What is this game? Is it a Roguelike? Is it a Walking Simulator?

[reck_o]

I can imagine quite a lot of people wondering what this game exactly is.
Is it a roguelike? Is it a Walking Simulator? Not quite.

In here, people can discuss what sets this game apart from others, and also what differentiates Outer Wilds from roguelikes/roguelites and Walking Simulators. Hopefully, it helps undecided people to decide if they wanna give it a try [ideally the answer to this is yes :^)]

I'll start with a shameless copy of my review (minus the disclaimer). I think, I explained the core of Outer Wilds somewhat decently:






2. Introduction:
First off, I think I played around 25h – 30h and I enjoyed every moment, except for the first 30 minutes where I thought the game is going to be s**t. But I gave it another try and actually got to the spacecraft and off planet. And let me tell you, it's worth it.

3. What is the core gameplay, the themes:
First, this game is not a sandbox game and there aren’t any “missions”. In its core, Outer Wilds is about exploration. There are lots of puzzles to solve, many places to explore and a huge mystery to unravel. Also, the gameplay centers around a time loop. Hold on! Before you get scared, listen: I hate roguelikes and roguelites, and I also hate Walking Simulators. So, why do I absolutely LOVE Outer Wilds? Well, because it's different.

4. How does the game work:
As an integral part of the story, the universe finds itself in a loop and after a set amount of time the game will inevitably loop again. There is no way around it, or rather that's part of the story. You progress the game through knowledge, and knowledge only (almost).

“But I hate roguelikes and doing all the stuff again I already did!”

-> You don’t have to. You don’t lose anything when the loop comes to an end. You keep the knowledge you already gathered. As I said, you progress the game through knowledge. If you had a conversation with a character, you don’t have to do it again next time. You already have the knowledge from it and can continue where you left. The game keeps the most important information in form of a mind map, so you don’t have to remember all this knowledge by yourself.

“But I also hate Walking Simulators, there is nothing meaningful to do!”

-> I’m glad to hear. Me too. Fortunately, Outer Wilds isn’t really a Walking Simulator either. You actively engage in puzzles, a grand mystery, and in contrast to Walking Simulators you can actually die, and even (intentionally) kill yourself. Some puzzles you solve through gathered knowledge, sheer luck, or sometimes you can be clever enough to solve it, without finding the answer, by thinking about it. You don’t even have to gather the solution (let’s say finding a piece of paper with the puzzles answer for simplicity’s sake) to solve the puzzle. If you know the solution, you can solve it. If you don’t, you can also solve it by just trying things out. That’s also why you don’t have to repeat things you already did. There are also puzzles where you have to find the answer yourself by connecting gathered knowledge. This sounds obvious, but basically not every solution is handed to you on a plate.

5. What makes this game unique:
The whole game is one interconnected mystery, subdivided into smaller interconnected puzzles / mysteries. The order in which you explore the universe and these puzzles is (to a certain degree) up to you. The game’s universe is one seamless place. There are no loadings screens. The world always loops after a set amount of time but there is no time limit and you don’t feel rushed to explore the world because you can continue right where you left off. You can fully explore the universe at your own pace (you can also set the game time to stop when reading). Also, the loop is not only integral to the gameplay, but to the game’s story itself. All of it is interwoven and you will eventually find out why.
Without spoilers, the universe is constantly evolving during the loop. And there are certain events, things to see, places to find and mysteries to solve only at certain time periods during the loop. So, each loop you will learn more about the world and where you might discover things next time. It's a really unique concept if you look at it that way.

6. Conclusion:
It’s one of the best exploration games ever made. The way in which story, game world and mechanics are intertwined is unprecedented. The game world is hugely dynamic and always changing. There are lots of epiphanies, story-wise, as well as puzzle-wise. Anything else would be a spoiler. I hope, I could grasp what makes this game so immensely unique without telling too much. If you are not interested in a game’s story or exploration, stay away from this game. If you are, this game is a must.

[Frengs]

What kind of puzzles does it have ?

[reck_o]

Mostly environmental puzzles. The majority of them isn't really that hard and for most of them you can find a plain answer somewhere in the world if you search for one. I don't wanna spoil any of them, but it's basically logic puzzles. There are no item combinations puzzles and you don't have an inventory. There are items sometimes, but you have to physically carry them. For most of the puzzles, there's a huge "Ahh" moment when you finally solve them.

[mycroft4114]

It's not really puzzles - it's problems to be solved. Don't expect a puzzle panel with levers to pull to get the crystal lined up with the magic circle to open the box that has the key to the big door... It's not that.

It's obstacles to get past. You don't know the solution to the puzzle, you know the trick to getting around that kind of obstacle. Some of these you can figure out through observation and trying stuff. Some, by considering what is unique about the particular environment. Most of the time, someone else in the system or story has figured out how to get past these obstacles, so if you find them you'll get clues as to how to do things. But it isn't required.

There are no locked doors standing in your way. No levels or equipment to collect. It's all about knowing how. Having finished the game, I can go hit "new game" right now, and be staring at the end credits inside of 30 minutes. Gaining the knowledge of how to do that took 30ish hours of trying, exploring, dying, staring at things going "how the hell?" and coming to epiphanies, having major moments of amazement (or "♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥!") You can go anywhere, right from the start - if you know how.

The various worlds of this solar system are unique and different, with their own rules and dangers to deal with. The point of this game is not to solve puzzles - what's here isn't really puzzles in the traditional sense. The point of this game is to figure things out. And it is excellently done. Seriously one of the best written and tied-together games I have ever seen.

