Outer Wilds Is An Absolute Nightmare - This Is Why 

The first time I played The Outer Wilds I went to Giants Deep and landed my ship on the first island I could find. While exploring, one of the tornadoes picked up my ship and whisked it away which in hindsight made sense but wasn't something I thought the game would actually do. I spent ages trying to figure out where my ship went and how to get back into it and, once I did, I was super proud of myself for getting out of that situation on my own. And then, right as I leaving the planet, the fucking sun exploded and I was SHOCKED. 10/10, best way to get started in a game

Although it wasn't mentioned in this video, the DLC Echoes of The Eye is an absolutely amazing addition to the game that has adds even more cosmic horror and awesome stuff to explore.

It was also cool how friendly the Nomai were to... everything. They called the Quantum Moon a "playful friend", they *asked* their hardware to do things rather than make them, one log had something along the lines of "stop flirting with my sister and just meet up with her already"... etc.

The only bad thing about this game is it's so memorable that you can never recapture the magic of your first playthrough

I remember being so skeptical and anxious about the Echoes of the Eye DLC. After playing it, I was blown away at the fact that they were able to capture lightning in a bottle yet again

"You can't help but think that the Hearthians would be totally accepting of all of this" Meanwhile Chert is screaming to themself on the surface of Ember Twin

Ya know outer wilds has a fully fledged VR mod. It’s pretty insane experience, and supports motion controllers and stuff. Honestly, it’s so well implemented, it could have been official.

I'm surprised there was no mention of the absolutely brilliant expansion, Echoes of the Eye. The way it integrates in to the story of the game is one of the most impressive things IMO, despite me being worried it would detract from a nearly perfect experience.

Whenever someone says "Do you ever wish you could forget the game, to experience it again?" Outer Wilds is the game they're talking about.

The experience of frantically searching the solar system alone to find a way to stop yourself from dying, for the ending to be you sitting down with your friends and playing music together in collective acceptance of your fate, is one of the most powerful moments in all of gaming

Just finished this last night and it's pretty darn bold of them to have one of your opening interactions be playing hide and seek with a couple of cute little kids who get roasted by a supernova in twenty minutes.

I actually think that my first time ending this game was my favourite: I took out the warp core... and waited for the supernova. I knew I didn't have enough time to make it to the vessel, so I just decided to travel as far away from the sun as possible... and die. And when those words "you are dead" appeared, I had shivers. How amazing that a game-over was such a powerful ending. I had saved my character from an endless loop, I had allowed him to be mortal. It felt amazing. Sure the true ending is cool, but I found comfort in my own little ending.

It just occured to me... I never used the teleporter from the Ash Twin to Brittle Hollow! I just flew my ship inside the planet, turned it upside down and landed on the ceiling...

This game made me accept that what ever happens, happens, and that fear from the unknown only holds one back from their true potential, that a happy ending happens with or without you. One of the most important things to do in your life is to make people smile, because they will never forget about being happy, and that's worth more than the whole universe.

This is the first time I've started a game so that a video I want to watch doesn't spoil it, and I am SO glad I made that decision. What a mind-boggling masterpiece of a game.

The VR mod for this game, called NomaiVR is absolutely breathtaking. It has full 6dof support and truly feels like it was built from the ground up with VR in mind. It even works with the Echoes of the Eye DLC.

I think it’s worthwhile to mention that the Nomai are actually smart and came up with a quicker way to get back to Brittle Hollow after so many of their people fell into the very easy to fall in black hole. After leaving the White Hole you can find a nearby Nomai station and inside it will tell you about how black hole warping works. In short both ends of the warp need to line up before anything can happen, and essentially it lets you warp back to Brittle Hollow as if nothing happened.

I remember the first time watching the sun explode I watched it start turning red and expanding and just assumed it was already like that. Then when it started imploding I tried to use giants deep as a shield, which obviously doesn’t work.

Love that the Eye of the universe is pretty much a literal eyeball, complete with optical nerve that funnels you into what's basically, for the lack of a better analogy, God's brain.

