grasp that the journey was over and I was so thrilled and I don't know ... simply overwhelmed by the feelings and thoughts this game had put in my brain.

This is not only a game, it is pure art in all aspects. I cant stop praising this game. And the music, oh my gosh ... I get goosebumps everytime.

MagicManSupreme
MagicManSupreme

perfect before bedtime, mysterious, non serious, captivating curiosity... cannot say more or else it may change the adventure that is this game. 10/10.

Tsonachiko
Tsonachiko

This is an adventure/puzzle/space game but it's more like an adventure/puzzle/space experience. 10/10

aidancode
aidancode

Maybe not my favorite game but this game is practically perfect, almost no flaws whatsoever and the art and story are beautiful. Great experience. Don't spoil it. This game has no replay value, so keep that in mind. That being said, I still got 72 hours out of it.

EdibleAnimals
EdibleAnimals

Hands down one of the best games I've ever played; up there in terms of soul-smacking pain as Journey was the first time I played that. Some of the puzzles are a bit easy if you're already a little familiar with theoretical physics, but I think that's actually a point in the game's favor.

yourwebgod
yourwebgod

What a great fucking game. It's best to experience the awe and wonder of this game raw, so stop reading reviews, and download this game!

Masked Demon
Masked Demon

Enjoy traveling from planet to planet uncovering ancient secrets while the world does it best to kill you. The aliens are kind, the fish are evil, and the sun is vicious asshole that wants you dead. Still you will try over and over gaining enough knowledge to dodge fish, land safely, and discover secrets.

Is the game long, no.
Is the game enjoyable, fudge yea it is.

Masterious
Masterious

This game is one of the coolest games I've ever played. The learning curve is a little complex at first (mostly getting used to the controls and the physics engine), but wow is it a joy to play. The music, exploration, world design, character design and the entire atmosphere is exciting and interesting. From the puzzles, to the mechanics, to the sheer amount of effort that was put into every single location, I've never been more satisfied with playing the game. Even if singleplayer exploration games like this aren't your thing, I'd highly recommend giving Outer Wilds a try, just for the experience that comes along with it.

The DLC is a huge content addition, revealed in a classic Outer Wilds way! Not only is it purely its own thing, but the design of it is as unique as can be, as in the base game. Definitely worth the buy, in my opinion.

Overall: Wonderful exploration game with extremely cool mechanics that is driven specifically by the player and their curiosity. Great worldbuilding with perfect music for ensuring the best atmosphere possible for each of the many locations.

Darker000Black
Darker000Black

The game is poorly optimized and crashes like crazy I am unable to even play the full product. I have been playing the first hour of the game for it says 13 hours but I have not really played that full amount. I am unable to get a refund due to this log time amount. The game looks interesting and fun to explore if it was stable, I wish the developers would patch it but I heard it has something to do with the actual engine streaming things into the players view in real time and with so many things happening with the game keeping track of a mini solar system with times of day, and rotations of "planets" and speeds of planetary bodies so it may be expected to have poor performance due to this however rigs with better specs than I have trash stability. So I can only rate this game a 2.5/10. So steam should not be selling an unfinished product also this game promotes the fake space lie and others would say that space does not exist. Youtube Channel Vek D
for video gameplay footage and truth videos among other things.

Fishing Mini-Game Enjoyer
Fishing Mini-G…

This is so much more than just a video game, it's an experience, a journey. A beautiful, melancholic, terrifying, wonderful journey.

You can only experience it for the first time once so enjoy it while it lasts.

PLAY. THIS. GAME.

The Bringer of Honey
The Bringer of Honey

Wow! Everything about this game is truly fantastic. The sound design and music, the eerie isolation, exploring planets that feel truly bizzare and fascinating in a physics sense, environments that fight against the concept of life as we understand it. The game is almost like a miniature science experiment and it feels completely consistent. Moreover, each and every part is loving crafted, there are wondrous sights and mysteries to uncover. It is just such a chore to play.

