Outer Wilds

johnny_ultimate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKJUMMCJvGM

Heard about this years ago and was instantly interested by its concept - unravel the mysteries of a solar system, but in 20-minute loops before the sun explodes.

Game is finally out tomorrow (or right now on Xbox I believe!) and reviews so far have been pretty gushing. Super psyched to finally dig in - an explore-em-up set across a mini galaxy full of carefully-crafted planets is basically made for me.

It's on Game Pass on Xbox, and Epic on PC (to make up for that, it's part of that ludicrous sale so it's only a tenner).

Kiith

That looks great. Think i'll be picking it up over the weekend.

Mr Crispy

Completely forgot about this, but happy to hear reviews are positive. Might have to squeeze it in to my schedule!

Venom

Some gameplay footage from ACG. The game looks really interesting.

johnny_ultimate

Folks this game is stupidly good. Spent three or four hours with it now and it's been a constant barrage of mysteries, new stuff and properly rewarding discoveries. The worlds are insanely dense - I've only really explored one of the planets (plus a couple of satellites) and there are so many paths worth pursuing. The elegant ship log system also keeps all the different strands you uncover (and there are a lot) tidy and in compact little sections - a brilliant example of smart UI choices making what could outherwise be overwhelming manageable.

Love how the game combines the natural and the technological too. Whether that's leaping across a low gravity planet or figuring out how a black-hole powered travel device works, it's a proper playground of cool, weird and clever stuff.

Every time each loop starts, you're back by a campfire, looking up at the stars. It's a simple directorial touch, but every time I see it I'm immediately ready to jump in that ramshackle spaceship and see what else this dense, wonderful and playful galaxy has to offer. A truly special game.

super_furry

I think everyone who watched last year's Xbox E3 show on their Xbox consoles got this free. I certainly see to have it.

Mickeroo

super_furry wrote: »

I think everyone who watched last year's Xbox E3 show on their Xbox consoles got this free. I certainly see to have it.

Yup, it's also gone straight into gamepass I think.

Jordan 199

Mickeroo wrote: »

Yup, it's also gone straight into gamepass I think.

It has I'm going to give it a go later.

2Mad2BeMad

Didn't really notice this but after good comments here I'll have to give it a try later.
Never played no man's sky due to the bad start it had and the grind is this similar ?

johnny_ultimate

2Mad2BeMad wrote: »

Never played no man's sky due to the bad start it had and the grind is this similar ?

They’re massively different games - only similarity really is being able to freely take off and visit other planets. Radically different experiences beyond that. NMS is a vast, procedurally generated universe but this is a small but dense solar system. There’s no grinding or scavenging here to speak off (other than very generous O2 and jet pack fuel gauges) and beyond that you’re constantly exploring weird planets, civilisations and alien technology. It’s full of puzzles, story and things to see and do. So completely different to the endless survival sim NMS is / was!

Mr Bloat

This is a really interesting game and I may have bypassed it entirely if it weren't for this thread, so thanks, johnny_ultimate! I've just played it for a couple of hours there and I'm looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow. I've been in a bit of a gaming slump recently, nothing was exciting me but I'm loving this.

EoinHef

Where is this available on PC? Steam says itz release date is TBD

One of the youtubers i use for elite dangerous news did a review of it today,looks great.

5uspect

Epic Store exclusive for now.

johnny_ultimate

Finished this today. Easily the best game I've played since Obra Dinn, and would take an astounding game for it to be topped this year.

I guess what's ultimately the key here is that not only does it dangle mysteries and new paths in front of you for the duration, it pretty much always deliver when you pursue those paths. There are so many cool secrets, fascinating rules and bizarre machines to discover. The settings are outlandish sci-fi at its very best (the sheer spectacle of the thing is outrageous for a game of its scale - realising a

cyclone was tossing islands into orbit

was a particular 'holy ****' moment but there were many), but it also feels like properly hard sci-fi as well - the galaxy boasts its own strange but logical rules for you to uncover. Right up until its majestic ending - which has some of the most breathtaking sights of any video game - I was hooked.

One or two obtuse puzzles and some tricky movement (although it's also extremely generous) aside, I have barely a bad word to say about it. Outer Wilds is up there with the aforementioned Obra Dinn or Breath of the Wild as a game that feels like a true step into new, exciting territory. There's probably no gameworld that feels so satisfying to properly explore, and there's so many examples of ingenious design - from the macro-level structure to the plethora of small but wonderful details. I'm gushing, but it's a real treat to play a game that's not only ambitious but manages to always deliver on its wild ideas. Can't recommend it enough.

Mickeroo

5uspect wrote: »

Epic Store exclusive for now.

Worth pointing out it's under half price on there at the mo (or was last I checked).