My grandfather was sick when I started and just a few weeks after I finished he passed away. This game helped lesson my grief, as I felt I went through al stages while playing it and was able to have acceptance. I was sad he was gone, but infinity more happy of the time I had with him.

Instead of teleporting to the black hole forge, I literally brought my ship down to where it is and landed upside down lmao. One of my proudest moments playing this game, cuz i did it completely wrong. I also got to the sun station for the first time by orbiting the sun and matching velocity with the station, and got to the vessel by going full speed ahead thru the anglers cuz i hadn't obtained the extra clue.

I am a grown-ass, weathered-ass person. The ending has made me cry every time I see it in its entirety. I do not have enough fingers and toes to count the amount of times it's left me bawling. This game is truly something else, something special.

So happy you made a video on this game! Played it this year and I feel like it’s my favorite game of all time now. If anyone watching here is considering getting this game, STOP WATCHING AND PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND GET THE GAME, FINISH IT AND THEN COME BACK AND WATCH THE VIDEO! It’s best played knowing as little as possible.

One thing I love about Outer Wilds is when it goes from "I have no Idea what to do next," to "I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it."

Two points about the Brittle Hollow: if you fire the drone at the ground, it tells you how stable it is as a percentage; which is actually shown on a 'how to use' poster inside your ship. The other thing is you can absolutely survive a fall into the black hole area: if you boost perpendicular to the hole, you can set up an orbit around it, flinging yourself higher and higher with each pass. There's even a tractor beam right under the platform with the campfire, letting you refill after surviving. It's honestly lead to some of my best memories; falling into the pit and speeding like crazy around the edges, dodging geometry at lethal speed and carefully monertering my fuel and boost gadges before nailing the tractor beam on a pass and surviving!

Outer Wilds is a true masterpiece, and the fact you can never play it again and get the same experience only betters this. Still makes me cry, every time I hear Travellers. Or see a Hearthean. Or Solanum.....

Did y’all know if you don’t meet a special someone on a certain moon there are no people in the end cutscene for the new universe?

I have never played a game that made me cry with both happy and sad tears at the same time. I felt so hollow yet so incredibly fulfilled. This game is sad and beautiful. So lonely and comforting. And it brings me to tears that you feel the same way. Thank for covering this game. Keep being awesome

1:34 I would have REALLY liked that "Go play it yourself" warning to be a bit more elaborate. Outer Wilds is one of those games where every single thing you know about it before playing takes away part of the experience. (Wanting to wipe your memories to be able to replay this game once again is one of the main memes of the community) If by ANY chance you're scrolling down while listening to the intro and reading this, PLEASE, PLEASE give this game a good hour or two of your time. Test out the waters, refund it if you really really don't like it after 2 hours... but pls, give it a go

This game is a fucking MASTERPIECE. This is what I think of when people say cosmic horror. The dread and loneliness you feel while playing this game sometimes is so visceral. Especially in Dark Bramble. Exploring the planets and putting all the pieces together is unlike any experience I've ever had playing a video game. 13:10 When I did this, I was having trouble figuring out how to situate the orbs to get the teleporter to work and I could literally hear the encroaching supernova get closer and closer to me as I tried to figure it out until at the last second I got it and was teleported to the Eye. Definitely one of the most unique games I've ever played and definitely one of my favorite of all time. Edit: Also the ending is absolute perfection. I wish I had a better vocabulary to express how much I love this game.

This game is magnificent. There's joy, there's horror, there's sadness, and there's acceptance. This barely scratches the surface of the tip of the iceberg that is this game - there's so much to see and experience. And it makes me feel a little less scared about how everything in the universe is going to fizzle out someday, too. ... Oh, and there's a secret ending, where if you mess around with the Nomai time-travel-warp-tech, you can create a time paradox and undo the universe (and also talk to a copy of yourself if you're smart about it). Upon seeing the universe shatter from a violation of causality, the credits roll to a kazoo remix, complete with the audio of someone in the recording studio remarking on how annoying it is, so it clearly must be used.

I feel a little bad for anyone who didn't give this game a try for themselves before watching this, because the experience of finding and solving the story in Outer Wilds on your own is unmatched in gaming for me. Fantastic video as always, and I love some of the views you showed off. If you've played Echoes of the Eye and have enough material to make a video of it, I know I and many others would love one.

