Gamepass Journal (open to name suggestions) is meant to chronicle some of the games I play via Xbox’s Gamepass. This is not meant to be a full review of the game I am covering; I may not even complete some of the games I write about in the future. Instead, this is meant to help me, and hopefully, some others, explore playing games differently. I have never explored games like TV or a streaming service where I hop around from program to program. I hope this will enable me to play and write about more games than ever and ultimately enjoy my time with games more.
- Game: The Outer Wilds
- Developer:
- Available On: Xbox Series X/S, X-cloud (android)
- Cloud Saves: Yes
- Played On: Series X and Samsung Galaxy S8
- Completed: Yes
- Buy, Gamepass, Pass?: Gamepass
This Game is Amazing, but some of its Mechanics Present More Friction than Fun
Most discussions of The Outer Wilds start off telling new players to to avoid any information about the game. After playing this game I understand this careful approach, this game has both an intriguing plot and mechanical twists that are better experienced than explained. Further, now that its on Gamepass an argument could be made you might as well try it. However, I disagree with most critics in that I think new players should know a few things because this game is not for everyone.
First off, what kind of game is the Outer Wilds? It’s a game about exploration in more ways than one. For me, I loved unraveling the mystery of the peoples that inhabited the solar system. It’s also about the literal exploring of a game world. The Outer Wilds wants you to go to the planets more than tell you about them. You are told very little about the solar system until you discover it for yourself. This exploration happens non-linearly: there are jaw-dropping surprises that some players will find 40 minutes into playing that took me 12 hours to discover. The universe, story, and mechanics of the game unfold based on where your curiosity takes you.
A lot of this exploration is done through reading, observation, and puzzle-solving. Different planets and even architecture will have different physical laws and mechanics that the player eventually learns to exploit or avoid. These mechanics come into play with the game’s other themes: astrophysics and momentum-based platforming.
Unfortunately, I do not think the science and lore puzzler fits well with the theme of “space is dangerous.” This is not a game like Dark Souls or even single-player Mario where I feel I understand and learn from every death. In The Outer Wilds, you’ll die sometimes and not know why. Your avatar isn’t very sturdy, and neither is his ship. The easy deaths mixed with the loose controls lead to me having to retry puzzles long after I had figured out the solution because I could not get the ship to do what I wanted, or I over-corrected and flew into the sun.
This is not a sit-and-chill game. The game demands your attention, and its mysteries will not unravel themselves. This is important because the little most newcomers will see the game will be the campy atmosphere and jolly banjo led tune. After a tough work week, I first came to this game expecting a relaxing experience involving some folksy situations. The game has those campfire aesthetics and enchanting tunes, but its non-linear plot and tricky momentum systems make a game to enjoy with a cup of coffee than a beer.
As I said earlier, I think many people will bounce off this game, but for many, its enchanting mystery and moments of scientific discovery will pull you through. I almost put this game down for good multiple times, but I did not. That’s why I think it is the perfect Gamepass game. This game should be experienced if you’re curious, but it’s nice not to have to pay extra for it.
So if you like the idea of a game about learning and don’t mind a somewhat fiddly momentum-based space travel mechanic, then try the Outer Wilds. I will see you at the campfire, and we can share what we learned.
The Rumor Map is the Best Quest Journal I’ve Used
The Rumor Map in the Outer Wilds is one of my favorite quest logs in games. It organizes the game’s mysteries by both color and via a spiderweb of connections. Its clearer than it looks and in a game where much of the exploration is either guided through quotations from long dead aliens or via your own scientific observations it works much better than a simple list or journal.
The Game Goes Great on Xbox, but Struggles Streaming
I played this game on my Series X and my Galaxy S8. The game isn’t a graphical powerhouse, and it ran fine on the Series X. There were no framerate issues, no glitches, nothing of note. On my phone, it played a lot worse. From what I understand, the quality of the streaming the game should be mostly though my internet connection. However, I have found that some games stream far better than others. Wasteland 3 has been great on my phone for instance. For the Outer Worlds, I was surprised how much trouble it was giving me on the phone. It mainly suffered from lag. I would impute my controls, and it would take a long time for the game to register it. Thus, did not play it on the phone long.
SPOILERS . . . Do You Learn From Death?
Spoilers…
Ok, so its not really just Myst meets space exploration meets Getting Over It. It’s also Groundhogs Day. The time loop mechanic is a central pillar of this game’s design. The idea is knowledge compresses space so while the game world and your avatar do not progress, your knowledge of the solar system enables you to navigate it better on subsequent launches. In other words, the only progress you will make is through pure discovery.
There are no unlockable shortcuts. Any door you open on one loop will have to be opened again the next. On one hand, the lack of avatar advancement or ship upgrades is really nice because it encourages the player to just go wherever. While you may not understand everything yet, there is no ability you need to unlock to move further. On the other hand, does every switch flipped, every door opened, need to close? This game may not have the same delight in death as some others, but it is ridiculously easy to die regardless. You could easily be in the middle of an exploration when you die. After you wake up on the starting planet you have to take the time doing the same steps to continue exploring the location you were just at. Then the puzzles you have to do to get back there, aren’t really so magical. They are just time taxes.
