Board 8 > Outer Wilds is pretty damn good

(+) Yeah! (+)

Landed on the Quantum Moon and spoke with Solanum. Even though there's nothing outright threatening here this game manages to make me feel super uneasy.

I think the only thing that's left for me to do is to figure out how to get to the Sun Station, which I'm still not sure how to do given the tower is filled with cacti.

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I'd mark that first sentence, if I were you, just to be safe.

If only there was something you could use to walk over the cacti...

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JackMan posted...

I'd mark that first sentence, if I were you, just to be safe.

If only there was something you could use to walk over the cacti...

If you're talking about sending a scout in, I did that and got it to warp to the sun station.

I also tried getting there as soon as I could to walk over them with the sand but that didn't seem to work.

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VintageGin posted...

I also tried getting there as soon as I could to walk over them with the sand but that didn't seem to work.

Nah it does. Just don't be afraid of getting pricked a bit and be quick.

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Yeah, just tried it again and it worked. Just needed to shove myself into the door even though it looked like it was too short a gap to fit me.

Then I immediately fell into the sun.

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Yeah, that happens.

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Just finished the game. I don't know what I was expecting going into the end, but I definitely wasn't expecting that. Holy shit.

This game is incredible. It manages to nail the atmosphere, from the feeling of exploration to the genuine creepiness of the quantum moon/eye.

I definitely feel like there were things I missed (the thing in the High Energy Lab, was there any entry for Hollow's lantern?), but I feel like overall the game was really well-designed to guide you in the right directions without outright giving you the answers. Also the game seems perfectly tuned time-wise-- the 22 minute time limit always felt about right. I can't imagine how much playtesting had to go into this.

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The music that starts up when you grab the thing was so amazing. The music in this game generally was really great. I never got tired of the song that starts whenever the sun was about to blow.

VintageGin posted...

I definitely feel like there were things I missed (the thing in the High Energy Lab, was there any entry for Hollow's lantern?)

So, with the High Energy Lab, you needed to reroute power, which turns on a tiny black and white hole on the other side of the shutter. If you shoot a probe into it, it reappears from the white hole slightly before it enters the black hole. It's mostly just to teach you the theory of that, with enough power (like that of an exploding sun), you could theoretically leave the white hole 22 minutes before you entered it. You can also use it to get one of the game's bad endings.

And yeah, Hollow's Lantern had a tiny lab inside one of the volcanoes. And there's a Terminator Easter Egg if you hang around long enough for all the lava to deplete.

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Weird, I guess I wasn't looking hard enough, but I didn't see that on the other side of the shutter.

And I inadvertently got a bad ending earlier. I jumped through the black hole in the ATP, which took me back to the beginning. I saved and quit, forgetting I had done that...then got surprised when I went to play again, died, and got "You have broken the fabric of spacetime"

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Also I died like nine times over the course of the game from forgetting to put my suit on.

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VintageGin posted...

And I inadvertently got a bad ending earlier. I jumped through the black hole in the ATP, which took me back to the beginning. I saved and quit, forgetting I had done that...then got surprised when I went to play again, died, and got "You have broken the fabric of spacetime"

So, I checked and this was something that was added after launch, as you couldn't do it when I played. Try doing it again and on the next loop going back to the ATP and having a look around.


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MrSmartGuy posted...

A bit more in-depth spoilers: The game will still let you reload your previous save if you die, though.

they really should have made it actually delete your save. as it is it's literally no different than a regular game over. Give it the weight it deserves!

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DeepsPraw posted...

they really should have made it actually delete your save. as it is it's literally no different than a regular game over. Give it the weight it deserves!

I thought that is what would happen and I was so stressed.

I can see why they did it, but luckily I treated it like that because it felt that way

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Same. I got eaten during my last trip to the vessel and I was so fucking stressed out when I thought I lost all my ship data.

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I think it's interesting that they honestly could have gone that route because the ship data doesn't actually gate you. It's really cool that the game gives you everything you need upfront like that.

It still stressed me out doing that, even though I read that minor spoiler to confirm that I wouldn't lose everything if I failed. I feel like of I hadn't read that I probably would've stressed over it for a day before getting around to beating the game.

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I dunno, I feel like if you aren't feeling horrendous dread while navigating the Bramble without a lifeline, then you aren't playing the canonical way.

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MrSmartGuy posted...

I dunno, I feel like if you aren't feeling horrendous dread while navigating the Bramble without a lifeline, then you aren't playing the canonical way.

This

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Yeah, that's fair. I just couldn't do it.

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After X amount of hours in this world, slowly learning about how the loop works, there's no way you won't feel the massive dread of that last mission. It's a brilliant magic trick that you WANT to fool you.

MrSmartGuy posted...

I dunno, I feel like if you aren't feeling horrendous dread while navigating the Bramble without a lifeline, then you aren't playing the canonical way.

