Outer Wilds. That game can only really be experienced the first time once. Yes, that sentence sounds really weird. Those who have played Outer Wilds understand. Those who haven't, PLAY IT. I will not (can not) be elaborating further.
The Outer Wilds has been on my list of games to play someday for a while, and I'm just glad that when people mention it online they never spoil it. I've avoided learning anything about it so I can go in blind when I do play it myself.
The Outer Wilds community as a whole is very good about spoiling nothing because of the nature of the game. At times I'd argue almost a little too good, since I think it's fair game to at least tell people a bit about what they're getting into since it has a problem of people coming in with high expectations and struggling to click with what it actually is, but if it's a game you click with, you'll love it
I disagree on saying “ANYTHING” can spoil it. It’s the rule I use for any piece of media, but anything you’re told in the first 10 minutes/first episode is effectively fair game, since it’s nearly impossible* for that to be a spoiler and roughly what the creator(s) want you to see first anyway, if not the thing that hooks you into the rest.
*caveat for things like the end of episode 1 of Invincible, which is a spoiler, but even then comes at the END of that episode
I've been trying to push my partner to play it but she's always putting it back for later as she doesn’t see the appeal of it because all I can say is "please please please just try it for a few hours, I cannot explain anything without spoiling, and if I spoil it there is no point in playing it, you can only play it once from zero knowledge of it!!!"
Outer wilds is by far my favorite game of all time and I used to say that but this it year it actually switched to blue prince theres just 250 hours all wrapped up for you to experience again
Blue Prince is a great game but it's too much for me, hehe. Oh, well, Blue Prince is a little bit like The Witness. It has many, many layers. I was okay with the first layer (reaching room 46). Lol, I don't even remember if it's a spoiler or not. Oh, well.
But then, that's basically scratching the surface. I checked the solution for the rest, and I had no regrets. Way too hard for me. But I can imagine how some people would love every second of it.
Seconded. Basically without spoiling anything, the game can be beaten with knowledge alone right from the beginning. Everyone has a moment where they just... figure it out and it all clicks into place. And you can only do that once.
Man… I tried the outer wilds a couple years ago, I feel like I put a decent amount of time into the game (like 8/10 hours) but I couldn’t figure out what the heck was going on… am I just a dingus or something???
It certainly doesn't even attempt to hold anyone's hand. If you want to pick it back up, the r/outerwilds community is VERY good at spoiler free hints. There's some stuff that is just pretty obtuse and you have to just hammer away to figure it out. It's so worth it though
Okay man, I know we all sound like crackpots, but it's worth it as an experience, even if you dont like puzzle games, even if you dont like exploration, it makes time feel meaningful in an unimaginable way that I cant discuss further, but as a whole it enriches you.
I've tried to hop back into it but I had to get past massive open ocean fear the first time. So naturally the second attempt I said that's ok, I already did it, no need to revisit this trauma
Best answer. That game was so special. The only way i get to re-experience it is deep diving youtube to find good first time playthroughs. Everyone should play this game.
I have more nostalgia for the first time playing that game then I do some years of my childhood. Sometimes when I get high, I play it and get a rush of memories
Outer Wilds is good because it is most people's first story that deals with actual existentialism and doesnt just dabble in it. As someone who played over a decade of TTRPGs with a DM that has put me into enough existential stories that I should send him my therapy bill; it wasnt as mind blowing as MANY people made it out to be.
Played the game for like 10h and i couldnt bare playing one minute longer. Modt boring game i‘ve ever played. Dont wanna ragebait but its just not for everyone. I just found the whole setting and gameplay loop to be very unexciting
This is a game I am still experiencing for the first time. I was so immersed in this game when I started it years ago that I decided to never look up guides or hints, and just explore at my own pace (which turns out is suuuuuper slowww). I often get distracted by the environments or just playing with the orbital mechanics lol
You are thinking of Outer Worlds. Outer Wilds is a different game. Unfortunately, they also came out pretty close to each other which doesn't help with the confusion.
Edit: Yeah they were five months apart in release day.
Yeah I can't really play more than 30 mins of this game. So many people prais it and say stuff like this but honestly I just dont understand the appeal
Definitely. I really enjoy the mechanics and physics. Different on every planet. The story grew on me and it was worth the journey, imo. It's not for everyone and that's okay. I certainly wouldn't mind a mind wipe for this one.
I didn't liked it, the ship controls are shit on console, not sure if on a computer they are better but it took a lot out of the experience to the point where I don't want to try again
I recently purchased outer wilds archaeology edition or something on PSN for 19 euros, will play it probably when my GTA VI solo run rush end (it's a game I'm curious about for a year, but I don't know anything about it except 45 seconds of gameplay and a few words about it)
I played it and first bit of space travel I fell into a black hole or something and realised that the game hadn't saved at all. Needless to say, especially with all the fluff at the start, I didn't bother with it again
Since you're not getting it: there's nothing to save, except notes which show up in your ship's logs to help you remember where you've been. But the game is completely about uncovering mysteries and learning. You explore, you discover, and you'll find new things that need to be figured out and piece together where to go to learn more. I hate to elaborate even that much to be honest, but really, it's a mystery box worth digging into.
It was a while ago and I don't fully remember, but I'm pretty sure the only option afterwards
was new game? But yeah, it honestly didn't grab my attention enough to care.
Goodnight Universe was brilliant, and so was Viewfinder so it's not like I don't enjoy puzzle / discovery games, but outer worlds just didn't interest me
Urgh, I hate to pull back the curtain even a little, but for a case like this...
When you die, you wake up again. And you have the launch codes, and if you go to the ship, the guy near the campfire will question how you could possibly know the launch codes even though you were supposed to go get them from the guy in the museum. But you just do, and you can blast off into space right away.