The game's central conceit, the 22-minute time loop renders this game frustrating to the point of masochism. Traipsing from planet to planet, constantly retracing my own steps, having to commit suicide 5 times just to track down a bit of information that doesn't end up actually helpful, crashing into the sun 50 times by accident because I'm already getting impatient... The game mechanics feel like they actively take away from the exploration itself.

In the end, I was slightly underwhelmed by the ending. Don't get me wrong, it's a clever story. However, at the time I was impatiently reaching its end I needed the game to blow my mind and finally bridge the gap between quantum physics and general relativity, therefore solve all of science in order for me to judge wasting so much time on it to be worthwhile. But it mostly just does another 2001, like high sconcept sci-fi games almost have to these days, apparently.

The game's most interesting story aspect, the macro quantum objects remains in woogly-boogly macguffinland.

tekanna
tekanna

Game is good and it's fun to explore and all, nice atmosphere and cool designs and ideas.

But, and big buts with some shit dripping out that someone forgot to wipe. I COULD NOT figure out the last step getting into twin project to complete the game and even after looking it up it took 30 minutes to do it because how stupid it was and I can not wrap my head around how no one questioned it during testing.

Rarst
Rarst

This game is a triumph of imagination, but I feel that overwhelms and overshadows how frustrating it gets to actually play.

Imagine someone took an intricate slow-paced 2D adventure, with good deal of pixel hunting, translated it to a first person shooter engine, and added time pressure to every puzzle. That's how Outer WIlds feels to play.

After a while you hit like a wall, that a lot of the puzzles aren't intellectual, they are... navigational? For some you need to be at specific time, at specific place, looking at specific thing, and your options to figure that out (other than spoilers) are either to read developers' minds or try repeatedly until you stumble into it by chance.

I enjoyed starting this game very much, but I was far too frustrated to bother finishing it.

noah.ares
noah.ares

The best game that you can play only once unless you hit yourself over the head to forget about all the things you figured out step by step. The DLC is a masterpiece of its own and even better than the base game in how you acquire information.

Hydrosmaniac
Hydrosmaniac

Is this my favourite game of all time? No. Is it an absolute masterpiece? YES!
This game is literal art. Don't look anything up. Just play it and enjoy the ride!

Eskignax
Eskignax

If you read this, means you already read too much about this game.
Stop it, buy it, download and play.

if in 2h you are not convinced, just ask for a refund. But you won't.

Shadow
Shadow

I am late to this party, and I am sad that I will leave this party after this review.

Outer Wilds is exhilarating, yet nail-biting.
Although it can be frustrating and heartbreaking at times, it is a thorough entertainer.
The mysteries involved are baffling, yet the journey towards solving each mystery is awe-inspiring.
A fully non-linear game, it urges you to put together facts that you would not think to be valuable at the time.

You become connected to several characters as you piece together the big picture.
You become involved in reading much about the lives of many characters as you progress in this game.

Man, these characters, they stay with you.
Because when you complete the game, the ending is powerful enough to make you weep.

Heartbroken that I will only be able to experience Outer Wilds this way only once.
I am sure you will have this feeling too, when you finish the game.

harleyhilfiger
harleyhilfiger

I never leave reviews for games but this time I feel like I owe it to the devs and new players who maybe interested. This game was one of the first solo player games I have been hooked on in a while and it was for good reason; I have never played a game and felt so fulfilled after its completion. Its so unfortunate that you can only play it once but I urge any new players who maybe on the fence when deciding whether or not to get this game...do it. You will not regret it and I say that with 100% certainty. I bought this game because someone left a review saying it itched that feeling of space exploration that they knew they would never be able to do in real life and honestly, I agree with them. It's a beautiful game and there is really nothing else to say but get the game. Experience this masterpiece for yourself, it is such an amazing and beautiful game.

Afish8me2china
Afish8me2china

This is one of the best things ever.

I think everybody in their lives has met somebody with conflicting definitions of art. Art is many things, and one of those things that more people in today's society argue over are video games. Video games are like movies and shows, that in a way, are better ways of expression then a book or a painting. Talk Breaking Bad for example, it managed to take a weird concept and created one of the best universes and one of the best shows ever, with some of the best characters in media.

