What Makes Outer Wilds So Special?

Outer Wilds is a nearly peerless masterpiece and this video is shameless propaganda trying to convince you to play it.

[prawn]

You can't just play 14.3 Billion years and expect me not to burst into tears you scoundrel.
Outer Wilds is the best piece of media I've ever experienced, and not because I have a limited pool on which to draw from. This is the only game I've played that takes full advantage of the medium it's in. This story cannot be told to you, it has to be a video game. And because of the way Outer Wilds works, it's affected me more than a movie or a book could ever hope to.
Here's where I would say something like "I'm gonna go replay Outer Wilds now" but I can't ever do it for the first time again. If you haven't played this game, give it a try. It's ALWAYS worth it.

[OwenOrNewo]

The biggest flaw with The Outer Wilds is that you can only play it for the first time once.

[ratatoskr]

I have a deep fear that a lot of comments are about The Outer Worlds. A far inferior game.

[purplatypus]

This game instantly became one of my all time favorite games ever.

It's hard to describe exactly why but I think it made me feel a level of surprise and awe that I had not felt since I was a kid.

[God..of..infinity]

My love for this game always makes me feel so lonely because im the only one i know who's played it. all my friends I've tried to introduce it to weren't interested. Its such a shame because its possibly my favorite game purely by how the overall experience inspired so many strong emotions in me. I always love to see this game get some attention great video as always. Hopefully more people fall in love with outer wilds like we did.

[Dugy]

This game single-handedly revived my love of games, when I was mid way through my game design university degree. The adventure and design and just everything about this game had me in tears when I finished it. At a time where everything I played and made felt hollow, reused and ‘industry standard’ I couldn’t help but just feel the love put into this gem, and it drove me to give the kind of feeling to someone else when I made my own game.

While my path in life has changed for the time being, I always find myself humming the menu jingle and it always brings a smile to my face.

[john_michael]

Once I heard how you described your difficulty in trying to “sell” this game to people, I stopped the video so I could just go and experience it myself as that description itself already sold me.

[myfly]

I remember I was first properly introduced to Outer Wilds during the lead up to the 2019 Game Awards where it was nominated for Best Indie Game. I was advocating hard for Baba Is You to win because I felt like it's so incredibly clever and unique. But in a reddit thread some random person was gushing about Outer Wilds, how amazing it is, how it's as impactful as Portal, and that you just *have* to play it! They weren't willing to give out any more information and insisting that it's better that way. Knowing little more than that (I had seen a video showcasing the alpha version years before but didn't realize it was the same game back then) I went into it hoping to experience something special. But my expectations were greatly exceeded by an absolute masterpiece (which itself was somehow later improved by its DLC expansion)!

[RuckusTheRuckus]

This game consumed me more than I thought possible after childhood. I love it so immensely. And it breaks my heart I can't play it for the first time again

[iveharzing]

Thank you *_SO MUCH_* for making this video!
It is everything I want to tell everyone I know, about this game.
I just lacked the vocabulary and structure you have provided here in this video.
While spoiling the Supernova is unfortunate, I think it's okay if it prompts people I know to play this game.

Thank you for giving me the tools to convince more people to experience this masterpiece,
this will now be my go-to video show people whenever I'm talking to them about my favorite videogames.


I think I have watched around 10 different YouTubers' and Streamers' full playthroughs trying to re-experience the game as if I haven't played it before, and it's still great!

[akatsukiandy]

What I loved most about this game is that it makes you feel smart as hell. Though it's an open-world game, most planets are designed to allow the player to reach certain key items or locations on their own, in a way that feels natural. It pretends to not hold the player's hand, even though most players' progression probably follows a similar trajectory. This illusion of autonomy is executed so well that you feel like a mastermind by the end of the game.

[SushiJuice]

The music is masterfully woven into this special game. Some of the best music I've ever heard

[rafaelbordoni]

Ah, Outer Wilds... Probably my favorite game of all time. I cried at the ending. Yeah, laugh at me, idc, but I'll admit it. Not because the ending was the best ending ever (it probably isn't but it's still amazing) but because it meant the end of the game. That was it. The feelings I felt, the joy of discovery, the amazing moments... I was happy for playing it but sad I would never play it again. You can't describe how happy I was when they announced the DLC.

[TrustMyWhiteVan]

One of my favorite games of all time. Havent felt that level of immersion and intrigue in a game for a while. So many moments that are so naturally and organically cinematic, just exploring the solar system results in these naturally occurring mind boggling and beautiful sequences that I havent found in any other game.

[BrandonTwede]

Of all the "try to explain outer wilds enough to get people interested but as little as possible to avoid spoilers" videos that I've seen, this one is the best. I think your explanation of the game and why it is so fun and interesting hit the nail on the head.

[screamingmeat]

it’s an amazing game on its own merit, but because i played through this with my eight year old daughter, it is one of my favourite gaming experiences in decades.

[drfrankendoodle]

I’ll say it again, if I could wipe my memory of any game and replay it fresh, this would be it. And that’s a sentiment I’ve seen echoed everywhere. It was such a novel and emotionally affecting experience for me my first time thru. And ever since I talk to everyone I know about it. Outer wilds enjoyers are some of the nicest people I’ve met online. It’s just something I will treasure forever.

[merkgalifinakis]

Dude some of this music brings tears to my eyes. Anyone I have told about this game has thanked me for it. And when we get together we still talk about it. This game has, in a small way, changed my life more than any other media.

[aleywqs]

As a very curious person, this is the best game ever made imo, such a creative use of the medium.

[illusive-mike]

Part of the fun for me was that I didn't see the sun explode the first time. I don't remember how many loops it took me to realize that was how the loops ended.

The first time it happened I was on the moon talking to the NPC there. I knew about the time loop from the store page, but I didn't know how it worked, so I did realize that something reset me but I wasn't looking up during the dialogue, which made the supernova effect a sort of creepy horror-movie white-out.

And the situation didn't improve for several loops, as I was generally exploring enclosed spaces whenever I got reset. So even just realizing that the cause of resets was the sun going nova was a discovery as big as [REDACTED], I was just pursuing [the thing the moon ruins hint at].

And this is another important thing to say here. The openness doesn't come at the expense of direction. The people on your home planet tell you to start with an easy trip to the moon, and you can easily ignore them. But if you don't, you will pick up a hint that will immediately push you to further pursue one of the major plotlines. You're never without a string to pull, and while this game is open, it's also very dense, wasting neither the game space nor the player's time.