Joining The Space Race: A Review of “Outer Wilds”
Over the weekend, I sat down and finally got my hands on Outer Wilds, a new space-exploration mystery game from Mobius Digital. I’d heard nothing but good things about the game, and was eager to try it myself. While I’m definitely late to the party, Outer Wilds is one of those special games that delivers a powerful narrative in a way that I feel only a video game can.
So what is Outer Wilds?
Outer Wilds is a space adventure game with a heavy emphasis on exploration and experimentation. You play as a member of an alien race who’s going to make their maiden voyage into outer space. As you explore, you learn more of a long lost race known as the Nomai, and what led to their extinction. However, there’s a catch. In 22 minutes of real time, the sun of your galaxy will go supernova, and cause the galaxy to be wiped out. After that supernova, you wake up exactly where the game starts, putting the game’s time loop into motion.
So what do I think of Outer Wilds?
I’d heard a lot of rumblings that this was a sleeper hit, one of the best games released in 2019. And to be honest, I can’t help but agree. Outer Wilds is a hopeful astronaut’s dream come true. Each planet is filled with secrets or interesting sights, along with little clues and pieces of the puzzle to forward the narrative. Flying your spacecraft has a bit of a skill curve, with the player having to learn how to properly maneuver their ship. Which I personally felt such a relief when I was able to finally land without crashing and bumping into everything in sight. What stands out most however, is the player-created narrative. Outer Wilds ultimately doesn’t give you much to go off of, meaning that every discovery you make was because you decided to explore where the clues were. There is something extremely special about trekking all the way through long, dark caverns of a planet’s moon, just to find a wall with a chat log revealing crucial information about the disappearance of an alien race. There’s a real sense of being the first one to find these artifacts and it creates some unforgettable moments without the need for cutscenes or long diatribes.
My Verdict
Outer Wilds is without a doubt the best indie game I’ve played this year. It’s almost hard to put out a review because there’s so much to talk about that can’t be said without spoiling the game. Outer Wilds presents a narrative that asks you to go and find it yourself, because when you do, there’s the feeling that this was truly your discovery. I recommend the game to anyone who enjoys science fiction, adventure games, or wants a game with deep exploration elements.
Outer Wilds is available on PC (on Epic Games Store, Steam release coming eventually), Xbox One and PS4 (October 15th)
