Thankfully this world is a water planet and my first landing which would have normally killed me landed me without incident in the water. I run to the ship, carefully align myself before setting the autopilot, and make way for the blue/green world. I make way for a large blue/green world and don’t make it as I learn for the first time that autopilot will send you into the sun if you aren’t paying attention.īack at the campfire. Armed with my launch codes from the original loop, I immediately run to the spaceship and take flight. Second trip, I know what to expect and I’ve had my orientation. I wasn’t yet aware of why and how I was sent back, but while the universe went back in time, my character and my memories did not. But I was aware and so I knew that this was the method that the game ensured I played for a set amount of time each loop. I wish I hadn’t known the time loop mechanic going into the game because that would have been a genuinely confusing and surprising moment. Outer Wilds review – the Dr.’s Assessment And about 30 seconds into that flight the sun exploded and I watched as the bright light enveloped me and sent me back to the campfire.ĭeath number one. I did notice how small the starting world seemed as I shakily took my first flight into the stars. I didn’t notice the huge size of the sun when I first launched into space. By my estimate, I spent about 20 minutes on the opening world. This ensures the player has a cutscene with a mysterious alien statue and spends a good bit of time on the starting planet to get their bearings. There’s a cave without gravity so you can practice spacewalks.Įventually the player makes their way to the observatory to get the launch codes for the spaceship.

There are kids to play hide and seek with. There are people to talk to about your upcoming first flight into space. Everything feels alive, lived in, genuine. Outer Wilds starts with a campfire on a cozy settlement. I kept it playing for longer than I’d like to admit before beginning. I don’t know how best to explain it, but the menu music has this nostalgic, familiar feel and it’s an amazing ambient tone despite being fairly short. But even before pressing start I was immediately smitten by the menu theme and music.

The outer wilds review