Video games are similar. Some could be absolute cash grabs, like every mobile game ever. Some don't have that much meaning, like any FNAF game or the Portal games or Worldbox, they are just played for fun, and are amazing. But the type of video games that are the best are the ones that aren't video games, that tell a story and share concepts that can provoke such an amazing range of feeling.

My examples of these are vast. Celeste, for example, it's a challenging platformer that uses its gameplay and difficulty to tell an amazing story about self acceptance and overcoming grief and challenges. Or Hollow Knight, it has a fundamentally stupid concept about bugs running through a giant cave fighting other zombie bugs, with lore about a stupid fork thing and a giant sun moth. It takes this concept and tells a shakespearian tale about life and death. And what about TF2? It is immortal because of how it takes stupid concepts, embraces them, all with giving the community tools to shape said game and keep a community alive for 15 years.

The games I truly consider masterpieces, as of writing this, are Celeste, Undertale, Hollow Knight, Deltarune, Team Fortress 2, and depending on when you are talking about it, Minecraft. The newest edition to that list is Outer Wilds.

You probably havent heard about this game, and that is because, as far as games that tell a story, it is the best. Ever. Maybe tied with Deltarune, we'll see how that turns out. You havent heard of it because if you have played it, you wouldnt want to spoil this game for anyone. So here's what I recommend: Buy the game, start playing. If you have any questions, go to the Outer Wilds discord server, which I will post a link to in a comment. Ask for help if you need it, BUT DO NOT GOOGLE ANYTHING, GO IN COMPLETELY BLIND. If you like it, which you will, buy the DLC. Go. Get it. Now. This game will change your life.

Mekberg
Mekberg

This is not a game. This is a fantastically wonderful experience that just happens to look, feel and play like a game as well. It has game controls and rules and locations, but don't be fooled, this is actually all you, exploring a different world, piecing together a history and a future no one yet knows of, and maybe learning a bit about yourself along the way. This isn't a game, this is *your experience*, and if you keep that in mind the whole time, this is the best game you'll ever play.

Like life, finding out where you end up by actually going there is where the real fun is, so do yourself a favor and don't read anything else about this game if you have any intention at all of playing it. Just buy it, open it, and start a new game. Don't think, don't analyze, just go with it and trust your feelings.

If you do that, this game will reward you immensely.

fuk nut
fuk nut

This game is overrated and lacks any sense of reward to keep going. I would've preferred something closer to Subnautica in space rather than Myst in space or some shit. I don't know about you but finding some useless info written on a wall dozens of times doesn't count as a reward. Even when I would make something happen like make an alien device start working, I'm greeted by another useless piece of information. I don't have the patience to do this 200 times to put a puzzle together and I don't consider it fun game design. It's just maddeningly empty feeling. Give me items, give me guns, give me materials, give me actual interesting characters, give me anything fun to do.

But really the straw that broke the camel's back is that on certain planets, my screen was going black when looking in certain directions and it apparently has no fix. Something to do with the game not cooperating with Nvidia drivers. I'm done with this.

Verdun
Verdun

This game has given me a sense of wonder and adventure that no other game ever has. It's so simple yet so amazing. One of the greatest games to exist.

zomorocks26
zomorocks26

no other game gave me this feeling. wish i could play again for the first time. dlc is just as good too

ChaosDL
ChaosDL

A great adventure and exploration game. A unique story that makes full use of its medium as a video game to be told.

EmilioMac
EmilioMac

Not a perfect game, but the experience is something you're not gonna forget easily. I have to say a lot of things but it is better for you to go in blind and see for yourself.

A game you should not miss.

FORTY 5N9
FORTY 5N9

Ineffable experience. My 2 cents: don't read articles nor watch videos about the game, just play it and see for yourself....

[eˣponentia]
[eˣponentia]

I mean I can't really add much you haven't heard. Just play it.

Subjectively the best game I've ever played. Objectively probably in the top 10 greatest games ever made.

