I’m playing this game for the first time and it is *amazing*. Came at a time when I really needed a distraction, and it has a really compelling mystery.

I’ve explored Giant’s Deep, most of Brittle Hollow, and the Interloper. I’ve got a clear sense of who the Nomai were and what happened to them, but I’m still circling the specifics of the Ash Twin Project. I want to write some things down to see how close I am, once I figure it all out.

So I figure the memory statue being stored in a supernova-proof chamber has something to do with the sun exploding. The Nomai planned to explode the sun so they could learn something, send that information back in time using the memory statues, and learn it without having to actually destroy the sun. To find the Eye (I have the coordinates from the probe tracking module).

They set this all up but then their civilization was destroyed suddenly by the Interloper/ghost matter. Much later, something happened to trigger the experiment, which caused the time loop to start and the sun to explode. And other suns.

I see three statues active but I’ve only found one other person aware of the loop. So there’s another out there. I’ve met the lost explorer and found the Vessel, but need to learn how to avoid the anglerfish.

Still more to explore in the Sunless City, the Ash Twin Towers, the Black Hole Forge, and the Vessel. Haven’t set foot on the Sun Station yet but I’ve got two quantum rules. The quantum moon suggested there are three I need, so I’m close.

Really compelling. I have a general sense of where this is going but I’m excited to see how it all comes together to pay off!

Overall I’ve really enjoyed The Outer Wilds. I kept waiting for the Switch port but eventually got a system I could play it on.

The game requires some 3D platforming skills. So far it’s been within my skill level. Unfortunately, the Sunless City filling up with sand each loop gives me anxiety that makes it hard to explore. Something about putting a time limit on a puzzle freaks out my brain. I’m having to push through this part a bit 😅

The Nomai writing is all in spirals, and when I found the school, the spirals there were messier – like a child’s handwriting. The game is full of these little touches.

Okay I’ve made a lot of progress. Sun station, Black Hole Forge, the anglerfish fossil, the last quantum rule, and a bunch on Ash Twin.

I’ve got some conflicting info here, like the Nomai already tried to blow up the sun over 200k years ago… and apparently our sun is just at the end of its natural life. But then why are all the other stars exploding too?

The two big question marks on my map left are the Quantum Moon (which I’m now prepared for) and the Vessel (which I’m dreading because of the giant anglerfish). I kind of see where the Vessel is going (literally, figuratively) with the warp core on Ash Twin.

My biggest question: who else knows about the time loop?

Need to put this game down, but it feels nice to look forward to picking it up again. I swear, Myst crawled so Outer Wilds could fly.

I love the Nomai: a whole culture of scientists, maybe a little too curious, who meant well but took risks. They pursued their curiosity at great cost. All wiped out by a(n apparently) random cosmic event they couldn’t have seen coming. Tragic.

If the Nomai were nomads, and the ones in the game were trapped in the solar system, I wonder if the others are still out there.

You have to imagine there were older Nomai complaining “young people today just don’t wanna spend all of society’s resources pursuing the Eye of the Universe, it’s sad”

Made it to the Vessel last night, barely before the time limit. Didn’t get to explore much. I’m curious if it’s better to slowly inch past the anglerfish, or build up enough speed to rocket past them?

Made inside the Ash Twin Project, holy smokes 😲 Third memory statue wasn’t a person at all. So the star is at the end of it’s natural life, and the game really isn’t about stopping it from exploding at all… Cool to see the loop end from inside!

I momentarily removed the core of the Ash Twin Project and got goosebumps. Like I was suddenly vulnerable to permanent death, and like, oof.

The plan is to explore the Vessel (and practice getting there). Then steal the core to it and go to the Eye all in one loop. I said I don’t like ticking clocks in games and this is the most pressure The Outer Wilds has put on me yet. We’ll see!

Like I do understand the gamer argument for overcoming challenges and a feeling of accomplishment, etc. Beating Hades the first time was a thrill

But I also panic easily in games and it takes a lot of effort for me to overcome (or even attempt) certain types of challenges. Timed puzzles and stealth just do something to my brain. Maybe it’s just me.

The Outer Wilds has balanced challenge well so far, but I would feel better if I could mod the game to (for example) disable the anglerfish AI. Not that I would necessarily, but I’d feel better if that option were in my back pocket.

Too bad Outer Wilds Mod Manager is Windows-only. I tried getting it working on the Steam Deck and failed to install a specific version of .Net lol. No thank you, I’m not here to fuck with computers.

@ashfurrow I'm trying to be as spoiler-free as possible, keep exploring, the Anglerfish AI Is Not The Problem - you do not need Intense Gaming Skills to get past them

@anizocani thanks! I’ve learned from the fossil that I need to be quiet – did it successfully once, now I just need to do it faster

@anizocani oooo I just saw that the Vessel is markable on my map now, so I don’t need to follow the escape pod anymore!

Outer Wilds is really good! I finished the game last night. Interesting ending, I love it. I think I still have some left to explore – I’m considering filling out the ship’s log some more.

I downloaded the DLC, because I want to stay in this game, but it’s *very* different. Really interesting so far – love the sci-fi elements here. But from reviews, it seems like a horror game with monsters hunting the player in the dark. So I’m not really interested.

When I started the game, I googled how long it takes to play. The answer I found was “16 hours to beat, 26 to 100%”, but it took me 26 hours just to beat it lol.

This is the video that introduced me to Outer Wilds and got me so excited to eventually play it.

It feels like a bit of a cheat, if I’m being honest. “You can’t save the galaxy in a day.” Okay cool, let’s accept that and fold it into some mental health pract— oh. You can’t save the galaxy at all. Hmm. lol

https://youtu.be/9zCevFE0fMs

@ashfurrow you should absolutely play through the dlc, that review is wrong. there are bits that could be much less stressful, but we’re talking anglerfish horror not actual horror. you would, for instance at the point that review is referring to, know if you needed to consult a walkthrough. the dlc is somehow just as good if not better in some ways than the core game.

@nsfmc I definitely won’t give up on it – still exploring the rafting area!

Gave up on the Echoes of the Eye DLC. It exceeded my gaming skills and attention span. Also it’s too dang creepy.

I really appreciate that the devs tried something new. It just wasn’t for me. And thanks to the magic of video essays, I still get to experience my favourite part of any game: the story.