love outerwilds, but i didn't want a horror game (spoilers)

[goober]

anybody else who's not a fan of horror games kind of upset by the dlc? i love the story telling, but the gameplay i'm just not a huge fan of. i don't like trying to "trick" horror ai. i just want to know more of the story.

[Masquerade]

It's literally not even scary at all, the anglerfish were worse.

[goober]

引用自 Masquerade：

It's literally not even scary at all, the anglerfish were worse.

exact opposite for me

[Iris Fulgur]

引用自 MONKEYMAN：

引用自 Masquerade：

It's literally not even scary at all, the anglerfish were worse.

exact opposite for me

Agreed, honestly. Though, I was playing with Reduce Frights turned off. It definitely feels like the inhabitants being scarier than the anglerfish was the intent. I'm very much affected by audio though, so abrupt screams and musical stings tend to affect me more than sudden visual changes. (which sucked for me, because that's 90% of how they sell the scary atmosphere in this DLC)
Of course, in hindsight, I'm desensitized to the Strangers at this point. They're too "humanized" to really be seen as monsters. Plus, Reduced Frights neuters everything else about them I was scared of. (needless to say I'm keeping that ON in future playthroughs) Angerfish on the other hand? Nope. No. Screw them. That breathing still haunts me every time I play.

[goober]

引用自 Iris Fulgur：

引用自 MONKEYMAN：

exact opposite for me

Agreed, honestly. Though, I was playing with Reduce Frights turned off. It definitely feels like the inhabitants being scarier than the anglerfish was the intent. I'm very much affected by audio though, so abrupt screams and musical stings tend to affect me more than sudden visual changes. (which sucked for me, because that's 90% of how they sell the scary atmosphere in this DLC)
Of course, in hindsight, I'm desensitized to the Strangers at this point. They're too "humanized" to really be seen as monsters. Plus, Reduced Frights neuters everything else about them I was scared of. (needless to say I'm keeping that ON in future playthroughs) Angerfish on the other hand? Nope. No. Screw them. That breathing still haunts me every time I play.

once i realized anglerfish had really stupid ai i never got scared of them again. honestly it felt more fun to blast around in the egg nest like feldspar trying to get to the vessel

[Inari]

引用自 Iris Fulgur：

You can already skip every part of those sections except the bottom of the well in Starlit Cove, the game just doesn't really push you to find them. (something I do hope they add in a future patch) Direct hints for the skips in each area are as follows:
Endless Canyon: There's a different path you can take to get into the building on the other side of the bridge. Find it before you extinguish the lights, and use it afterwards, and you'll be able to skip all but the one at the bottom of the stairs. (he's not in your way though, so you can easily run straight to the exit from the stairs without him even getting close)
Shrouded Woodlands: This requires the least stealth, and is the most puzzle-like of the three. Consider what to do based on the slide, and make note that in this area, the inhabitants don't conceal their lanterns, so you'll always be able to see where they are without needing to use your own. The solution from there comes from simply discovering more about the time loop, particularly what happens to that area after a certain point.
Starlit Cove: There are warp hands to get around safely, and you can actually slide down some of the rocks behind the arch one of the inhabitants is guarding without alerting them or dying to fall damage. Then at the bottom of the well, you will need to sneak past at least one inhabitant, (there are three down there in the same room) but you can make use of the light in the back of the room as well as another technique you may have learned by this point to get past them easily. Because of this section being unavoidable without the information you gain as a reward, I personally recommend doing it last, as a technique you learn in one of the other areas will help immensely here.
I wouldn't want anyone to feel like they are being forced to go through ALL these areas to experience the full game, so I hope this helps! :slimehappy:
(and if you're not aware, reduced frights lets you outrun the inhabitants no matter what, as they'll never scream at you or run at you, which should help make Starlight Grove even easier and less scary)

Reads to me like you can't actually skip anything, you're just offering a route with less encounters. Doesn't make having to sneak through any less scary with the possibility of being discovered still on your mind. You're still in a dark area with spooky sounds and the possibility of being discovered if you missstep.
So I'm not sure what people in this thread mean with "you can skip them" or "you didn't use all mechanics".
There's a mechanic that removes 100% of the aliens? Or one that lights the place up completely?

[MPO]

The ending definitely made up for it, but personally, the lore wouldn't have taken a big hit if you could just freakin' see a little more. Why would they construct a ridiculously convoluted and invisible (in multiple ways) place for themselves to begin with, even if they're part-owl or whatever? Clearly they are just as obsessed with light sources in the real world as we are. The scariness was appropriate at first, but was definitely overplayed for the sake of game design shenanigans, which already amount to "find the dev door in the haystack".

[Iris Fulgur]

引用自 Inari：

Reads to me like you can't actually skip anything, you're just offering a route with less encounters. Doesn't make having to sneak through any less scary with the possibility of being discovered still on your mind. You're still in a dark area with spooky sounds and the possibility of being discovered if you missstep.
So I'm not sure what people in this thread mean with "you can skip them" or "you didn't use all mechanics".
There's a mechanic that removes 100% of the aliens? Or one that lights the place up completely?

If you have any chance of being discovered in Woodlands, you're doing the puzzle wrong. You'd almost have to try to get caught if you're taking the alternate path into Canyon. And as I already mentioned, the well in the Cove is the exception, but you can at least mitigate the risk of discovery in that area by skipping everyone else on the surface. This isn't to say that it isn't scary, or a player's first run might result in them getting caught because they aren't aware of where the inhabitants are at first, but that's not the real thing being argued here. The thing being argued is that the DLC plays like a horror game, and that's only true if you try to play it like one. But you don't have to. One area is just straight up a puzzle that can't even be solved if you're playing it like a horror game, and one "horror game" area can be completely bypassed through exploration. That leaves the Cove, a MINIMAL FRACTION of the game, as the only part that actually requires a tiny bit of stealth. At that point, it'd be like players complaining about the base game because Dark Bramble is too scary. There's more to Echoes of the Eye than the Starlit Cove, just like there's more to Outer Wilds than Dark Bramble. But you still need to get through both to complete the game, so it's up to the player to take it slow, muster up their courage, and take the right steps to ensure their success.

