Developer Mobius Digital was founded by Masi Oka, best known for playing Hiro Nakamura in the television show Heroeseach planet’s unique features at first
seem random and unpredictable,
but you soon find yourself coming to
understand their internal logic, and
using those rules to your own ends.
And this being a time loop, you’ll
also need to learn what happens
when, and how you might use that
foreknowledge. The longer you spend
with it, the more the solar system
feels like a marvellous clockwork toy,
ticking through its motions as you
examine the mechanisms before
winding it up to start it again.
Star turn
The depth of Outer Wilds’ mystery
ensures that, though it is a small
game, it’s not a short one. Inquisitive
souls will spend tens of hours
dissecting its secrets, and many more
analysing them online or comparing
findings with friends, unpeeling it layer
by layer like a lovely space onion.
Parts of this process do eventually
turn a little sour, however. While the
ending is wonderful, the path to
getting there exposes the flaws of the
time loop conceit. Certain sequences
require too much repetition or simply
waiting for things to happen, and
while in the early stages the ease with
which you can die is a great source
of tension (and comedy), once your
goals become more crystallised it can
be a frustrating obstacle. Similarly the
game’s time limit can be a pain when
you’re trying to work out a puzzle, or
explore somewhere you took a long,
convoluted road to reach.
It’s natural that a game about
exploration would be more exciting
in its early going, with so much still
to see and experience. But in Outer
Wilds’ case the last stretch can feel
like suddenly being put to work after
a long holiday, and we do wonder how
many players enchanted by its first
half won’t have the patience to fully
finish out its second.But even taking these concerns
into account, this is still one of the
most fascinating and unique gaming
experiences you’ll have this year. With
just a handful of tiny planets, Outer
Wilds achieves more than a billion
procedurally generated galaxies ever
could, investing every inch of its
pocket solar system with the joy of
exploration and learning. ■22 minutes
to mars
there’s lots of
archaeology to do
out in space,
investigatingthe
remainsof analien
precursorrace.their
culture is fascinating,
including a unique
method of writing and
distinctive outlook on
life, and their
advanced
technologies
facilitate fantastically
bizarre ruins,
providingsomeof the
game’smoststriking
discoveries.piecing
together their history
is the key to the
central storyline.“The time limit
can seem unfair
when you’re
tryin to work
out a puzzle”
farleft You’re
not the only
explorer out
there – you’ll
run into friends
on yourtravels.
rightno, this
isn’tobsidian’s
newrpg– you’re
thinkingofthe
outer Worlds.oXMVeRDict
one of the best
exploration games
ever, thanks to a
small but perfectly
crafted setting.8
leftthere’s a
reason the time
loop ends after
22 minutes, and
it isn’t super
pleasant.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm theoFFicial xbox magazine 085revieW