This is the other side of death in Outer Wilds. They are filled with the aspirations of a group which can never further the work they’ve done. There’s this somber atmosphere any time you find yourself in the ruins of one of their stations or settlements. As you learn more and more about them, it becomes increasingly clear that they will never know you. An entire species with sublime intelligence and a passion for discovery was wiped out before your story began. But as you learn more and more about them, becoming more intimately familiar with their culture, it begins to shroud itself in a tinge of melancholy. The core of Outer Wilds’ story is about piecing together the mystery of the Nomai. All of this inevitably returns back to the Nomai, who have left bits and pieces of information regarding the nature of the universe, the machinations of their scientific discoveries, and the personal relationships they shared among each other. While you initially don’t really understand what the overarching point of the game is, it soon becomes evident that everything you’re discovering links to figuring out why you’re stuck within the time loop, and how to get out of it. And Outer Wilds has no qualms delving into that territory. In any other situation, death is finality. It’s not entirely different from the stories people will post online which regale us with the most obscure ways people have lost their lives. To have my anticipation so thoroughly crushed in such a ridiculous manner only to wake up in the same location I began was, well, anticlimactic in a fun way. It was quick and sudden and… honestly kind of funny. My first death detailed above came out of nowhere. But given the fact you have this knowledge, you are able to discover significantly more information about the universe, science, and the nature of a long dead race of highly advanced beings known as the Nomai.īut because of how intimately the concept of death ties into the fibers of Outer Wilds, we are able to process the concept in so many different ways. After a few failures, your avatar, the nameless alien of the Hearthian race, begins to understand their existence is caught in the middle of a time loop. But death isn’t the end, merely an obstacle. You will die no matter how you decide to go about playing this video game. Death in Outer Wilds is eminent, whether that be launching yourself into the side of a mountain, being swallowed by a black hole and thrown to the edge of the universe, being crushed by rising sand, or simply managing to live for 22 minutes, in which you will be destroyed by a supernova resetting the universe. It is a game which makes strides to be it’s own entity, rejecting many of the attributes typically seen in modern gaming. In fact, I’d be hard-pressed to recommend this game to anyone who plays video games casually. And the worst part? I was barreling toward the face of a mountain with no way to stop my trajectory. Massive tornadoes crawled across the surface of the water, and the bleakness of the sky was like whiplash compared to the wondrous image I had just been present to. The vast reaches of space were replaced by the wild nature of which the planet was subjected to. The music stopped the moment I broke into the planet. I blasted forward, breaking into the stratosphere, eager to discover what was ahead of me… Within no time, I had traversed thousands of kilometers to end up face-to-face with this massive unknown. The thrusters on my patchwork vessel began a muffled roar with the ethereal strings backing my adventure, as I bounded toward the planet. I spotted a large one with a green hue which appeared to be covered in dense clouds and decided to make this planet my first destination. A pleasant melody fills my ears as I peer towards each distant rock and select my destination. The first time I launched my ship in Outer Wilds was a unique experience.I lifted off from my backwater in my tiny spaceship patched together with wood and glass, quickly leaving the atmosphere and emerging into the vast sea of black which is outer space.
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