Outer Wilds

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JaySevenZero
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Outer Wilds

Post by JaySevenZero »

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Mobius Digital's Outer Wilds for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.
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RadicalDog
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by RadicalDog »

Good choice for a milestone podcast - congrats!

An exploration game needs interesting things to find, and this game offers so much more than Korok seeds. I'll never forget shooting a probe into **** and ****, or solving the **** moon. (There's too much good stuff here, so I'd feel guilty spoiling it for even one person! Go and play!)
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DaMonth
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by DaMonth »

I think this is the best open world experience I've had? In the sense of actually exploring a map for its secrets where the gameplay is build around it and it's not just a setting. Maybe BOTW beats it. The ending was kind of boring but I do wanna tell you about the special moment I had playing. I was flying through space when an asteroid grazed my spaceship. It got the power so I unbuckled and turned around to go fix it. And then I was just in space and my ship drifted off. Somehow the rock hit in such a way that the backhalf of the ship was taken out completely and I didn't notice. Then I just freefloated in silent agony until I died.

Magical.
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Tolkientaters
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by Tolkientaters »

In a way every game is about learning, but I've never played a game that does such an effective job isolating the concept of exploring, learning, and interacting with systems as well as Outer Wilds. The game really feels like an adventure; the sense of exploration and the feeling you get when you realize how a system works is just fantastic. When you add a touching story with incredible visuals and music that stays in your head long after the game ends you have a classic on your hands.

I think this is one of the most memorable games this generation and I hope more people play it.
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RinseWashRepeat
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by RinseWashRepeat »

I really wanted to love this game.

Whilst I loved the freedom given to the player and the fact that you were trusted to figure out how to play the game with very little hand-holding - I just couldn't get over how annoying I found the 'reset' mechanic.

I don't know if I was just a bit rubbish at the game, but there were 5 or 6 times where I floundered for 15 minutes, finally made a discovery and then had to start all over again. Add into this I struggled with the controls and often got swept away by some galactic tornado and I just couldn't bring myself to stick with it.

Which is a real shame - I can see this is a fantastic game but I can also see I'll never be able to enjoy it.
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Brak
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by Brak »

Discovery and exploration in it's purest form. Sometimes by pure luck and other times by first bashing your head into the wall five times.It isn't just a puzzle adventure, it's also comparable to a metroidvania. Instead of new skills or weapons, it's 'information' that helps you reach new areas.

Some of my favorite moments include all the times I fell ass-backwards into discoveries I wasn't even searching for. This added to the feeling of exploration.
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Pconpi
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by Pconpi »

I had a problem with expectations for Outer Wilds. I was made aware of it by end of year lists for best games of 2019 in which a lot of people said it was their top game with some even saying it was one of their favorite games of all time. I also had some of the more spectacular moments spoiled in these write ups which would have been more impactful if I didn’t know they were coming like
Spoiler: show
the black hole in Brittle Hollow or finding the Interloper
. Since the game is about discovery and exploration it would benefit someone playing it with no knowledge of what it is about. I came in thinking it was going to be an all-time game and wound up a little disappointed by those expectations.

Another problem I had is that I don’t really like outer space, which is kind of integral to the experience. It does a great job of capturing a sense of interplanetary exploration, I just would rather be exploring a forest or mountains or anything more terrestrial. I have a friend who said he would absolutely leave his life on earth and go on the first mission to Mars…he loves this game. Space is just too lonely and desolate for me and the game does such a great job capturing that. Because of this solitude the little snippets of connection I felt through exploring the ruins of the Nomai were much more meaningful and I did became more invested in figuring things out because I wanted to erase that empty loneliness. I think that is why finding your fellow explorers and the music associated with them is so special to many who play this game. It was a bit of warmth in that cold desolate outer space that I was desperate to feel.
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seansthomas
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by seansthomas »

It's not very often a game comes along and feels wholly original, baffling, rewarding and awe inspiring. But for me, Outer Wilds did all those things.

It asks a lot of you. And those first hours are confounding. Your ship seems uncontrollable. The options in front of you overwhelming. Inertia and gravity clash. Your flimsy space suit breaks multiple times.

