Outer Wilds (2019)

Well, that was a lot of fun. I'm happy that I decided to purchase this game as I had an absolute blast playing it. The whole recycle game mechanic did get pretty stressful at times though

It took me 25 hours, and 20 minutes to beat. I did it blind and with no guides. I DID however get a slight nudge once or twice (it was three times) in an Outer Wilds Discord when I was a bit too stressed.

Well worth it despite being on EGS. I just REALLY wish it had achievements because I am 99% I found everything and it'd be easy to know that if EGS supported achievements.

It's 2019! Achievements! Do it!

I first heard about this game about 2 weeks ago but when I found out it was EGS exclusive, I moved on. I didn't end up reading anything about it then nor when I finally bought and started playing it on 16SEP. I decided to buy it because of some ridicoulous meme that I saw on Reddit that doesn't really touch on any of the deeper seated issues with Epic buying up exclusivity but it prompted a gut realization that I wanted to play this game so I bought it.

Honestly, I knew nothing except 22 minutes. I didn't know what graphical style it used. I thought it was third person until I actually loaded up the game. It was just something about the core game mechanic that I read about that made me want to play it. Every 22 minutes... something about that just struck me so I took a leap.

It is amazing so far. it's a little overwhelming due to the core game mechanic but I am at a point now where I am understanding the world, connections and slowly but surely am finding my way through.

The meme, by the way:

If you can get this one (it's another game that passes on the PS4 in favour of the PC-Xbox combo), do it!

After some deliberation, whilst they're equally brilliant, I think this is snatching the top spot from Heaven's Vault for my GOTY thus far. I never thought I'd play what is effectively a Metroidvania wherein instead of collecting upgrades you collect knowledge. And that's YOU learning, not your character. I've never found exploration quite as joyous. Planets are small but focused, idiosyncratic and still offer a scale that can be breathtaking. The atmosphere is both inviting (the very opposite of gritty or mean-spirited) and yet somehow imbued with horror too. With the amount of time loop games now on their way, I feel Outer Wilds has won the war before it's started. The just-right 22 minutes before the local sun goes supernova can be nailbiting and revelatory. Aspects of the solar system change irreversibly over that time in ways that can be exploited and some 'puzzles' are truly incredible to work out. The central mystery of why you're stuck in the time loop, the story and lore are all fascinating.

All this from a team of relative unknowns and out of what was originally a student project!