[Inari]

I feel like most of this talk is beyond me as I have no idea what "the canyon" is or what "woodlands" is xD Probably doesn't help it's so dark I can barely see anything

[Iris Fulgur]

引用自 MPO：

The ending definitely made up for it, but personally, the lore wouldn't have taken a big hit if you could just freakin' see a little more. Why would they construct a ridiculously convoluted and invisible (in multiple ways) place for themselves to begin with, even if they're part-owl or whatever? Clearly they are just as obsessed with light sources in the real world as we are. The scariness was appropriate at first, but was definitely overplayed for the sake of game design shenanigans, which already amount to "find the dev door in the haystack".

Actually, the areas the Stranger's inhabitants reside are lit up, because you're right, they do prefer light over pitch darkness. The only time darkness and invisible paths are ever required is to access the forbidden archives which... ya know, are forbidden? The only reason 2/3 of the areas ever go completely dark is because the player extinguishes the lights in those areas to reach the archives, and at that point the inhabitants are aware there's an intruder, so they rely on their night vision and mental maps rather than their light in order to have a better chance of catching said intruder.

[limejet]

引用自 Inari：

There's a mechanic that removes 100% of the aliens? Or one that lights the place up completely?

There is a way to completely skip every encounter except one, which won't trigger anyway if you don't use the light in a specific place. The woods and well are timed events, and the canyon has a secret path. The only downside is that you won't have time to read everything the first time you go to the well, so you may have to do it over one or two times.

Finding the information to figure all this out requires you to beat well and canyon, though, and well is supposed to be done last...

[goober]

引用自 Inari：

引用自 Iris Fulgur：

You can already skip every part of those sections except the bottom of the well in Starlit Cove, the game just doesn't really push you to find them. (something I do hope they add in a future patch) Direct hints for the skips in each area are as follows:
Endless Canyon: There's a different path you can take to get into the building on the other side of the bridge. Find it before you extinguish the lights, and use it afterwards, and you'll be able to skip all but the one at the bottom of the stairs. (he's not in your way though, so you can easily run straight to the exit from the stairs without him even getting close)
Shrouded Woodlands: This requires the least stealth, and is the most puzzle-like of the three. Consider what to do based on the slide, and make note that in this area, the inhabitants don't conceal their lanterns, so you'll always be able to see where they are without needing to use your own. The solution from there comes from simply discovering more about the time loop, particularly what happens to that area after a certain point.
Starlit Cove: There are warp hands to get around safely, and you can actually slide down some of the rocks behind the arch one of the inhabitants is guarding without alerting them or dying to fall damage. Then at the bottom of the well, you will need to sneak past at least one inhabitant, (there are three down there in the same room) but you can make use of the light in the back of the room as well as another technique you may have learned by this point to get past them easily. Because of this section being unavoidable without the information you gain as a reward, I personally recommend doing it last, as a technique you learn in one of the other areas will help immensely here.
I wouldn't want anyone to feel like they are being forced to go through ALL these areas to experience the full game, so I hope this helps! :slimehappy:
(and if you're not aware, reduced frights lets you outrun the inhabitants no matter what, as they'll never scream at you or run at you, which should help make Starlight Grove even easier and less scary)

Reads to me like you can't actually skip anything, you're just offering a route with less encounters. Doesn't make having to sneak through any less scary with the possibility of being discovered still on your mind. You're still in a dark area with spooky sounds and the possibility of being discovered if you missstep.
So I'm not sure what people in this thread mean with "you can skip them" or "you didn't use all mechanics".
There's a mechanic that removes 100% of the aliens? Or one that lights the place up completely?

there is a mechanic that lights the place up basically.

[goober]

引用自 limejet：

引用自 Inari：

There's a mechanic that removes 100% of the aliens? Or one that lights the place up completely?

There is a way to completely skip every encounter except one, which won't trigger anyway if you don't use the light in a specific place. The woods and well are timed events, and the canyon has a secret path. The only downside is that you won't have time to read everything the first time you go to the well, so you may have to do it over one or two times.

Finding the information to figure all this out requires you to beat well and canyon, though, and well is supposed to be done last...

honestly the info rewards are poorly designed. it's the info required to beat the puzzle you just did. lame

[Shiztastic]

引用自 MONKEYMAN：

honestly the info rewards are poorly designed. it's the info required to beat the puzzle you just did. lame

You’ve misinterpreted the purpose of the archive information. It’s primary purpose is story/progression related. The fact that the areas are designed in such a way that said info allows easy return trips to their archives is good game design.

[Inari]

引用自 MONKEYMAN：

there is a mechanic that lights the place up basically.

The entire place?

[goober]

引用自 Shiztastic：

引用自 MONKEYMAN：

honestly the info rewards are poorly designed. it's the info required to beat the puzzle you just did. lame

You’ve misinterpreted the purpose of the archive information. It’s primary purpose is story/progression related. The fact that the areas are designed in such a way that said info allows easy return trips to their archives is good game design.

yeah but the information isn't even necessary to figure out the actual puzzle of each area. plenty of people found the virtual vision by accident by just putting down the artifact, i figured you could just wait for the dam to go and the owls would be gone, and same for the well. you could figure out the info gained if you thought outside the box hard enough which imo makes the puzzles feel bad