I still remember the first time I played this game, finally making my way to the Hanging City and finding a mass of Nomai skeletons all around, on the floor, in chairs, even in beds. At first I didn't think much of it, just taking it as confirmation that the civilization had died out and nothing more. After all, it's a fairly common trope, finding the long-dead king's skeleton sitting in his throne and whatnot. But then I finally explored the Interloper, and it all clicked. How they all died suddenly, how they could leave a technology like the Ash Twin project half-finished and still running, it all made sense and the hints were right there. That's when I knew this game was special, that every part of this world was hand-crafted and able to be thought through logically. Like how the ghost matter on Giant's Deep is nullified when underwater, explaining how our species managed to survive, still in the water stage of our evolution as explained by Nomai within the geyser tunnels of Timber Hearth. Or how the one vision of the Ash Twin Project that you will see throughout the game seems to have stars moving in the background, yet, if you explore Timber Hearth's caves, you can find an ore with this same star appearance, and text explaining its use in the Ash Twin Project. Or the multiple ways you can break the space-time continuum by playing with the black holes, one of which I still don't really understand. Although small, this galaxy feels real. Although simple, these characters feel real. Very few games gave me a sense of true exploration like Outer Wilds did.

I remember watching NerdCubed’s play though of this, and I regret not playing this game before watching it. This game is one of those experiences that sticks with you. It’s so beautiful

The energy of “shield your eyes children” has all the energy of this channel that I love. Overspending on sets and overacting to toys is what I live for :)

This is one of my most favorite games of all time The emotional Rollercoaster of exploring the universe, the insane technology of the Nomai, their incredibly sad end, and how it all comes together to give you the biggest dose of existential crisis. Also, if you shoot your camera probe on a surface in brittle hollow it will tell you how stable that particular piece of the planet you're on is.... makes being there MUCH easier.

I see you've didn't spend any time talking to Chert, who has an actual mental breakdown when he realises the universe is dying. That said, this is probably my favourite game of all time and I'm sad that we're probably not going to get anything similar for a while. I'm also sad at how much visibility the game had to have lost due to releasing in the same year as The Outer Worlds.

Every upload on this channel is an absolute treat to watch, the editing, scripting and skits are all top notch

Another amazing thing about this game is that there are multiple possible endings with some of them actually breaking the universe.

God, that end bit where it slowly says "Outer Wilds isn't really a nightmare" managed to get a tear out of me. Loved it

"Who in their right mind would buy the wrong game and do absolutely nothing about it." For like a straight month I actively avoided both because I thought they were the same game and thus so content-rich that I wouldn't know where to start or end.

I really love how this game creates amazing moments that seem accidental and perfect at the same time, like once near the end of a cycle I fell into the black hole in Brittle Hollow and found myself on the edge of the solar system with no ship, no fuel and only about half a tank of oxygen and so I decided to just pull out the signalscope and listen to some fine music while waiting for my inevitable death... That was the first time I have heard them play all at once (except for Solanum). It was only for a few seconds but hearing that song in it´s full glory for the first time was such a great experience!

So glad I'm seeing more people talk about the game, it's a classic. Kinda wish the spoiler warning at the start was WAAAAAAY more elaborate tho.. It's the kind of game that you have to play blind to get the best experience

To anyone who hasn't played the game: **DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO.** Seriously, the entire point of the game is to explore it yourself, and you will miss out on a lot of the game's best stuff if you watch this, and that stuff is *really* worth experiencing untainted. The spoiler warning in this was nowhere near how strong it should have been.

I mastered Brittle Hollow's black hole gravitational pool so much, I used it as a quick shortcut for some platforms/gravitational tunnels to go around. The downside is.. well, hitting your head against the planet's crust, that is sometimes falling onto your head. I absolutely love this game

Don't sleep on the DLC, Echoes of the Eye. An incredible partner experience to The Outer Wilds, almost as good in every way and unique enough to warrant its own existence. Just kind of has a... well it just kind of ends and you're left standing there with your pecker in your hands.