However slowly but surely, you begin to notice things. Was that there before? Is that planet changing? Is there a clue in this text? What does this device do? What if I wait here for 17 minutes and see what occurs? And the game begins to make you feel euphoric as your ships log fills in and, at times, a genius.

Which sadly I'm not. And this aspect is perhaps the one sticking point for me. I'm not sure I'm smart enough to fathom some of what's happening here, and whilst I avoided using a guide for 20+ hours, I eventually succumbed having a peek during the endgame. Because I knew where I needed to go and what I had to do, I just couldn't chain it together and find certain locations I'd happened across weeks ago. I pity early reviewers of this who didn't have a guide or friend to ask.

But it's a minor blip that I won't let spoil a game that is on a higher plain to almost anything else I've ever played. The ideas, vision, direction and mechanics in this game are mind boggling. The way you open doors through sight. The way language displays itself. The claustrophobia I felt as caves filled with sand or I panicked as my fuel tank ran low.

Sci-fi films and games spend a lot of time in space, but largely do things you could do on earth like shooting and racing. So space rarely feels scary. Big. Isolating. Alien.

This was the closest I've felt to being in 2001: A space Odyssey or Interstellar. The closest I've felt to being a scientific genius. The closest I'll ever get to venturing into our solar system.

At the heart of the game is time. It makes you appreciate what you can do in 20 minutes. How important those fleeting moments of contact with friends are. How important it is to pass on information.

And this galaxy is a constant, heart-racing threat, but there are no guns or enemies. Instead it's littered with black holes that throw you into space, oxygen tanks that run low or tantalising exits just out of reach. And as those musical notes that tell you it's all about to begin again emerge, you lose control of your calm and frantically try to scan one last item.

I am lost for words at what Outer Wilds achieves, and amazed someone could conceive something this big. This mind blowing. And also pull it off this well.

I think it will stay with me for a long, long time.

-------

Three word review: To boldy go
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Feirsteax
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by Feirsteax »

I played Outer Wilds back in 2019. I can't remember how I found it, I think I'd heard some rumblings here and there on twitter and other sites about how good it was. I checked it out and it looked right up my alley - I love stargazing and reading about planets, black holes, solar systems, and pondering the cosmos so putting all that in a game seemed perfect.

And it was. I fell in love with it, was obsessed with playing it for about a week straight. I remember having that feeling where I just wanted to get work finished as soon as I could, so I could get home and try something I'd thought of during the day, experiment with some idea for a room I couldn't figure out, or just explore more of the solar system's secrets.

The whole thing kept delivering revelations at a steady pace as I progressed through the game, and each step brought with it a sense of wonder and joy that I'd rarely experienced playing an exploration game. There were a few times I must admit that I got a little frustrated at not knowing where to go next, and I did peek at a guide once or twice, but those moments were few and far between, and reaching the ending felt like a real accomplishment which wrapped up the story nicely.

I then played the DLC, Echoes of the Eye, just a week or two ago. Now, two years later, I was so excited to jump into Outer Wilds's universe again. I loaded it up, and after a while of messing around, I managed to find a few clues that would lead me into the new content.

It was, at first, really exciting. It felt like all that wonder and mystery all over again, and the concept was classic sci-fi, with a really cool environment that feels very immersive. And I was not expecting this game to be so scary! :shock: There were some spooky moments in the base game, for sure, but Echoes of the Eye really leaned into that, which gave it a distinct feel. I loved it, it worked really well, and the spooks were genuinely unsettling.

But I have to say that there was a bit more frustration this time round, which left me feeling a bit less enamoured with the game. There were some stealthing segments that took place in extremely dark environments, which had to be restarted if you made a mistake. There were also a few times when discoveries led to me unveiling something I already knew, or a clue pointing to another location. I understand this is the core of the game, but the base game did a very good job of hiding this behind various conceits that made it feel natural for you to explore the different locations one after the other. At one point in the DLC, I felt like I was simply ticking off waypoints, and that put a bit of a dent in the illusion.

That being said, there were some really excellent, world-upending moments in this DLC, too. I won't spoil things, but a few of the secrets you can find are really surprising, and you can even stumble upon them by complete accident (though I never did), which is sure to give a few players a shock along the way.

Outer Wilds was a 10/10 game for me, probably my favourite of 2019. Echoes of the Eye was a tasty snack of an extra, but had a bit too much frustration for me to really fall in love with it.


