Game is too hard or im too dumb.

[cypher]

Hey, i feel like an idiot playing this game, i have no clue where to go next or how to progress in the story campaign.

[Perseus]

Are you using the ship log, opposite of the pilot's seat? It's quite helpful in seeing which places you haven't explored yet.

[Sammun Mak]

It's quite a hard game so every bit of progress you make is a win!

At first, it's not obvious what your objective is. I enjoy picking a planet and investigating as much as I can. You'll need to fully explore most things to finish the game.

[Bobywan]

Explore the different planets and use the ship logs to have a better understanding of what you have read.
Try reaching each explorer and talk to them.
If you get stuck, try exploring some areas earlier or later in the loop.
Use your scout and you signalscope.
Roast marshmallows

[ReverendTed]

As stated, use the ship log.
Also, use your signalscope: Any signal you can detect is worth investigating.
If you go to a planet and look for "something interesting", often you'll be notified that there's an "Unidentified Signal Nearby". If you get close to it with your Signalscope out, it'll be identified, and that will sometimes open up a new frequency, which you can check for other signals.

Many things you find won't make sense at first, but some will provide clues on what to check next.

[Ishy]

It's unlikely that you're dumb, it's just that modern games have conditioned us to expect guidance and hand-holding. Hence it can feel confusing when a game relies on the player's curiosity instead.

I'd suggest trying to treat Outer Wilds as a world first, and a game second. Be curious, explore, and ask questions (of yourself, and of others you might encounter), and think about the stuff you find. Be experimental, and don't be afraid to die (everyone dies in many, many, ways in this game). Everything (well, almost everything) in the game makes sense even from a "non-gamey" perspective. Don't stress about "what the game wants you to do". And no, that doesn't mean there isn't a story or a goal to all of it. There is, and it is awesome.

[Halfshell]

Generally speaking.. each planet has hints for that planet for stuff to do, and hints for other planets to get the juicy stuff. Everything has a hint somewhere. Sometimes the ship log can summarize that hint better than the hint itself did. Sometimes you see an obstacle and have to go around it or find a non-intuitive solution.

[76561199455560242]

Explore and investigate the world around you. This is the type of game that can be beaten in like 10 minutes if you know what to do (which nobody does, typical playthrough is probably 10-20 hours), so don't be discouraged that you don't feel like any progress is being made. Your progress is the knowledge you gain along the way, and it will all click eventually.

[reck_o]

It's not a hard game, rather easy to be honest. But, it is not hand-holdy in the slightest. You have to intrinsically be interested in the mysteries of the universe and the story. You have to decide for yourself what your next goals are and what puzzles you want to solve or where to look for clues. The longer you play, the more the big picture reveals itself to the player. You can use the ship log to see where you missed clues.

If the premise isn't interesting for you or you need hand-holding in a game, then it's no shame to say the game might not be for you. For me, it was probably the best game I've ever played and the story is worth it. But I also found the minute-to-minute gameplay gorgeous and liked the puzzles. I would say, play for a while. If the game doesn't hook you after 3-5 hours, I would drop it. It won't change.

[Commander Shepard]

Perseus is right. Check your ship log frequently, go to planets and explore, then check again, it gives you hints what you need to look for. An incredible journey awaits you! :)

[trickedxpurex]

Explore everything, and when I mean everything I meant all of it lol. Just pick a planets and roam around. Read your ship logs to patch things together and keep exploring. Do not look at spoilers because you will hate yourself if you do. This game is amazing, take a break then come back and think things through. If you think something is crazy, try it

[The Entity]

its like one of those super twisty clever films that make no sense right until the end.

explore everything you can, literally take your time and explore explore explore. eventually youll work out the lore and story and whats going on.

i was the same. didnt have a scooby doo what was going on until suddenly i just went "AHHHHHHH ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ HELL"

its REALLY well written. dont look up spoilers

[uri_nrv]

Just explore and follow clues, don't try to understand in the beginning or follow a route, just explore everything you see, you are going to discover places even where you though that nothing was there, the story is going to unravel to you doing that and you are going to understand, in the end, what do you need to do.

Try to no spoil yourself, do not follow guides, take your time, doesn't matter if it takes a lot of time, you can only live this game once. Enjoy it.

[BraveStar]

Talk to people you find, try out the signal scope, and go check out whatever you feel curious about. The story will take shape as you do!

[cross]

Nothing wrong with asking for hints, but early on. You really don't know what's going on. Just explore and read things.

[cf.barbossa]

Originally posted by cypher:

Hey, i feel like an idiot playing this game, i have no clue where to go next or how to progress in the story campaign.

There is no story campaign. Or progress in the usual sense.

I don't know where you have already been, but next, you should go to the hourglas twins. Or to Brittle Hollow, that works too. Or stay on Timber Hearth or its moon. Or you can, like I did, try to find the maximum speed of your ship.