If you like being forced to THINK, to scratch together different fragments of information and put them together into a solution to a problem and a complete story on why it all is the way it is, this is the game for you.

[reck_o]

Originally posted by mycroft4114:

It's not really puzzles - it's problems to be solved. Don't expect a puzzle panel with levers to pull to get the crystal lined up with the magic circle to open the box that has the key to the big door... It's not that.

It's obstacles to get past. You don't know the solution to the puzzle, you know the trick to getting around that kind of obstacle. Some of these you can figure out through observation and trying stuff. Some, by considering what is unique about the particular environment. Most of the time, someone else in the system or story has figured out how to get past these obstacles, so if you find them you'll get clues as to how to do things. But it isn't required.

There are no locked doors standing in your way. No levels or equipment to collect. It's all about knowing how. Having finished the game, I can go hit "new game" right now, and be staring at the end credits inside of 30 minutes. Gaining the knowledge of how to do that took 30ish hours of trying, exploring, dying, staring at things going "how the hell?" and coming to epiphanies, having major moments of amazement (or "♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥!") You can go anywhere, right from the start - if you know how.

The various worlds of this solar system are unique and different, with their own rules and dangers to deal with. The point of this game is not to solve puzzles - what's here isn't really puzzles in the traditional sense. The point of this game is to figure things out. And it is excellently done. Seriously one of the best written and tied-together games I have ever seen.

If you like being forced to THINK, to scratch together different fragments of information and put them together into a solution to a problem and a complete story on why it all is the way it is, this is the game for you.

Very well explained. It's really hard to convey how the puzzles, or rather obstacles, work without giving examples. In the end, it's really hard to separate between them because they all merge into one big mystery.

[Frengs]

Hm, I see. Thanks a lot for clarifying that moment. It's kinda hard to find information about the gameplay online without getting spoiled.

[Sythrix]

Thanks for the breakdown. I'm not sure I want to keep it. I don't really feel any connection with any of the people on the planet, they seem pretty cookie-cutter. The initial presentation of the story doesn't really evoke any drive in me to figure out what's happening, as that all seems fairly self-explanatory.

I don't know the why, but I also haven't seen much that would make me question it. I'm sure once you get into it, more interest is generated, but overall I'm feeling like it's a glorified walking simulator. If the puzzles aren't really puzzles and are just obstacles waiting for you to find the obvious answer somewhere, it further cements the feeling of it being a walking simulator, at least to me. There doesn't seem to be any real survival element to it, as resources seem plentiful and you can always restart the loop.

I don't know. I'll have to think about it, on whether or not I want to save the money or keep playing. Overall, I'm just not feeling the intrigue I was told I would.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Originally posted by Frengs:

Hm, I see. Thanks a lot for clarifying that moment. It's kinda hard to find information about the gameplay online without getting spoiled.

Honestly, the write up done by the posters above is quite excellent to give you a notion of what the game's about. Don't look up gameplay, the less you know about it, the better. Try going in as blind as possible.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Originally posted by Sythrix:

Thanks for the breakdown. I'm not sure I want to keep it. I don't really feel any connection with any of the people on the planet, they seem pretty cookie-cutter. The initial presentation of the story doesn't really evoke any drive in me to figure out what's happening, as that all seems fairly self-explanatory.

I don't know the why, but I also haven't seen much that would make me question it. I'm sure once you get into it, more interest is generated, but overall I'm feeling like it's a glorified walking simulator. If the puzzles aren't really puzzles and are just obstacles waiting for you to find the obvious answer somewhere, it further cements the feeling of it being a walking simulator, at least to me. There doesn't seem to be any real survival element to it, as resources seem plentiful and you can always restart the loop.

I don't know. I'll have to think about it, on whether or not I want to save the money or keep playing. Overall, I'm just not feeling the intrigue I was told I would.

The characters have basically zero to do with the story, to be honest. Keep on exploring and the mistery will very likely hook you.

[reck_o]

Originally posted by Sythrix:

Thanks for the breakdown. I'm not sure I want to keep it. I don't really feel any connection with any of the people on the planet, they seem pretty cookie-cutter. The initial presentation of the story doesn't really evoke any drive in me to figure out what's happening, as that all seems fairly self-explanatory.

I don't know the why, but I also haven't seen much that would make me question it. I'm sure once you get into it, more interest is generated, but overall I'm feeling like it's a glorified walking simulator. If the puzzles aren't really puzzles and are just obstacles waiting for you to find the obvious answer somewhere, it further cements the feeling of it being a walking simulator, at least to me. There doesn't seem to be any real survival element to it, as resources seem plentiful and you can always restart the loop.

I don't know. I'll have to think about it, on whether or not I want to save the money or keep playing. Overall, I'm just not feeling the intrigue I was told I would.

This game isn't really about the characters that inhabit the world. I'm sure there are quite a few people who would disagree with me on that, but in my opinion it's more about the ideas these characters represent and their purpose/role for the greater story. The characters themself have more of a supportive role and make the world seem somewhat alive.

At this point, it's also pretty important to mention that you have to do a lot of reading. If you don't like reading, you will not like this game. Most of the story is explained through writings and if you really pay attention to them and the characters mentioned in them there will be moments that make you shiver.

Also, if you don't question the story yet, you definitely haven't played far enough. It's up to you if this is what you want from this game.