In Outer Wilds, individual planets are tiny, not much bigger than the likes read in The Little Prince. Heck, your trusty spaceship is made of wood. Here, rounded edges, clunky charm, and evocative, archaeological mystery take precedence over sleek technology and photorealism. Unlike the algorithm-inflected environs of vast games like No Man’s Sky and Elite Dangerous, Outer Wilds‘ solar system is bespoke and intimate in scale, its aesthetic sense informed by a cartoonish, almost childlike understanding of astronomy. After all, how else does one deal with the sort of Groundhog Day-style time loop that entraps the game’s setting?Īs the only member of the Outer Wilds Ventures exploration crew that remembers what happens across each loop, players must spend 20-odd minutes – the time between waking up to roast marshmallows before your first flight… and the sun exploding – exploring the solar system as much as they can in search of answers and adventure.Īnd what a solar system it is. Of course, It’s not all about dying horribly, though one’s repeated, often ignominious demise is a major means to an end in Outer Wilds. Released: (PC via Epic Games Store), (Xbox One), Octo(PS4) Needless to say, I haven’t been the most successful space explorer in Outer Wilds‘ history, but the beauty of it is that I’ll get there eventually, 20 minutes at a time.
I made it all the way into space the next time, even landing on the moon to visit a local named Esker, but I got too caught up launching space probes at my campsite back home – while listening to Esker’s whistling – that I didn’t notice the sun exploding until the shockwave engulfed the planet.
A freshly minted astronaut from the tiny world of Timber Hearth, I took a bit too long admiring my spiffy new spaceship on the platform, before accidentally stepping off the edge and falling to my demise. I didn’t even last ten minutes into my first session with Outer Wilds, the intriguing open-world adventure game from Annapurna Interactive and Mobius Digital.