For instance, early in the game I followed a signal to Giant’s Deep. There I safely landed on Gabbro’s Island. I got to his camp and started speaking to him. Wow he has some really interesting dialogue. I really want to talk to him more and look around this camp, I thought to myself. Then a whirlpool lifts the island and kills me. This is the only camp in the game I am aware of where you can die. Fine. The exception to the rule. I wake up. Spend the time to travel back to the planet. Don’t die navigating the plants treacherous surface. Get tot he island. Go to speak to Gabbro again. Then I click on an option to talk about why he is so clam he teaches me meditation which ends the loop unexpectedly. Bringing me back to the starting location no closer to finishing exploring the camp than before.
The tidium of going back to Giants Deep, slowing navigating to the landing site and making sure to not blow up the ship on impact wasn’t fun and was not satisfying my curiosity or showing me any grand observations of the universe. It just felt like a waste of time. Expanding the autopilot system to be able to somewhat navigate to a discovered camp could have fixed this somewhat. The ship already broke the rules by having the Ship’s Log that remembered things, why couldn’t the autopilot remember a few landmarks?
Death is inevitable. And it won’t always feel fair. I put the game down plenty of times. But my curiosity about what was left to be discovered always brought be back. There were a few other examples of repeated frustrations like my time at Giants Deep, but time has smoothed my frustration. What time has not done is take away the surprise and awe the game caused me to feel.
The game has its big mysteries, the Quantum Moon, the exploding sun issue, and the time loop, but it also has dozens of smaller surprises that delight and allowed me to get over an unfair death and go to the next planet. The game is really open and non-linear. This lets the player jump around from plot thread to plot thread without feeling like their wasting time. This really smooths over the frustrations you’ll feel. I hated Brittle Hollow for a while; I just kept dyeing and not making progress. So, I eventually ignored it. I didn’t go back there for hours. But even so, I found out more about the place while visiting other planets. When I came back to Brittle Hollow it was with a specific goal in mind and a better understanding of the planet.
Ultimately, I think the game could have been improved with a little more avatar toughness and awareness of your surroundings. A simple wristwatch timer could have helped navigate planets that had time based puzzles and not break the game. Additionally, did there have to be so many cacti? And, as I mentioned above, a more robust autopilot would have made the tenth ride to Giant’s Deep a little better. But, none of the little frustrations of the game made me stop playing for long. The Outer Wilds is a great experience that I recommend you give it a try. If after a few hours you find yourself curious about what else is out in the solar system rather than frustrated with its obstacles, you should see it through.
SPOILERS . . . A Spectacular Finish
For 85% of my runs, the time limit was a non-factor. I’d generally die or add another entry to the rumor map long before 22 minutes hit. Why go to the next place in the same loop if your ship is damaged, or you may run out of time, or you’re likely to blow up before you get to the spot you want? There is no reason. The game never requires you until the end to go to multiple planets on the same run. The game changes both mechanically and narratively in its finale. The player must go from Ash Twin to the heart of Dark Bramble and finally to a lost vessel. Beating the Outer Worlds is the one time the 22-minute time limit felt like it mattered. Doing so requires you to go to multiple planets in one loop and navigate some of the toughest navigation challenges in the game. You actually have a concrete set of instructions, and from your avatar’s perspective, the stakes actually matter this time.
Traveling from Ash Twin to Dark Bramble represents one of the only times the game requires you to stay alive and keep your ship in good shape between two planets. This isn’t a great challenge because if you are careful, you can easily land on Ash Twin with no damage, and if you do, you have some time before the warp tower shows itself to repair the ship. But, for most players, the constant time loop and the fragility of the ship will encourage them to stop caring about the damage their craft takes when they land, as long as they do not blow up. The majority of the game encourages you to get to a planet, explore it for as long as you like or until you die, and then start over and go somewhere else. However, in the end, if you die or your ship explodes, then you don’t just start over and pick a new planet or goal to go to. Instead, you have to wait 7 minutes (but you can speed this up at the campfire) and go to Ash Twin before attempting to complete the specific order of operations necessary to complete the game.
It is also great how the game systems change to reflect the heightened stakes in narrative. MAJOR SPOILERS….the time loop stops when you take the warp core. So when you die instead of waking up, you theoretically really die…the game even gives a non-standard game over. It does not take very long to get back into the game, but it was a shocking moment.
The game design of the ending should be applauded too. It requires planing, patience, and trusting in what you learned about the solar system. As I approached the Vessel the music that was signaling the supernova started and my anxiety kicked in! It was exhilarating and I couldn’t do anything because my ship was surrounded by anglerfish. I had to be patient and let my ship float through. It took me multiple times and by the end I had rehearsed the run multiple times in game and in my mind.
The ending, visually is beautiful. Much of the game has been focused on the observable beauty of the solar system, but the ending takes a less literal approach. The game ends in a forest full of galaxies slowly blinking out. The universe is dying. I knew this, but I half expected the game to give me a way out or let me save my species. Alas, the blue Pixar Muppets of the Outer Wilds all die. You can’t fight the end of the universe and the game doesn’t think you should even try. One of your fellow astronauts sums up the feeling of optimistic futility best:
“I learned a lot, by the end of everything. The past is past, now, but that’s… you know, that’s okay! It’s never really gone completely. The future is always built on the past, even if we won’t get to see it. Still, it’s um, time for something new, now.” And then the universe ends or a new begins. Depends on how you look at it.
It doesn’t really matter. It’s the end and you just want to watch the start of the next thing with your fellow explorers. There is not debate and no regrets. Its a peaceful ending. I struggled to get there sometimes and I put the game down, but I was so happy to see the end of everything and the start of something new with my fellow explorers.
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