While I liked your assessment of the Hearthians and their feelings of acceptance or nonchalance with death, you only really touched on the hearthians still grounded on Timber Hearth. The travelers have their own super interesting feelings towards death and the end of the universe. Riebeck the traveler on Brittle Hollow is quite anxious and openly terrified of the endless void of space. But them being on Brittle Hollow proves how they used their passion to overcome their fears and their dread. Gabbro on Giants Deep is so chill and blaze that it's even odd by Heartian standards. It's fitting that they're the one that's trapped in the time loop with the player since they're of a mind to just sleep and play the bassoon all day. On the Ember Twin there's Chert, an astrologer who came out to the twin planets to update the star charts. But having been staring at the stars, their starting to put the pieces together and figure out that the universe is dying. Their reaction is sort of the antithesis to the whole "all hearthians are chill space hippies" because they really start to break down. Chert's dialogue is honestly pretty harrowing as they start to panic, unlike anyone who's fully come to grips with their mortality. It's even worse when you remember that's they're not in the time loop like you, and they're forced to come to the same awful realization every 22 minutes. In the last minute of the loop they seem to pull themself together and asks you to sit with them, they ask you how you're coping with the end of the universe. (Such a beautiful goddamn game.)

6:48 Oh, THAT’S how you get there? Ha ha! On my playthrough I just flipped my spaceship upside down and landed on the reverse-grav walkway.

Outer Wilds is probably one of my favoritest games of all times. The echoes of the eye expansion though is definitely a nightmare. It scared me shirtless 😳

The music genuinely brings a tear to my eye to this day several years after playing it for the first time.

Outer wilds is genuinely the most profound experience I've ever had playing a video game... And calling it just a video game doesn't do it justice. It kick-started yet another existential crisis in my life but God dam, if it isn't the most fun existential crisis I've ever endured, and I wish I could forget it all so I could do it all over again.

Watching this just makes me so sad, I love this game with all of my heart. Nothing can compair, and the DLC was phenomenal.

God I hope the algorithm grabs your videos soon, you deserve much more attention with this high quality content

im three minutes into the episode, and being reminded why i never finished this game. I love horror games. I like thrills. This game does not give me thrills, it terrifies me. The kind of terror that makes the floorboards under your feet fall away, and you have no recourse but to rip of your headphones and cover your eyes. I've done that twice to this game, and even watching the footage of the teeth in the fog makes my stomach go wobbly. This is the game that taught me intimately of my phobia of teeth and black voids, as if something irrationally large is set on swallowing me whole. I'm glad there are "spoilers" and jokes in this, because otherwise i don't think I'd ever know how this game goes.

A quick tip for brittle hollow: If you fall you aren't immediately drawn into the black hole! Most people naturally try to thrust away from the black hole, but this is futile because the hole has a pull much greater than your thrust. Instead, try to miss the black hole by moving to the side. This will cause you to orbit and has the potential to be used as transportation (one side to the other) around brittle hollow!

This game sparks an idea: What about a game where this concept is divided into different stages? Like you're a maintenance guy on a space station at the start and have to fix a critical component in say 10 minutes time, next task will have a 30 min window and so on eventually opening up more mechanics and meaningful choices how to resolve your problems eventually biting you back later.

The existential dread in this game **REALLY** caught me off guard as I played it without knowing much going into it other than it's critically acclaimed and allegedly objectively superior to its wayward titular doppelganger Outer Worlds. After getting through the tutorial portion and finally getting out exploring I realized I became almost paralyzed with fear when the supernova theme would kick in and I'd hadn't finished exploring some nook or cranny that it took me the entire loop time to get to in the 1st place. This coupled with some really genuinely terrifying nightmare imagery like the water spouts on Giant's Deep & the infamous angler fish I almost stopped playing. Thank goodness I persevered as eventually i just became desensitized and my dread (usually) was replaced curiosity as I obsessively tracked down every log entry and tried to figure out the secret to reaching the endgame. Another thing that threw me off is that at 1st I thought the game was some flavor of walking simulator but quickly realized it's a bona fide adventure game that's actually very challenging to complete without a walkthrough. I myself eventually caved when I couldn't figure out how to get past the Giant's Deep current and the angler fish on the way to The Vessel. If I paid attention I probably could have figured out the latter but the former is definitely one of the more obtuse puzzles in the game unless you get there through blind luck...