I have already purchased this game 3 times, and I will purchase anything Mobius Digital ever makes even if they suck, just because they deserve more money than I can give them for this game.

Azral
Azral

Definitely worth the purchase!

Beautiful little adventure game, as stated before it doesn't hold your hand, but that only adds to the experience of exploring the solar system and working out the clues you come across.

I have yet to complete but I'm enjoying the adventure and don't want it to come to an end. I love the vibe of this game!

evanroccs
evanroccs

This game was absolutely sensational. One of the only games I have ever played where as soon as I beat it, I wished I could forget the whole game so I could experience it all over again. Would recommend to anyone who likes games with a strong exploration and mystery aspects.

Phisheye
Phisheye

I went in to this game blind. Ralph of ShillUp fame never shuts up about it. I saw very little footage, had no idea what I was in for.

Immediately the art style struck me. I love a good sci-fi western and I particularly love good alien creature design (think Treasure Planet). This was clearly a lovingly crafted game. But I knew I was in for something special when I went up to the observatory and saw the planets and constellations carved out of wood. Something about that attention to detail really stuck out to me. 17 hours later, I was not disappointed at all with the game.

There were only 2 things that really bothered me, but that's mostly because I'm dumb:
1.) Ghost matter was incredibly frustrating to deal with until I realized the scout would detect what would be fatal and what wouldn't, and even this I got from an online source
2.) Motherflippin' anglerfish man. When I got to the heart of Dark Bramble, I spent like 2 hours attempting numerous ways to get through that entrance. No matter what side you come from, it will spawn you in the same location. You can maneuver around the fish if you get out of your ship and hold CLOSELY to the vines and make your way towards the top where the larger vines are. This is how I got to the Vessel the first time: without my ship. I knew loopholing the game's AI was not the intended way to bypass them. Not going to give the solution here but it upset me when it was that obvious and I'm mad I had to google it

The Big Kahuna
The Big Kahuna

One of the most fantastic games ever made, wish I could play it for the first time again. 10/10 Fantastic game.

Japr
Japr

Literally an experience. No leveling up a character or anything. You are exploring a new place you have never seen before and it blows your mind a bunch of times, makes you emotional a bunch of times. You get so immersed into the game. You wonder and wonder what happened and than when you put all the pieces of the puzzle together.. BOOM it hits hard as frick. The moments when you understand, the moment when you realize... I believe everybody in the world should play this game and experience it for the first time, even if you don't like puzzle games. The music hits hard and is amazing too. If you have the money, you definitely should buy it right now and play it. No making up excuses if you are financially stable or have the time to play. You are missing out!!!!

And a word of warning, everything you see, hear is a spoiler. Even the words you read about the game. The pictures in the shop page is a huge spoiler even. Must avoid!

hgallo_2
hgallo_2

It has been said countless times before, but this game is amazing. Truly something to experience as art. The way the lore is told reminds me of Metroid Prime, only with so much more presonality and impact.

put upon paddy
put upon paddy

There's a lot of overpraise in every review for this game, so let me leave a (almost entirely non spoiler) review. No plot spoilers, only my overall take on one particular planet.

Avoid reading any information or spoilers as much as you can. There are non spoiler guides you can find by googling if you need help. The story is interesting, the exploration aspects excellent, and the core gameplay elements are quite engaging. Piloting a space ship (and hopping out of it) never felt so good.

Puzzles are anywhere between interesting, rewarding and fair to abject tedium. The Hourglass planets are absolutely miserable - involving time gated content that you will spend time waiting to get access to or will miss the window of opportunity before you must try again. I was lucky I went elsewhere first in my playthrough - if I had gone there first, I would have refunded the game.

All in all, I do recommend the game but I found some of the time-adjusted content to be very frustrating. Innovation is not without its risks, after all. I do hope that Mobius Digital makes more games with this engine/space ship/space suit gameplay.

Gecco
Gecco

Calling it a masterpiece somehow still feels like an understatement.
It really stands out and is unlike any other game I have played before.
Science, art and philosophy melded together to make something so wonderful.
My overall experience was 90% comfortable and 10% horrifying.
I had my doubts that a DLC couldn't possibly work with this kind of game but I was pleasantly surprised how organically it fit in.

