Custom PC – October 2019

S

paceexplorationgamesdon’tgetmuch
betterthanOuterWilds.Youplaythelatest
recruitofOuterWildsVentures,thespace
programofthefolksyplanetTimberHearth.You’regiven
yourownspaceshipandtaskedwithinvestigatingthe
farthestreachesofTimberHearth’sstarsystem.
Unlikemostspacegames,whichemphasisethescale
ofthegreatandinkyvoid,OuterWildstakesplaceina
singlestarsystem.Withinthoseboundariesareseveral
planets,a handfulofmoonsanda rovingcometknown
astheInterloper.What’smore,youonlyhave 20 minutes
beforethestaratthecentreofyoursystemexplodes,
killingyouand– duetomysteriouscircumstances
wewon’tspoil– cascadingyoubacktothemoment
youfirstawokepriortoclimbingintoyourship.
Manymodernspacegamesuseproceduralgeneration
tofleshouttheirmillionsofplanets,buteachbodyin
OuterWildshasbeenpainstakinglydesignedbyhand,
andthey’refarfromtypicalballsofrock.BrittleHollow,
TimberHearth’snearestplanetary neighbour,is a giant
purpleeggshellriddledwithancientruinsontheunderside
ofitscrust.It hasa blackholeatitscore,andit’sorbited
bya lava-spewingmooncalledHollow’sLantern.Asyou
explore,globulesoflavafromtheLanterncrashonto
theplanet’ssurface,breakingoffhugechunksofthe
crust,whichcollapseintotheblackholeandvanish.
Inthissingleplanet,OuterWildscommunicatesthe
weirdness,dangerandaweofspaceexploration.Every
objectinthesystemis a cosmicwonderthatwouldbe
thestarattractionofanyothergame.They’realsohighly
dynamic, with the topography dramatically shifting
and changing in the countdown to the supernova.
There’s more to this dynamism than simple visual
spectacle. Outer Wilds is one giant clockwork puzzle,
where certain events happen at specific moments,

andsometimesyouneedtotakeadvantageofthese

momentstoprogress.You’llgraduallypiecetogether

a storyrelatingtoanancientcivilisationthatpreceded

yourown,whichbuiltvastprobecannonsandgreat

machinesthatfunctionviaquantummechanics.

Knowingyouhavelimitedtimepushesyouforward,

makingyoubolderandmorecurious.Indeed,you’llrarely

seethatbrightbluesupernova.You’llbecrushedby

islands,falloffplanets,bestruckbymoonsandtumble

intostars.However,you’llawakemomentslater,andyou

canreturntoyourlastlivinglocationwithintwominutes.

OuterWildsisn’tperfect.Thespaceshipflight

controlscanbefrustrating,andconversationswith

fellow travellers are rather undercooked. However,

the visual spectacle and environmental puzzling more

than make up for these minimal shortcomings.

RICK LANE

/VERDICT

One of the finest

space exploration

games ever,

Outer Wilds

dazzles with its

mind-bending

experiences and

ingenious time

loopconcept.

OVERALL SCORE

90

WILD

+^ Astonishing

space exploration

+^ Great story

+^ Clever time

loop concept

MILD

-^ Frustrating
flight controls
-^ Dialogue could
be better

OuterWilds/£19.99 inc VAT

DEVELOPER Mobius Digital/ PUBLISHER Annapurna Interactive

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