5:08 Holy shit I love that shot. EDIT: 7:00 I'm glad I'm not the only person that immediately jumped while in the forge.

Outer Wilds has got to be my favorite game! Thanks for getting more eyes on this masterpiece!

Oh my God, I've never heard that second part of the Double Slit experiment where observing the electron passing through causes its waveform to collapse into two slits, that's insane! Why was that not taught as an integral part of the experiment when I learned about it in both high school and college physics?!

My first time playing this game I said to myself: Can I land in the volcano? You can land in the volcano, good luck getting out

This was the best and easiest to understand explanation of Thomas young's experiment I've ever heard. Never thought I would have my two passions for science and gaming interwine like this it's why I loved this game so much.

Hopefully a second video about the DLC is in the works because I'd love to see his take on it as well

The amount of time it took me to get to the black hole forge just for me to accidentally press jump was infuriating

Now I just want to hear him talk about the dlc, it has some masterful storytelling. And is just fantastic

4:17 I’d like to let you know the unexpected hat falling joke was the first time i’d laughed out loud during the video So I found it funny yes :)

This is the first time I actually listened to a RU-vidr when they said “spoilers ahead, go play the game first!” And yeah Really glad I played it first

5:40 for what it's worth, you can tell if the part you're on is about to collapse by having your scout on it. It shows the structural integrity of whatever it's on if what it's on can take damage.

"they'd been totally accepting of all of this" You need to stay with Chert for the entire loop and talk to him throughout...

Super cool you got to introduce so many people to this hidden gem of a game, imo your spoiler warning wasn't enough though. It's an amazing game, and the whole point is piecing together the story - you take that away you basically take people's ability to enjoy the game away (which is happening since folks in the comments are recommending to curious people to NOT play this game after having it spoiled). "Im going to spoil the story now" works for most stories, for Outer Wilds it's more "you basically can't play this game if you watch this video first" because the story is the only actual progression you make in the game.

Absolutely love the Data impersonation. Also while I knew about this game and some times got it confused with the other game, it makes me sad that I didn't take my time to play it. The story of Outer Wilds really deserved more love then it got. Thanks for the video

Outer Wilds is one of those games I wish I could experience for the first time again, over and over again.

Amazing video, felt that brittle hollow part 😂 Just played the game last month This was one of those games which kept me awake at night thinking about all those clues and how they maybe fit together. After you solve a clue you have 5 more questions and it's just so satisfiying to solve this beautifully crafted puzzle.

13:18 - Hmmm...what's that streaking through space just next to the sun going supernova? It's a secret!

It's honestly mind-boggling to see Matthew wearing my t-shirt design for a video. I was so excited to see this and it didn't disappoint :D

I appreciate your pain, I laughed at the scream. Thanks for playing this game, I really enjoyed your video on it!!! Such a hectic time!!

6:41 I just did this by piloting my ship onto the ceiling and getting it stuck there so I could leave the ship.

The magic of discovering what exactly is going on and what happened cannot be compared. And that feeling you get when you’re in the vessel and the final pieces finally click of what you must do to reach the eye was one of the most amazing gaming moments for me. The realisation that you must break the loop. What a beautiful game man

I never even thought about using the teleporter on the ash twin to get to the black hole forge on brittle hollow. When I played outer wilds I just raised the forge itself and jumped on top of it for an elevator ride to get to the top. It’s cool how there’s multiple ways to get up there