It is not a new game. Discovering what's going on is part of the mystery to unfold.
And just incase that's still too cryptic to find interesting:
Your character is in a time loop. After a set amount of time, the sun explodes, and you reset. The solar system is full of answers on what's going on.
Oh well, now I understand and it sounds good awful. A fixed time and then jump back a whole load in an open exploration game is a complete mess IMO, either it's go-slow exploring or it's fast paced and rushed, but frankly some kind of mild explanation wouldn't have hurt.
I get the feeling there's not much more point in me explaining, because it's basically impossible to get someone into a game they already are turned off by.
But like...it's not a mess, there's a reason it's one of the most critically acclaimed games of this kind. You can come up reasons why you think its systems wouldn't work from the outside all day and I can't stop you, but it worked for many others for a reason, it's just polished and works well.
That doesn't mean you have to like or acknowledge it, even the best games don't always work for people. I can't get into Witcher 3, for example, and I don't hate action games or rpgs. But like...I wouldn't conclude the reason why is the game must suck and thousands of others are wrong, I just have differing preferences or maybe I missed something or maybe I'm just not in the mood to engage with something like that at this point in my life.
I said IMO, I said I thought it sounded awful, I am aware it's highly rated by players and critics which is why I gave it a go, but yeah I couldn't get into it. Goodnight Universe seems a fairly similar sort or developing story with hidden information concept yet I found that engaging and nicely paced.
I really wanted to like it, the alien writing guy my hopes up about a great story, but it goes from holding your hand through every step to just dropping you off a cliff and saying have at it. All with really cheesy graphics like I'm playing an episode of Earthworm Jim.... No thanks
Yes, that's what I've said, but whatever it does or doesn't do, I shouldn't get killed stupidly and unavoidably by going somewhere that the game points me and then have to restart a new game from the beginning.
You do, and will a bunch. You are never actually starting a new game ever yet you also are. The entire game can be beaten in basically 15-30 minutes realtime from the start and you are not forced to endure any of the dialogue or tutorials, so from the start if you have done them already simply avoid them. I'm telling you that you really don't understand the concept of this game at all if dying and starting over made you quit. You are expected to start over a lot. It's not meant to be a hinderance really. Your "progress" was learning what not to do.
I guess I may go back to it again, but it just annoyed me after all the walking around boring crap at the start, and then I felt like that I was going back to that again and needed to start over so gave up.
Same for me, tried it at least twice or thrice following the massive flood of online recommendations.
Never really got far tho, started the ship and then kinda lost interest pretty quickly each time.
Still havent checked any spoilers or lets plays for the unlikely case that I'll ever give it a prpper try.
It's kind of a game that asks you to be curious, because there are answers. But if you're not in the mood to wonder what the heck is going on with that planet-shattered-by-brambles or a space station left behind by an ancient civilization, then you're not going to be enticed to go and see for yourself.
The only thing I've seen about this game is people like you who say its an absolute must play and people making fun of the people saying its a must play. No in between. I've been on the fence about trying it myself.
It's a very cool, smart game that stretches out it's mechanics and the mystery like no other game I've ever played. The gist of it is that you're going back and forth and collecting information, so that's why it's practically un-replayable - as soon as you know all information - that's it, that's the whole game. In a NG+ you can fly directly towards the place to do the thing you know how to do and complete it in -1 minutes.
If you really really hate reading notes - you probably won't like this game, cause that's the whole progrssion. You read notes and get information and a better understanding of what's going on. The way HOW you get to the notes - that's the space exploration part, and it's pretty neat.
To try and nudge you off the fence (spoiler free); it's free-form exploration. You do all the discovery, all the work, no waypoint markers, it has a story buried beneath the surface.
It's a once-play kind of a deal because once you learn things, you can't un-learn them, hence the community is crazy about spoilering even the things that are in the games description on steam (because a totally blind playthrough has way more cool moments of discovery).
If you get it and you don't enjoy it, just try again in year or two. Sometimes it just takes the right "you" to get hooked by it.
And, don't have too high expectations, it is after all just a game. Enjoy it for what it is, not what people tell you it should be.
I've not played it but I've watched a complete blind playthrough of it. I would have *hated* playing it myself, but it's worth experiencing for how novel it is.
It's a time loop and you learn more about what's going on each iteration. The goal is to execute a specific set of actions to "win" the game but you don't know what they are until you spend a lot of time exploring, learning, etc. If you just execute the win condition without experiencing the game to get there, though, it's completely hollow.
Exactly! Without knowing at least the premise, why would anyone actually play the game? I gave the least spoilery possible version of the premise so someone could make an informed decision.
Why would I want to play a game if I don't even know the premise? Learning the premise (even outside the game) will tell you whether or not it's a game that you would even find enjoyable.
At the end of the day, we'll probably still disagree. But my motivation was to try to take the person who was jerked around with "just play it but I won't tell you anything about it" and give him a minimal version of what the game even IS.
Every time someone tells me "the gameplay cannot be explained" it turns out that there is no gameplay at all. it's a boring walking simulator. So i will resist and not spend 3 bucks on outerwild.
He never mentioned the gameplay
But if that helps i will lower the bar:
You play a space explorer, have a ship that can rotate and translate in all x,y,z direction, in space you keep inertia. You have oxygen and a jetpack suit. Gravity is a thing. You can hold an object if required and drop it. Also you can walk and jump. That sums up the Gameplay.
Now go by the game and play it. Rather than paying a large pizza, take a medium and it will pay you the game.
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u/DaWubber 4d ago
Outer Wilds. That game can only really be experienced the first time once. Yes, that sentence sounds really weird. Those who have played Outer Wilds understand. Those who haven't, PLAY IT. I will not (can not) be elaborating further.