Outer Wilds is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop. The newest member of the space program in a small village on the planet Timber Hearth, the player navigates a space shuttle and travels across their solar system to get to the bottom of its mysteries by exploring the cosmos and gathering the knowledge hidden within each of the system's planets, left behind by another civilization in the distant past. Welcome to the Space Program! You're the newest recruit of Outer Wilds Ventures, a fledgling space program searching for answers in a strange, constantly evolving solar system. What lurks in the heart of the ominous Dark Bramble? Who built the alien ruins on the Moon? Can the endless time loop be stopped? Answers await you in the most dangerous reaches of space. The planets of Outer Wilds are packed with hidden locations that change with the passage of time. Visit an underground city of before it's swallowed by sand, or explore the surface of a planet as it crumbles beneath your feet. Every secret is guarded by hazardous environments and natural catastrophes. Strap on your hiking boots, check your oxygen levels, and get ready to venture into space. Use a variety of unique gadgets to probe your surroundings, track down mysterious signals, decipher ancient alien writing, and roast the perfect marshmallow.
PuzzleSimulatorAdventureIndieActionScience fictionOpen worldMysteryspace simulationexplorationtime travelastronautXbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
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Answered from what people have written, never made up: a verdict, how much when it's a matter of degree, and the sentences that say so, quoted with their names. Reviews here first, then TMDB's reviews and the title's Wikipedia plot and reception. If nothing settles it, you can put it to the curators.
Character
Plot-driven, epic, richly built and earnest.
- character-ledplot-driven
- intimateepic
- sparerichly built
- earnestironic
- contemporarynostalgic
Who loves it, who doesn't
9 profiled raters. Loved most by The Comfort Seekers; disliked most by The Ironists.
Reviews
We read them all: the case for is kofi_k's, funniest is tobyplays's. Marked below.
- tobyplaysFunniestThe Thrill Chaser★★★★★
The only game where the progress is entirely in your head. No upgrades, no levels, just knowing. The moment the loop clicks is the best twenty seconds in the medium.
- kofi_kThe case forThe Cartographer★★★★★
A game about the scientific method that never says the phrase. You learn; that is the only upgrade. The ending made me sit in silence.
About the game
- Platforms
- Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Developer
- Mobius Digital
- Publisher
- Annapurna Interactive, Limited Run Games
- Released
- May 28, 2019
- Modes
- Single player
- Perspective
- First person
- Engine
- Unity
- Time to beat
- 12 h rushed · 19 h main story · 32 h completionist
IGDB rating 8.7/10 from 889 ratings.
Screenshots
Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Curator Co. Other media included when they land close.
Heaven's Vault 201968% alikeBoth earnest, richly built, contemporary.
Both plot-driven, epic, contemporary.
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Chants of Sennaar 202363% alikeBoth plot-driven, earnest, epic.
The Long Journey Home 201763% alikeBoth contemporary, plot-driven, earnest.
The Talos Principle II 202361% alikeBoth earnest, contemporary, richly built; this one is more classical in form.
Ion61% alikeBoth plot-driven, epic, earnest; this one is more unpretentious.
Zardoz 197466% alikeFilm · Both epic, earnest, contemporary.
Dune 198462% alikeFilm · Both epic, earnest, plot-driven.
Often played with
Similar games per IGDB. Opening one adds it to Curator Co.
