In today’s article we will cover the Outer Wilds game. It was suggested to me because at first glance it looked like “Subnautica” – I can tell right away, so it’s not. But it got me endlessly excited. You can read why here (no spoilers, but pictures included).

Don’t worry, I won’t spoiler. I found this game to be far too worth playing for that – so if you’re curious after reading this, get on the console, maybe it’s still in the game pass. The images I use will be as innocuous as possible. But I didn’t want to do without an article entirely.

But what is it actually about? As I said, the game was recommended to me because at first glance it reminded me of Subnautica – only in space. After playing I can say it’s not. Essential elements, such as crafting or base building, are missing. The story isn’t really comparable either, we don’t fall onto a strange planet and have to solve the mystery – but of course there are secrets that we can uncover.

Because that’s what they have in common: both games have awakened my curiosity for research. It’s about exploring the environment and finding out what came before – just for the sake of exploring. I don’t know of many games that really got me excited about it, but Outer Wilds is definitely one of them.

In addition to the urge to explore, there is another thing in common, namely the atmosphere. You’re often alone and very confronted with this loneliness – the fabulous world design contributes to this as much as the incredibly depressing, but at the same time beautiful music. The deeper you go into the story, the more you understand, and that understanding doesn’t make you feel better; I don’t want to say more about it.

So let’s get down to the technical stuff: graphically and mechanically, the game surprisingly reminds me of Sea of Thieves: somehow low-poly, simple controls, but a relatively large number of dialogues. It’s a bit overwhelming at first, so I’m sure I missed a thing or two in my impatience. In any case, it pays to listen carefully if you want to progress later. But to stay with the technology: it was stable, there were no bugs (at least I can’t remember any) and never any performance problems. Very nice.

In terms of game mechanics, there were definitely some rough edges. The early game in particular is unfortunately quite frustrating at one point or another if you don’t know exactly what to do – but it’s definitely worth it. In the endgame, too, there were one or two moments when I didn’t know what to do now – fortunately it always cleared up at some point.

Unfortunately, I can’t go into detail about what really surprised and excited me: the story. I would really like to, I was gushing about it by the end of the stream and I could talk for days about how good I think it is. However, the way to get there is also the goal and every bit of what I reveal could be too much. So I can only recommend playing it yourself.

But what can you now draw from this article as a meaning and purpose? To be honest I don’t know. I didn’t want to leave the game completely without it, but I don’t want to deprive anyone of the experience of trying it out for themselves. If you get into the story and explore the world like I did, albeit reluctantly at first, you’re in for an incredibly well-crafted game with lots of puzzle pieces to piece together – that’s all I can say. Now go play it!

There is a DLC for this game – I haven’t looked at it yet. I’m not sure I wouldn’t rather leave the story as we experienced it. But maybe we’ll look at it again.

I can’t really ask you how you found the game at this point – I’m strictly adhering to the “no spoilers” rule for this game. But what was your overall impression? Do you share my enthusiasm or do you think I’m exaggerating? Feel free to discuss it with me on Discord!