Today's featured article on Wikipedia: Outer Wilds

A million percent agree. If you haven't played it yet, look nothing up and play it as blindly as possible. I'm so glad I did and wish I could do it again.

This was the game where I couldn't figure out how to fly the space ship properly, and then I went to land on a strange abandoned space station and couldn't figure out what to do there beyond reading some alien text that didn't make much sense, right?

I'm sure I didn't give it a fair lick, it's just it took up 2 hours of my time and didn't hook or particularly engage me up to that point, so I didn't feel like going back in and slogging through the slow burn to get to the good stuff.

That's on me I suppose, I should try it again!

Does it pick up and get a little more interesting and robust, at least? I'm not looking for hardcore shooter action, but like, I dunno, interesting people, engaging quests and cool places to go whilst doing them, and such. Something to keep me interested, you know?

Everyone's different, of course, walking simulators with the occasional small bit of world building text to read just aren't for me is all.

It really should be part of the title of the game. Outer Wilds: don't look anything up, just play it.

I very nearly had to use a guide at one point but I stayed strong as everything I'd read said I'd regret it if I did. So glad I didn't as the joy of discovery in this game is unparalleled. Top 5 gaming experience of all time, I reckon.

I tried, I really did. But a few hours in, I just didn't like the gameplay even though I thought I would've loved it and the other new games I had waiting won.

Maybe I should grind through. Is there a point where it suddenly gets good a few hours in? Or is it just not for me, despite everything on the book's cover?

When you do, please leave yourself a note reminding you to send me the mind eraser afterwards.

Once you finish it, it's actually really fun watching other people's playthroughs as well - getting to relive some of the moments vicariously through other people's eyes is almost as much fun as experiencing them yourself the first time.

It's also quite amazing just how different each playthrough can be, since the game is so non-linear, people take some crazy paths to get to the end ! It can be frustrating as well when someone just can't see what is in front of their face though :)

There are also so many subtle elements scattered around that most people miss on their first playthrough, and watching someone else play it really made me appreciate many of the details I missed on my own playthrough and even make connections I didn't before, and understand aspects of the story that I didn't fully get the first time.

Playing this game anew would be an upside to early onset dementia for me.

Read a walkthrough if you have to. The ending is 10,000% worth experiencing, even if you need a little help to get there.

In fact, getting to the end with help from strangers actually feels more in keeping with the themes of the game.

On the same boat.

I definitely want to go back and complete it some day.

Your ship computer shows hints and places you haven't fully explored. Alternatively you could say where you are and helpful internet people can give you a nudge.

The Outer Wilds community is very helpful. Just post where you're stuck and people will give you hints without spoilers!

In my experience, if people are going to bounce off the game it’ll come down to one (or more) of three reasons:

• They hate the flight controls
• They hate the feeling of being on a constant timer
• They hate the lack of explicit direction in what to do next

It’s one of my favourite games of all time, and it has good reasons for all of the above, but it’s definitely not for everyone!

And for anyone wondering, my counterpoints to the above would be:

• Learn to use the autopilot but don’t trust it; learning to manoeuvre precisely will come over time
• Don’t overthink the timer element; pick just one thing to investigate and focus on that, anything else is a bonus
• Use the ship’s computer and follow the unknowns; avoid walkthroughs unless you’re absolutely 100% stumped on what to do next

The game is magical even with that one spoiler. Hell, I'd go so far as to say the puzzles aren't even as important as the themes and story.

You should definitely play it!

I have beat the game. I remember the gist of the solution, but I have no idea how to pull it off any more. I can't wait to play it again, possibly with the VR mod.

Play it today. You need to go in blind. It's straightforward to learn and super rewarding to ay.

At first, the game will not make sense. But somewhere around the 20 minute mark (it varies depending on what you do) you will encounter The Event. It will happen. You will know it has happened. It will be, unmistakably, The Event. Nothing else could be The Event. Nothing else could possibly be as momentous as The Event. And then you will have your first real understanding of what the game is about, and it will be very, very exciting.

After that happens, look at the computer in the back of your ship (to the right as you enter). For the rest of the game this will be your most important tool. You'll understand why. Once it happens.

Have fun.

A friend begged me to play this and I just didn't for a couple years despite owning it. Once I finally did it quickly became an all-time favorite. You should fix this yourself.

This is one of the best games I have ever played. I know this phrase goes around every day, but I wholeheartedly mean it.

This is the type of game you can only place once, and the experience is incomparable to much of anything else

I still remember how confused I was when story DLC was announced for a game which I considered to be complete story wise.

Turns out the story was not complete.

I put off playing it for ages because I didn't know how it could possibly stand up to the main game.

It does, and more so. Enjoy.

So one thing I didn't realize right away is that in the ship there is a board where the game auto stores your discoveries detective-style. It really helps provide guidance when you feel like you're out of leads or don't know what to do.

On the one hand, if you don’t enjoy the game that’s fine. It’s a masterpiece, but that doesn’t magically mean that everyone will enjoy it.

That said, if you want to enjoy it more, focus on one thing per loop, everything is designed to be completable in a single loop, (or maybe a few for the more complicated puzzles if you get stuck). And if something is frustrating, do something else.

Things really go wrong if you keep smashing your head against a brick wall or if you keep jumping around and never manage to finish anything.

We’re trained to think of death as a major failure by other games, it’s not in this one, it’s just jumping back home, repairing the ship, and starting from a central location and a known state.

It takes some getting used to. And maybe looping games isn't everyone's cup of tea(e.g. Majora's mask).

But the exploration, the knowlesge based progression, the cleverness of the story, and its delivery is absolutely brilliant.

It's a hard game to get into. Played for 2 hours on my first run and didn't know where to go.

After 2 weeks or so I tried again because everyone was recommending it to me. Now it's one of my favorites, even though it took another 2 hours before I had any idea what I was doing.

same here. i keep hearing good things and restarting the game but every time I'm just losing interest by the first hour.

The most common gripe I hear is the ship controls. It's really designed for controller, and manual space flight is kind of pointless when the autopilot can do it so much better (as long as there's nothing in the way).

It's really a game about pulling threads until you find interesting things. The ship's computer is useful for keeping track of the thread ends. Most places can be reached in a minute or so right from the main planet, although depending on where you're going you might have to wait longer to get access to what you want. There isn't really any "starting over" because what you're gathering is knowledge in your own head.

I think the hardest part initially is finding an interesting thread to pull on. I think Giant's Deep was where it started to click for me, but there's undoubtedly more.

After playing this game I watched so many streams and let's play of it. I enjoyed seeing how people did it differently than me.

I also convinced my partner to play it on Christmas as my gift for me to watch. (They were instantly hooked)

This is one on my favorite games ever

Which Let's Player? I'm always looking for new ones I'll like.

vicariously watching others play is our only solution now unfortunately

Yes it is wonderful, especially floating in space and just drifting. But be aware, certain parts are... intense in VR.

Sounds like the pukiest VR game yet. I'm in.

Oh shit. I'm bookmarking this. I might have to set up my Vive Pro again after so many years...

What headset do you use? I thought getting a a770 meant no VR for me… wish it would render Celeste properly lol

The alien names aren't gibberish - they're all mineral and plant names. Made it really easy for me to keep track of lore, actually, having something to tie the characters to conceptually. Absolutely true that it's a puzzle game first and foremost.