Game of the Month #119 (December 2024) - Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds is an open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop.
How long is Outer Wilds?
When focusing on the main objectives, Outer Wilds is about 17 Hours in length. If you're a gamer that strives to see all aspects of the game, you are likely to spend around 28 Hours to obtain 100% completion.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Genres: First-Person, Action, Adventure, Open World
Developer: Mobius Digital
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
NA: May 30th, 2019
EU: May 30th, 2019

This was a game that a former mutual of mine loved to praise as one of the best games ever. Looking at it in isolation however, it just doesn't seem like my kind of thing. The whole time loop thing I doubt is something that really appeals me.

I nominated this one, then finished it before it won the vote. I wrote pretty extensively about it in my blog thread. I had very mixed feelings. A substantial portion of the game is delightful and amazing, but just enough of the gameplay was insufferably frustrating that I can't give it all the same rave reviews I hear others give it. That said, I definitely understand why folks adore this game and it's worth experiencing if you haven't yet.

I played this one a few years ago. I really liked the story and atmosphere, and I was surprisingly competent at the flying too so I enjoyed the gameplay. The exploration was also pretty cool...in the first half. After I figured out all the puzzles I could, I just got stuck and couldn't progress anymore. Ended up having to use a guide to beat the game which soured the experience a bit. Still, I enjoyed my time with it.

Yes!
The kick in the rear I needed to finally get around to this game. Hopefully the high praise doesn't set me up for disappointment 😥

Okay still settling in to my new home so maybe sproadiac with my plays but anyway had my first session of Outer Wilds:

Jumped on a geyser and died. End of the game

Okay the more serious session after that:

Made it to brittle hollow and found the crashed ship and it's escape pods before following into the black hole and then reaching the white hole station and thus the north pole station on brittle hollow. Translated everything there and found the tablet in the white hole to see the other items in the area not exactly sure what they mean and then the sun collapsed and the loop repeated

Okay very opened ended will need to follow a few leads I think but will see where this leads me. Finding the controls a bit floaty although I am in space so maybe I can be more forgiving of it. Dependent on how annoying it gets

Okay still settling in to my new home so maybe sproadiac with my plays but anyway had my first session of Outer Wilds:

Jumped on a geyser and died. End of the game

Okay the more serious session after that:

Made it to brittle hollow and found the crashed ship and it's escape pods before following into the black hole and then reaching the white hole station and thus the north pole station on brittle hollow. Translated everything there and found the tablet in the white hole to see the other items in the area not exactly sure what they mean and then the sun collapsed and the loop repeated

Okay very opened ended will need to follow a few leads I think but will see where this leads me. Finding the controls a bit floaty although I am in space so maybe I can be more forgiving of it. Dependent on how annoying it gets

I see that you are playing on PC, so I will tell you right now: the space bar is your friend. A quick 2-3 second hold on it while in your ship or suit matches your velocity to the nearby environment. Drastically cuts down on the "floaty" feelings. I wish I had realized the usefulness of that and the "R" + mouse-movement-to-rotate function a lot sooner in my playthrough.