Loved this episode; in particular the positive spin you put on the ending is really important (to counteract the existential dread). Thank-you for covering OW! The best part for me is that at no point does the game tell you to stop the sun going supernova (or that it's even possible). The player decides that goal for themselves; 'this is a video game so I must be able to save the day'. That's why the end is such a gut-punch; the developers knew we would set that as our goal (which is why they put all those hints in). In particular, one of the other astronauts (Gabbro on Giant's Deep) has the same ability you do and the same knowledge that the sun is about to blow up and he just...chills out in a hammock, meditating and playing his flute. He understands his fate and accepts it; he doesn't struggle against it. The game (much like our reality) doesn't care about our struggles; it simply is and any purpose or meaning we superimpose over the top of it, is of no consequence to it. The sun will explode in 22 minutes regardless of our actions, our goals or our purpose; all we can do is decide how we want to spend our 22 minutes. Does Gabbro have it right; instead of spending his time frantically zooming around space trying to stop the unstoppable, he just enjoys his 22 minutes? Maybe. Maybe not. The game (much like our reality) won't tell you right or wrong; it doesn't care one way or the other. Ultimately, nothing you do in Outer Wilds matter. At the start of the game, your sun explodes and ends your race. At the end of the game, your sun explodes and ends your race; no action the player can take changes that (or any) outcome. That kind of hard nihilism can either be freeing (Gabbro) or upsetting, which is why the tripy bonfire sing-along ending exists as an emotional counter-balance. Even all of this^, is meaning I have superimposed over the top of the game. OW truly is a masterpiece.

15:18 Korone: "Oh, I'm die. Thank you forever."

it's a testament to this games writing that my reaction to learning that the supernova doomsday device doesn't work was dismay and grief rather than relief

FANTASTIC! What a story teller and what a hat collection

I can confirm that I did find the hat joke at 4:09 very funny ((also good luck with your wisdom tooth recovery))

God, this game sounds amazing. I am so very upset that I watched this episode. I knew there would be spoilers, but most of the games that have come out these last few years failed to capture any interest from me aside from task fulfillment. But this... god damn it, I wish I had experienced it.

Back when it came out, I said to myself "I'm getting Outer Worlds, once I finish that, I'll get Outer Wilds." unfortunately, I forgot about this promise to myself, and now that I've seen it, I really wish I gave it a go. I've been watching people play it, but like a lot of games, your own experience is the way to go.

Ever since I got really high at the start of the year, I've been hit with an ever looming sense of dread about the eventual end of all life. Cosmic Horror is constantly on my mind, but atleast in the world of Outer Wilds, the end is just another beginning for new life to enjoy the bounty that we have been blessed with. I only hope to be able to watch over the story of the universe as it goes ever forwards.

[14:00] "You can't help but think they'd be totally accepting of all this, and just be proud of you for making it all this way." ...sounds like someone never talked to Chert near the end of the loop.

I remember the first time I survived long enough for the sun to explode, I was messing with the spinning rings on the moon, and at the very moment I moved the ball to the eye of the universe symbol, the sun exploded. Considering the fact that the eye of the universe symbol looks like a supernova, I got confused and thought that I had triggered it.

It’s so amazing to see huge creators talk about this game. It’s brilliant and amazing and epic and awesome and cool. It’s up there in my favourites 100% Also, you should all check out the DLC! But you should probably understand what you’re gonna get with that though. Can’t say much.

6:42 I never bothered with this - I just flew my ship into the forge, wedged it in a crack and dropped right onto the walkway.

Great review. I do wish there was a bigger spoiler warning or similar. This game is really best experienced knowing absolutely nothing about it.

God, I absolutely LOVE Outer Wilds. I’m so glad you decided to make a video on this game!

5:26 more than likely if you parked your ship on surface of the planet, eventually your ship does back to you…….but that much time wasted kinda means cycle over

Keep on making videos! Good job on this one, excellent stuff

Every upload from this man is like a jumpscare

i clicked on this video thinking its a video about Outer Worlds and when I saw the actual title and I was like "was I reading Outer Worlds wrong this whole time?"

Outer wilds is 10/10 one of top favorite games of all time. Up there with Halo, Zelda OT, Chrono Trigger and Elden Ring. Top tier God like games.

My absolute favorite game ever made! The ending made me cry so hard, was so happy, depressing and accepting. You find out everything ends but that's ok, it's a natural process.

full spoils for a (bad) end: you can escape the supernova after you break the loop. You drift in space until your ship runs out of resources and you slowly suffocate/starve alone as the last member of your species, and potentially the last sentient being in the galaxy. The game wants you to know that it doesn't think you're very clever lmao