4/5 ★ – LukorDaDragon's review of Outer Wilds.

I went into Outer Wilds with a lot of hesitation. Puzzle games and I have never seen eye to eye, however I feel Outer Wilds did something special with their "Puzzles" to not make them feel like a chore to complete. Every piece of information you find just evokes this curiosity to chase after the next clue. Feeling this sense of satisfaction when all the pieces finally align and you can paint the full picture of what happened to each planets previous inhabitant. I think my favorite part of the exploration was thinking I saw all there was to see then discovering there was a whole extra layer waiting to be discovered. Not to mention the constant edge I felt while exploring, I know this game isn't a horror game but I always felt uneasy where ever I went, almost like I was being watched from a distance by someone or something. Though admittedly none of this would be half as do-able without the ship log. My biggest flaw with these games is just leaking out info the minute I receive it. So with the game providing me a tool to help better organize these thoughts it was genuinely experience changing. If I had to hold all this info in my head, make a game plan for each run, try and solve puzzles on each planet as well as keep track of lore. That would of been a deal breaker for me. I appreciate that they don't rouge-like you and hide content behind needing an upgrade or new tool. The game starts you off with everything you will need for the journey but just asks you find out how to best use it to your benefit. Slowly figuring out what all of my equipment does and how it helps me was exciting. Not one thing you leave with goes unused through your journey. That all being said I don't think Out Wilds is a good "Game". Which sounds odd to say after everything, but I think Outer Wilds is an amazing "Experience". I would personally categorize my time playing this closer to games like Journey, ABZU or even more appropriately The Pathless. Where there are "Mechanics" and functionalities but the core "Gameplay" revolves closer to the story you unfold rather than the action you take. Outer Wilds does have more involvement with your decisions and path making, given the ship you use to explore the world, which I think gives it a bit more of an edge over the previously mentioned games. With how much hesitation I had going in, I am happy to have been proven wrong in assuming I might not enjoy Outer Wilds. I have been told the DLC is an experience of itself and I look forward to indulging in that some day soon!