It's very important to stay away from guides and only use it as a very last resort.
The game itself give you plenty of clues of what to do and where you can go next
I had to search up a couple of things myself after I exhausted all my options and either failed to try out all my tools or overlooked when a clue that was giving me more then one hint.

Playing with controller is not necessary but it lets you be a lot more precision so I strongly suggest using one if you have the option.
And I won't suggest this game to the "min/max players" that easily get frustrated when you're not always steadily progressing.
It's a game made to be enjoyed at your own pace and should not be rushed.
10/10

blitzmasterev3
blitzmasterev3

Completely redefined what I imagined games as (elaborated at the end) Definitely worth a buy, especially if you like Subnautica (Outer wilds is not a clone of it though, more like a companion) or space in general. Also quantum riddles, amazing stuff.
Every planet has a absolutely mesmerizing mechanic: For instance, sand flows from one of the twin planets to the other, and then back, revealing or covering different paths and structures. Another planet collapses to its core overtime, etc In this way every planet has a unique way to solve the riddles.
I fell in love at two points: When I noticed the galaxy was tiny (distances between planets are measured in single kms) and the amazing part at the end of each "day"

SPOILERS about the core mechanic ahead:
Unlike most games, there's no items to gather, no doors to unlock and no tools to change the world. That is because the world is in a time loop, so it always resets (after 22 minutes or at death). However, the time frame is perfect and rather seamless, also quite predictable if you observe a certain something. I usually end up dying and resetting the loop before the turn actually ends, heh)
On the contrary, everything is open from the beginning, but you don't know how and where. Once you find a shortcut from the inside of a structure, you'll know where it is and thus progress much faster on the next loop, same goes for understanding riddle mechanics. Finding a shortcut is an amazing feeling, and understanding how part of the galaxy works is an even better one)

Controller is recommended. The only thing I slightly dislike is the starting town, but it matters not, and you fall in love with the world soon enough.

General45
General45

An unforgettable adventure. I have spent more time thinking about this game after finishing it than I have played other games in my library.

Omni
Omni

I am grateful to the people that created this game for the journey they let me embark on. I wish that I could erase it from my mind so that I could experience it for the first time once more.

This game has something for everyone. If you're a fan of exploration, Outer Wilds offers some of the most immersive and bizarre places to explore I've come across. If you're a fan of environmental art, said interesting and bizarre places are eye candy and will make you go 'Wow!' tens of times. If you're a fan of puzzles and interesting game mechanics, you will love the weird challenges and extraordinary laws of physics you will have to face to progress. If you're a fan of music, holy crap, the feelings the music in this game will evoke will stay with you forever. If you're a fan of narrative... Well, you will get to participate in and uncover one of the most beautifully crafted stories that have ever been created in video games.

Just play this gem. And please make sure not to spoil it for anyone after you've played it.

kilgore
kilgore

Two of my favorite things about gaming are exploration and discovery, and this game has so much of both. Exploring the solar system is so much fun (once you get the hang of flying in space). Unraveling the mystery was a joy!

Amuq
Amuq

Everyone says that Outer Wilds is best experienced when you know nothing about it before jumping in. And they're right. But still, this makes it difficult for an outsider to decide whether or not they want to buy the game (yes you should); so I'm going to try and describe the kind of game it is and what the experience is like, without spoiling anything.

This game is a spatial exploration game in a fictional solar system, mostly based on uncovering the knowledge and actions of an ancient civilization. The game is entirely based on discovery and information gathering; your ship log records what you learn, and that's your progression. There is no other character progression than the knowledge you accumulate.

Early on in the game, you'll find that something is going very wrong. There's a mystery that you will want to solve, and the only way you'll solve it is by going out in the universe, gathering clues and piecing them together. You decide where to go and what to do based on your own curiosity and desire to learn; when you explore a place, you learn things that give you background knowledge and/or hints about how to get past obstacles in other places. If you find yourself blocked, go explore another planet: chances are the information on how to overcome what's blocking you is written somewhere else. The game is totally non-linear and encourages you to try new things.

