mixed habitat & densely vegetated hiding places

In this open-world exploration game, you play as an alien astronaut whose people have just begun to explore their solar system. You're excited to see what's out there, but not long after you launch your first spaceflight—22 minutes later, to be exact—disaster strikes as the sun goes supernova, destroying you and everything you know...



...and then you wake up, back at the same campfire where you began the game. You quickly realize that you are caught in a time loop which resets every 22 minutes, giving you brief windows of time to look for answers. Why is this happening, and why are you the only one who remembers anything from one loop to the next? Clues are found in ancient inscriptions from another alien species that visited your system millennia ago, leaving their writings and ruins scattered across the planets.



You have a gadget that automatically translates the alien language, so there are no language puzzles in this one, and there is no combat. The challenge is in figuring out how to get to the places where the clues are, piloting your spacecraft and jetpack through environmental hazards, and learning to use the environment to your advantage. The time loop aspect presents some creative logic puzzles, as locations can change over the 22 minute window—a planet may begin to crumble as it's struck by asteroids, or a frozen comet may melt as it gets closer to the sun. You approach each new loop with (hopefully) new information and ideas of where to explore next.



Both character movement and spaceflight use realistic physics, which took some getting used to for me. (It was a banner day when I was finally able to land the spaceship without crashing!) It's recommended to use a controller, but I could NOT play the game that way, and found that keyboard and mouse worked vastly better for me, so YMMV.



I am abysmally bad at first-person platforming—I know this about myself—so parts of this game really stretched my capabilities. There were a couple of places where I paused and checked a guide to make sure I had found everything in a location before I left, solely because I gravely doubted my ability to repeat whatever feat of platforming I'd somehow performed to get there. That said, I did eventually realize that there are some shortcuts to get back to certain areas more easily, which you could use the first time if you knew about them, but you're unlikely to find them except on your way out. So that does make up a bit for the lack of fast travel back to previously discovered locations.



I enjoyed the story, which did not go at all where I was expecting, and clearly had a lot of thought and care put into it. It wasn't as mindblowing/life-changing for me as it seems to have been for many fans of the game, but certain discoveries did elicit real delight and wonder for me. (If you're considering playing the game, try not to get spoiled!) The game world has a unique vibe, somehow both dangerous and inviting, encouraging you to explore what's out there and keeping you on your toes, but also always returning to home and personal connections—both literally and emotionally.



I did find the timed aspect somewhat nervewracking; 22 minutes can feel quite long or frustratingly short, depending on what you're doing. When I took a while to find a location (perhaps for platforming-related reasons...) I didn't like feeling like I had to rush to read everything because the timer was ticking. There were also situations, especially towards the end of the game, where I knew exactly what to do but had a lot of difficulty executing it in the time allotted, sometimes eliciting some grrrr feelings when I kept having to repeat steps A-G because I kept screwing up step F.



Of course, you can try again as many times as you want, and what I lack in platforming abilities I suppose I make up for in stubbornness. I played through the game (not 100%, but finding most things and reaching the good ending) in 31 hours.



Outer Wilds is on Steam for $24.99 USD, which seems more than fair for a game with plenty of content and challenge. There is also a DLC, which I'm currently still working on, so I'll report back when I finish that.