This didn't happen on my final mission, but the first time I got to the ship on the inside of the Bramble, I lost my ship on the way. The fish attacked me in just the right way that it completely split open my ship, and left me barely alive, floating in the detached cockpit. Took me a few seconds to look around and realize what happened (good thing I always wore my suit inside). So I finished the trek using my jetpack, which quickly lost fuel. I got to the ship and was just frantically rushing in to investigate, and lost all my air right before getting to the room with the trees.

Even though I knew I go back there really fast in the next loop, it felt so dire.

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VintageGin posted...

Also the game seems perfectly tuned time-wise-- the 22 minute time limit always felt about right. I can't imagine how much playtesting had to go into this.

It's a game that just couldn't be made in less than the 7 years they had. I wish they would pump one of these out every year, but it wouldn't be possible. Or maybe it would. Majora's Mask was made in just 1 year after all. But what I think it comes down to is that these games can't be mass produced. We just have to appreciate and savor them when they show up.

Also I wonder if the 22 minutes idea came from TV episode length...

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The feeling of finding a patch of trees when you're seconds away from running out of oxygen and know you're on the cusp of unearthing some new knowledge is the absolute best.

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I'm fucking in love with this game. I don't think I've ever seen anything strike such a balance between the intimate and the vast.

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CaptainOfCrush posted...

I'm fucking in love with this game. I don't think I've ever seen anything strike such a balance between the intimate and the vast.

That's a good way of putting it. I also feel like it captures what The Witness does well, but in a setting that has an actual story/lore.

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omg this game

I had to pause and take in the most recent knowledge learned, and I don't think I'm even near the end.

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CaptainOfCrush posted...

omg this game

I had to pause and take in the most recent knowledge learned, and I don't think I'm even near the end.

What did you learn?

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VintageGin posted...

What did you learn?

I'm in the High Energy Lab on Ember Twins, and I just read that the Nomai researchers confirmed their hypothesis about time travel - namely, that an object exists the white hole a split second before it enters the black hole. One of them then poses whether a delay of 22 minutes would be possible (here's where I had to pause and take a breath). They speculate that it would it's theoretically possible but would require energy on a new scale.

I have my own theories as to what that last bit implies, but I won't post them here because I don't want to risk spoiling myself in the ensuing convo. So glad I'm savoring this. =)

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CaptainOfCrush posted...

I'm in the High Energy Lab on Ember Twins, and I just read that the Nomai researchers confirmed their hypothesis about time travel - namely, that an object exists the white hole a split second before it enters the black hole. One of them then poses whether a delay of 22 minutes would be possible (here's where I had to pause and take a breath). They speculate that it would it's theoretically possible but would require energy on a new scale.

I have my own theories as to what that last bit implies, but I won't post them here because I don't want to risk spoiling myself in the ensuing convo. So glad I'm savoring this. =)

Ah yeah, that was definitely one of those moments! By the way I would avoid reading this topic until you've finished, but you probably already know that

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That's definitely an inflection point of the game. I absolutely love how you can run the actual experiment to see it works for yourself

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Gotta say, that was one of the most profound gaming experiences I've ever enjoyed. Yes, there were a few spots where I needed a walkthrough, or else I would have languished forever, but imo the game is better for it. It would have been far greater a sin for a game like this to be too straightforward - much of the mystery would have been lost.

And yeah, I agree @foolm0r0n , I'll probably replay this in several years when I've forgotten all of the specifics, just hoping that it'll hit like the first time (it won't!). That last loop had several moments where I noticed my arms covered in goosebumps, but I'd have to say my favorite was meeting Solanum. Talk about well designed payoff.

I have one major question, though

Did our entering the Eye of the Universe trigger the universe's heat death? Obviously, the entire universe dies and is created anew, but throughout the game, ours is the only star in its final stages of life, yet the whole freakin cosmos dies in the last few minutes of gameplay (signified by all those lights going out in that trippy forest), so I'm thinking our interaction or mere observation of the Eye had to be the catalyst (though since we exist in a different quantum state entirely by that point, I suppose it's possible that the last few minutes of gameplay span billions of years in game time).

Also holy shit there are multiple endings

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CaptainOfCrush posted...

Did our entering the Eye of the Universe trigger the universe's heat death? Obviously, the entire universe dies and is created anew, but throughout the game, ours is the only star in its final stages of life, yet the whole freakin cosmos dies in the last few minutes of gameplay (signified by all those lights going out in that trippy forest), so I'm thinking our interaction or mere observation of the Eye had to be the catalyst (though since we exist in a different quantum state entirely by that point, I suppose it's possible that the last few minutes of gameplay span billions of years in game time).

Ah, when you say "throughout the game, ours is the only star in its final stages of life", that's not true--go hang out with the guy at the campfire on Ember Twin, talk to him mid-way through the time loop, and then again and the end of the time loop, and they'll have some interesting stuff to point out for you!

