The blinder you go into The Outer Wilds the better. I was so taken aback by an event/game mechanic I had no idea was coming within the first 30 minutes that I was instantly captivated to complete the entire game.

The Outer Wilds is the game I never knew I wanted. I had heard a few things and saw the artwork and thought that it was another indie side-scrolling story based game along the lines of A Night In The Woods or something. On the recommendation of a friend I decided to pick it up and found I couldn't have been more wrong. The Outer Wilds is a 3D adventure game set in a small but purposefully crafted solar system. You play as a new astronaut getting ready to set off on your first trip into the system. Armed with your one-of-a-kind alien translator you plan to discover meaning in the ruins and objects found by your predecessors. As you begin to learn what the aliens were doing in the system, though, you begin to realize that there's a system-wide mystery to be solved.

The Outer Wilds is longer than I expected, taking me around 15 hours although its the kind of game you could complete in 20 minutes if you knew exactly where to go. However, I think the length was perfect, riding the thin line between too short and too long. Every moment of the game I always knew where I wanted to go next, which puzzle solution idea I wanted to test next, and what mystery I planned to solve. Each outing was a fully self-driven mission to utilize the knowledge I gained from the last trip. Near the end, some of the puzzles really require you to use everything you've learned up until that point.

The way this game allows you total freedom at the beginning but somehow manages to funnel all possible choices into a single, satisfying story is simply artful.

Play it if you like sci-fi, play it if you like space games, play it if you like mystery games, play it if you like puzzle games, just play it.