At first, you get scattered bits and pieces of information and you don't understand anything, it's totally baffling. Then, as you get more bits, you start seeing connections and elaborating theories on what the hell is happening. This is a very exciting and enthralling part of the game, the reason why spoilers are so bad for this game, and the reason why you shouldn't use Internet guides. Making hypotheses and figuring out where you need to go next in order to check these hypotheses is a huge part of the fun and the experience, and you shouldn't spoil yourself out of it.

Then you get key elements of information, and the pieces of the puzzle start falling into place. In the end, when you've almost explored everything, you finally understand what's going on, and it's incredible. Everything is cohesive, all the things that you couldn't figure out at start make perfect sense, and you're awestruck by the immaculate story put together by the developers, and by the grandeur and beauty of it all. And in the same moment, you know exactly what you need to do to finish the game.

During the whole experience, you meet a lot of characters. Your fellow Hearthian explorers, who each have their own personality, but also Nomai characters whose lives you read about on the walls they left behind, and you grow attached to them. The game isn't only a pleasure for the deductive center of the brain; it's full of emotion, too, and the end of the game is powerful enough to make the most cold-hearted of us melt into a puddle of tears.

This game is unique, it's exciting, it's nerve-wracking at times, it's fun, it's tragic, it's heart string-pulling, it's awe-inspiring, and my only regret is that it can only be fully experienced once. Once you have played it, it will be your regret too.

Dan
Dan

I say this as somebody who has played most Overwhelmingly Positive artsy indie games on Steam and disliked pretty much all of them. Please play this game. It is an absolutely one-of-a-kind masterpiece of an experience. As I'm sure you've realised this is the kind of game that you really have to play blind. Do not look up walkthroughs, guides, or videos. Just buy the game and play it. Please.

Pneuma
Pneuma

Outer Wilds is a one of a kind game, in the sense that this isn't even a game, its an experience. It's unique because it gives you the ability to beat the game as soon as you start, but the true charm is learning how to use those abilities to discover the endings, this entire game is one big puzzle that requires extreme theorycrafting to solve by discovering clues about certain planets and systems, and then using that knowledge to piece together the real meaning behind this world. The realisation that hit me when i uncovered the puzzles in this game is one of the best gaming experiences i have ever had. 10/10 i would recommend to any person, whether they play games or not.

tl;dr: this game is an amazing experience that must be played ASAP and is one of the most creative games ever made.

Koalaッ
Koalaッ

its actually become one of my favorite games so quickly and has been one of the first games i've wanted to 100% entirely

Jazz Boye Jambo
Jazz Boye Jambo

I am filled with existential dread, but at least I can toast marshmallow and listen to banjo :)

This game is a masterpiece

Duo34
Duo34

The worst part about this game is the fact that I can only experience it for the first time once. This is an absolutely incredible game, Brilliantly designed from the puzzles to the soundtrack to the character design.

Gnome_Chompskee
Gnome_Chompskee

Very interesting way to tell a story. I'm only 3 hours in but I'm hooked.

shroomtheshrew
shroomtheshrew

One of the most interesting and beautiful games I've ever played.

BenTheOldFriend
BenTheOldFriend

This game is life changing. There is so much to do, storyline is great, the DLC is amazing, i could play it for many more hours than i already have. Worth buying the archeology edition. Thank you, Mobius Digital!

Pilot
Pilot

Oyun süpermiş de ne karışık oyun la bu böyle benim beyin yetmiyor ki napçaz alla alla

ShinyLegendary
ShinyLegendary

As a huge fan of astronomy, this game pleases me. I highly recommend this game. This game is super beautiful, fun, and I just love exploring the worlds so much! I love this game.

katc
katc

I love this game and fully agree with everyone here on not looking things up. Still, if you get stuck check out the spoiler free steam guide and DO NOT LOOK THINGS UP ON GOOGLE. It'll give broad stuff about the game, and it nearly spoiled the game for me.