Or if you don't feel like loading up the game, I'll tell you: all the other stars in the sky are also exploding as the 22 minutes pass!

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Theres also messages on the Vessel from from surviving Nomai clans talking about meeting up in a galaxy that doesnt seem to be dying as quickly as the others. Fun fact, if you sit on the title screen after beating the game the stars all start to disappear one by one except for a small cluster which hangs on for a few minutes longer.

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Ah yeah, I do recall that Nomai clan conversation, but I guess it never really registered because I actually sped away from my solar system for thousands of kilometers and received a different death screen. My solar system simply disappeared like a blip in the distance, and none of the other stars reacted at all, though I suppose the Ash Twins project could have carried me back before I saw any of the other stars fizzle/blow.

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Yo
I'm moving onto this now
Will start playing momentarily

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It leapfrogged RE2 as my GotY 2019. Enjoy!

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I have to say, 22 minutes is a lot longer than I thought - I felt like I spent ages playing Hide and Seek and then doing the Zero-G repairs, so went up to the observatory to watch the explosion

It still hasn't happened

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The 22-minute loop doesn't actually begin right away.

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CaptainOfCrush posted...

The 22-minute loop doesn't actually begin right away.

Yeah MSG put me right a few minutes ago

LMAO wow I'm beyond stupid
started it now

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I keep reading that post and laughing

*plays for, like, 45 minutes*
"man 22 minutes seems really long"

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Its too bad you had the loop spoiled, the first time it happened for me was scary as hell

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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Its too bad you had the loop spoiled, the first time it happened for me was scary as hell

I probably wouldn't buy the game without knowing about the loop, I found that concept really interesting

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Uh, the time loop was not meant to be a secret at all. It was part of the game's marketing.
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OK so

Probably packing this in for the night but here we go:

Went to the planet it told me to go to first, the one with the guy in the hammock whose name escapes me. Found him, then went looking for the island he talked about, but accidentally landed up in some ghost water and died

Then flew into the sun on purpose for fun

Then went to another planet with a dome on the bottom. found the entrance, door was broken. was going to go to the equator to find the other entrance he talked about but died on the way back to the ship

Then stayed on my own planet and found the mine. Translated stuff talking about the Ash Twin project. Put the stone into the plinth, and Nomai faces rose up around me, lit up, but it reset when it approached them. Then found a scroll and tried to take that to there to see if it changed anything but it didn't, then got looped out. Felt like I reached the end of that for now.

So I guess I have two avenues to explore, one on the cyclone planet and one on the planet with the dome (I will learn these names eventually)

Edit: Oh yeah! I also fired a scanner into the bramble thing and it ended up somewhere else. Cool.
This could be really interesting. I'm looking forward to finding out more, but struggling a bit with the controls, particularly when flying.

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Landed on The Interloper

Forgot to put on suit

fucking brilliant, XIII

Two Darwin awards in one night\

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Alright so I found the statue room. I guess I should have gone there earlier but whatever. It's about sharing memories or something? But it helps explain what I saw in the mine - masks. Hammock dude is also in the loop and taught me to meditate until the next loop. Handy.

Also found an island on giant's deep with a red creature encased. I couldn't get inside it or interact with it, felt like a waste of time. There was ghost matter there though so I thought it might be something.

Two avenues to explore next time - the path to the observatory, so hopefully I can build something that goes beneath the surface of giant's deep, and also the Moon which I didn't visit yet.

Also there's some ghost matter on hammock dude's island - I was in the corridor containing it when a cyclone hit and I got thrown THROUGH it, barely survived, so thought I could explore what I'm missing there - but then I died upon landing. Half-tempted to try that again

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KCF0107 posted...

Uh, the time loop was not meant to be a secret at all. It was part of the game's marketing.

Lots of things are spoiled in marketing. Doesn't mean it's not better to go in blind. I knew from the beta version a long time ago but I knew very little about else.

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if I fall into this black hole one more time

Trying to explore the hanging city
Got the black hole forge up but haven't been able to get to it yet

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XIII_rocks posted...

if I fall into this black hole one more time

Trying to explore the hanging city
Got the black hole forge up but haven't been able to get to it yet

Everyone that's played it does that on accident like ten times as far as I can tell

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Well after a few attempts I landed and got inside the Black Hole forge. Got me a little extra information, though really more questions than answers

I guess I should really find the entrance to the observatory, I've been chasing other things this whole time

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If you haven't yet, make sure you check your ship log and put it into rumor mode. It's perfectly fine to go explore whatever you want to explore, but the game's really not built to have you stay on a planet until you've done everything there before moving on to the next one.

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Yeah I used it
Dark Bramble is my next lead to chase up (the scout in the plant teleported there).

Like I said the entrance to the observatory is underground somewhere so I'm exploring and looking for that first. Also find more stuff in the hanging city if I can

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