Three word review: Hmm... What if..?
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seansthomas
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by seansthomas »

I know that feeling of going to bed and dreaming of what to do next well. It's occupied my thoughts for several days now and my life seems to be this thing to power through so I can launch that silly little ship again.

Which probably isn't healthy if it happened for every game. But just this once (well, and maybe BOTW) I think that's... Ok...?
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Rhaegyr
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by Rhaegyr »

I adored the game but people above have expressed it much better than I can.

What I would like to comment on is how this game featured a couple of moments that absolutely terrified me.

Being launched into space from Giant's Deep without warning genuinely took my breath away the first time it happened. The whole thing just felt so overwhelming and massive; I can't remember the last time I felt so fragile and insignificant in a game. The sense of scale, atmosphere and weight as you launched and crashed back down to the planet is something that will stay with me for a long time.

The other moment is a bit more traditionally scary but still very effective nontheless. Inching into Dark Bramble bit by bit, following the lights and trying to track down the last instrument I'd not discovered built up the tension considerably; when the giant, skeletal angler fish came out of nowhere and swallowed me up I practically jumped out of my seat and started nervously laughing. I didn't go back there for a good ten hours.

This developer would make an incredible horror game if they ever fancied it.
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MauricioMM
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by MauricioMM »

I’ve just finished Outer Wilds today and thought to see if by chance it wasn’t already covered in previous episodes. Luckily, I found this topic kinda right on time it seems... a feeling very prevalent when achieving certain objectives in the game, funnily enough.

Well, to keep it as short as I can: despite how frustating both the time loop mechanics and the flight controls could usually get, Outer Wilds (together with its expansion, Echoes of the Eye) became easily one of my favorite indie games, and one of my overall favorite games, of all time :) I haven’t enjoyed such a mix of exploration, mystery, wonder, and discovery in a videogame this much in a long while. Other games might excel in these individual camps and more but none (in my experience at least) combine them as successfully as Outer Wilds. Gorgeous art direction and music as well, and a surprisingly touching story too!

I’m eager to see what these developers will be doing next.


My three-word review:
Dreadful, beautiful space
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ColinAlonso
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by ColinAlonso »

Brak wrote: September 9th, 2021, 1:27 pm Some of my favorite moments include all the times I fell ass-backwards into discoveries I wasn't even searching for. This added to the feeling of exploration.
My favourite of these was on Brittle Hollow
Spoiler: show
I could not figure out how to get to the Tower of Quantum Knowledge for ages, until one time I was exploring somewhere else on Brittle Hollow and noticed my ship was 25km away.

"Oh, it must have fallen through the Black Hole, that's a shame"
"Wait, I parked that on top of the Tower ... OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH"

I dived into that Black Hole with a massive grin.
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Kasuga-san
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by Kasuga-san »

I am one of the people that this game just did not work for. On paper, it's right up my alley with exploration and puzzle solving, but the controls killed it for me. I couldn't bring myself to finish it even if I found the mystery intriguing. Really wanted to like it.
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BrianEdwards
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Re: 500 - Outer Wilds

Post by BrianEdwards »

Same as me! I feel like I'm always the outsider talking about this game but it didn't work for me either. Always bums me out because people talk about it like a religious experience and I feel left out, haha. Excited to listen to the show though!
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seansthomas
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Re: Outer Wilds

Post by seansthomas »

This was a really great volume, props to all involved.

Helped me personally understand the end better too and process the messaging.

And it's left me wanting to play the DLC!
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Kodama1987
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Re: Outer Wilds

Post by Kodama1987 »

Just finished this game as it's come on to game pass and was told i had to play it. With it being episode 500 of the podcast i thought why not.
I was very tempted to listen to the podcast when it came out as i normally listen to them the day after release and even started it.

This was the first time I have genuinely stopped listening when it was recommended i go away and play it to save on the spoilers.

So glad i did as the discoveries felt like I'd earned them. The deaths we're my own fault and part of the learning process and the craziness just kept coming.

Outstanding game with an awesome soundtrack. I never thought I'd enjoy the sound of impending doom.

Guess it's time to finish the podcast.

Side note. I almost changed the colour of my pants when i saw my first anglerfish. Anyone else?
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