Outer Wilds: The Detective Rogue-like
The Outer Wilds is a stunning and brilliant game. It has the spirit of a point-and-click puzzle game from ages past, all wrapped within the action-packed silliness of a modern survival game. It itches the side of the brain that relishes in discovery and problem solving. Its recipe is equal parts brain-teaser, open world exploration, and action platformer. It will make you feel like a scientist, archeologist, and detective as it tasks you with pondering clues, making theories, and putting those theories to the test in harrowing, breakneck speed adventures through a solar system seeking to kill you.
Overview
At its core, the Outer Wilds is a rogue-like detective game. Its rogue-like elements come from the 22 minute timer ticking away in the background. Once you reach the end of the run, the sun goes supernova, destroying everything, and the run resets. However, unlike in other rogue-likes, where you unlock new mechanics and tiny stat increases between runs, the Outer Wilds rewards you with information.
This is where you take on the role of a detective, trying to solve the mystery of why you are stuck in this time loop. This role includes a camera and a sonic magnifying glass, which finds strange signals floating about. It also has you filling out a pin board, with images and clues, linked together by through lines. As you run through loops, there is immense satisfaction in seeing this board fill out and new links made.
The central game play loop is like this: explore, solve a puzzle, be rewarded with clues hinting towards the next puzzle, 22 minute timer ends the run, repeat. Once you have discovered this gameplay loop, the game is completely engrossing. I found myself going through my day thinking about the Outer Wilds and experiments I would like to try; thoughts on clues I hadn't quite solved. It was an incredibly fun experience.
Early Issues
All that said, the game did not immediately hold my attention. The game holds all of its cards close to its chest, and the opening hour or so presents itself as much more formulaic adventure game. It presents you with optional tutorials, introducing very basic game mechanics, but it simply reiterates the idea that your mission is to explore. If you go into the game blind, as I did, I believe you will be very underwhelmed. It's not until you've invested a significant amount of time does the game opens up to you.
Looking back, I see the slow start as having added to the overall experience. You are put in your character’s shoes, unwittingly thrown into the time loop without context. Still, new players might quit before finishing that first loop, since the 22-minute timer doesn’t begin until after the opening scenes and you’re given permission to launch into space. This means the early pace is particularly slow during the tutorial and initial exploration phase.
Perhaps I am more ADHD prone than the average gamer and thus felt the excruciating need to stand up and leave my desk after 30 minutes of wondering the tutorial village. The game lacks a traditional save system, and this caused me to simply quit the game several times over my first few attempts to begin playing. It felt very daunting, with a fear of what progress of mine would actually be saved.
It was only by hearing other reviewers describe this game that I realized I hadn't stuck around long enough to see what was so special that I was missing. The game doesn't try to grab your attention, and instead gives a very sleepy and cozy opening. For better or worse, the game throws away the AAA playbook of presenting the core loop in the first 30 minutes or so.
Do I feel the opening is bad? No, but I do think I needed a little more to chew on in that first hour. Without the video essays telling me to play the game, I would not have had the motivation to stick around long enough to see that first loop occur. I believe the game developers should have spent a little more time on those opening scenes, guiding a new player, and motivating them towards this completely unique experience.
All that said, once I was sold on the game, I was completely sold.
Gameplay
The gameplay itself is satisfactory. You are going to be flying a ship a lot. The physics are fairly realistic, and you will be crashing into planets, the sun, black holes, and all other manner of dangers. Even still, the game is very forgiving. You have to really want to explode in order to do so. This encourages you to ride the line, flying fast and dangerously while you explore and race that 22-minute timer.
The puzzles themselves are very well constructed. The game gives you plenty of clues, and typically, it is easy enough to understand what the clues are asking you to do. However, with a puzzle game based on reading comprehension, your mileage may vary. I believe there was really only 1 or 2 situations where I had to search Reddit for a hint as to what to do next, because I did not understand the clues.
Most of the puzzles take the form of a scavenger hunt. You know that your next clue lies at some unexplored location, and you've been given a couple of hints on how to reach that location. Using your ship, jet pack, and some forgiving platforming, you must find your way forward.
At times, this can become very frustrating. Sometimes, you're just not able to execute your plan very well, leading to what feels like a wasted half hour of your life. This is most prevalent on a planet called the Dark Bramble, where a simple mistake results in a monster eating you and ending your run. While difficulty like this isn't bad, it stands in stark contrast to the rest of the game, which is so forgiving.
Story
Overall, though, the gameplay serves the story well. It leads you through the unfolding saga of an alien people, long lost to time. And this story always takes center stage. It truly is an introspective game. Even as you are barreling through the stars, your mind is always focused on what is waiting for you at your next destination. It is a game that excels at igniting curiosity in ways most games do not even attempt.
This is Outer Wilds' greatest strength. The curiosity it ignites will propel you forward. I hope this studio creates more games like it. Investigation and learning are rare treats in gaming. I encourage everyone to try it and see if it grips you as it did me.ar
