The beloved indie game, five years later.
This review contains minor spoilers for the 2019 game Outer Wilds. Some players swear by playing this game completely blind- that’s because the best part about the game is solving the mystery for yourself. Once you learn how certain parts of the game work, you unfortunately can’t completely unlearn them.
Outer Wilds follows The Hatchling, a four-eyed being exploring their solar system for the first time. During the tutorial, you learn about the Nomai, an alien civilization that came to your solar system many generations ago, by visiting a museum on your home planet. As you walk around the exhibit, one display sticks out: a Nomai statue. It suddenly turns to look at you and all of your previous gameplay is replayed in a time-lapse; an extremely jarring experience.
After the tutorial, you’re off in your spaceship to explore the rest of the solar system. Equipped with your space suit, jet pack, and a couple of tools, you’re set loose on this 3D, first-person, open-world puzzle game. The Nomai left behind cities and large-scale science projects that need to be explored. Well, that’s what you try to do until the sun explodes.
That’s right- the sun explodes and destroys the entire solar system, with you in it. The Nomai statue plays back your gameplay footage again and you wake up in the same spot as you did at the start of the game. This is a time loop. Every twenty-two minutes, the sun turns into a supernova that destroys everything, and you need to figure out what’s going on.
Once you start, it’s up to you to decide where to go. This game is one big puzzle that can be solved in any order. It’s even possible to completely finish the game on your first loop, you just won’t because you don’t know how yet. The whole game is about understanding how the world works and what needs to be done to fix it. Secret entrances and shortcuts discovered later in the game were always available, you just didn’t know about them. Mysteries from one part of the solar system connect to other parts, so if you get stuck on any particular place, you can always try exploring elsewhere and gaining more knowledge.
For players used to action-based progress or straightforward puzzles, Outer Wilds’ knowledge-based approach takes some getting used to. Text and conversations aren’t just lore, but clues in the puzzle. Throughout the game, you find spirals of ancient Nomai writing on the walls that you can decode with your translator. These writings are the conversations of Nomai scientists working on an experiment at the heart of the game’s mystery, and their unique personalities and inside jokes help you learn about the Nomai’s intricate and bygone civilization.
The music is another essential part of the game. All of the music is incredible, and it’s only played in this game when it has a purpose. By the end of the game, you’ll know what each song means, at least subconsciously, and your relationship with each song will change. One song notes the start of the supernova- at first, you won’t know what the song means, then you’ll know that your time is running out and hurry to finish what you’re exploring, and finally, you’ll accept your fate. There will be another loop, and you’ll be able to keep exploring.
The game started as the MFA project of Creative Director, Alex Beachum. His initial idea was to create a game about a group of friends sitting around a campfire watching the universe end. The final game retains this, with the camping aesthetic making the alien universe of the game feel like a journey into the woods. There’s even a game mechanic to roast and eat marshmallows.
The game’s ending is an emotional, singular experience. Once players finish, many watch gameplay videos of others playing for the first time since it’s impossible to feel that way again. This is a game in which meaning and emotion sneak up on you as you become invested in this amazing world. And it’s so impactful that even five years later, players are still raving about a game you can only truly play once.
I am an Austin, TX based filmmaker and photographer. I moved from Houston to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where I graduated in 2022. I'm a lifelong music lover and spend most of my weekends attending shows. Some recent favorites are K. Flay, Devon Again, and Farmer's Wife. Other than that, I enjoy reading, writing, playing volleyball, yoga, and gaming.