Lu Tze

Anybody have trouble ordering this on EPIC? Tried two different cards, and both popped up with a message

Looks like something went wrong. For your protection, this transaction has been voided and your funds will be returned in 3-5 business days

The charge appeared on the card(s) already

_CreeD_

Lu Tze wrote: »

Anybody have trouble ordering this on EPIC? Tried two different cards, and both popped up with a message

Looks like something went wrong. For your protection, this transaction has been voided and your funds will be returned in 3-5 business days

The charge appeared on the card(s) already

Mine went through fine yesterday buy I used Paypal instead - what if you linked the CC to your Paypal account and used it as an intermediary? I tend to do this whenever possible anyway, the less folks with my CC details the better.

Started this last night, love it. Even the music on the title screen was cool.

Just took my time wandering around played hide and seek, repaired a satellite and finally got my launch code and went to space. Had a slight mishap involving a button which led to me being ejected into space

Even the achievements are interesting. Like there is one for using the scanner thing you have and getting all 4 instruments playing the music lined up. You can hear them on their own from the starting location but in space you can line them all up at once.

EDIT: Did a few more loops didn't really twig what was happening until it happened in front of me

sun goes super nova

and resets the loop.

Really cool to have these clues presented to you as you worry about remembering them and seeing whats over there before your times runs out.

Theres an area I found on the starting planet that i haven't worked out the significance of yet. I'm sure it will be revealed later.

This is the best game I've played in a long while. Something I had no expectations of. Feel guilty having got it free.

Spent the evening exploring Brittle Hollow over and over refusing to move on as I'm convinced there is something I need to see there and still trying to work out how or even if it's possible to get into the central tower.

Few times in my haste to take off and land crash there at the start of the loop I've forgotten my suit

johnny_ultimate

Brittle Hollow’s by far the densest of the planets in terms of stuff to find, there’s at least four or five pretty major strands to follow there. There’s plenty going on on the other planets, but yeah spent an extra few hours strolling around BH and constantly falling into that black hole while trying crazy jet pack leaps :pac: And rest assured you can get everywhere that matters there,

just not always at a particular time or place

On the subject of achievements, I’m actually glad they haven’t been implemented on Epic yet, if just for having been able to experience this without distraction. I think discovering some of the particularly cool stuff would have been undermined if it was accompanied by a little achievement ding - obviously I’m still discovering stuff that was planted there on purpose, but there’s a purity to the sense of discovery I think would be lost with the immersion breaking achievement pop.

ha yeah I fell into the blank hole a few times and then learned how to deal with it , just accept your fate.

You can warp back to BH from the space station you end up in front of after exiting the black hole.

The only thing I'm not mad about is the flying, took me a while to catch on to the difference between red and blue when locked on to something and matching velocity. Bit too serious about their gravity were the devs imo :rolleyes:

EDIT: Oh yeah it's like they heard your thoughts on achievements and do just that created a list that wouldn't pop just playing the game naturally. There is one for just

getting as far away as you can to avoid the explosion where you end up freezing to death

and another for

knocking the satellite orbiting the home world off course

looking at the list I don't think there are any for the story with the exception of doing it in one loop without dying and finding all the ship log entries.

johnny_ultimate

Adrianna Billions Furnace wrote: »

ha yeah I fell into the blank hole a few times and then learned how to deal with it , just accept your fate.

You can warp back to BH from the space station you end up in front of after exiting the black hole.

Presume you’ve found the shortcut

to the hanging city near the Brittle Hollow warp point?

Super handy to get back to areas that are a bit more time consuming to reach down the other paths.

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Presume you’ve found the shortcut

to the hanging city near the Brittle Hollow warp point?

Super handy to get back to areas that are a bit more time consuming to reach down the other paths.

No, I don't think I did.

EDIT: My god it's outrageous the amount of stuff this keeps dangling in front of you and this is still the same planet. I've yet to go off and chase down leads on the others yet. Managed to get into the tower and I

bored a ship I summoned and set off in that

have no idea if i should sit tight or fiddle with the ball controls

Soundtrack is up on Spotify now for those interested.

I think I have this worked out finally and have the end in sight, well I nearly did but got

eaten by a giant fish in dark bramble

. I was on my way there with the

warp core

which I assume will take me to the end.

I don't mind admitting I had to look up what to do on the QM. Simple when you know how but not at all obvious to me.

The craftsmanship that has gone into making this game is amazing. Everything has a purpose, and in some cases absolute genius. The ash twins and their mechanic being a favorite, having to wait until after a certain time in the loop for something to work or having to get their asap from the start. The scouts photo ability and how that was used later on in the game. Everything is a piece of the larger picture. How the story is told and how it's unravelled is amazing.

I've lost count of the number of loops I went through but I'd say I have about 15-20 hours done. Not once did I feel bored or annoyed that I was waking up and getting in the spaceship for the umpteenth time to start the loop again. Easily one of the best games I've played in a long long time.

johnny_ultimate

This is pretty wild - someone finishing the game without using their ship at all (other than to grab the spacesuit). Goes without saying this is spoiler city for how to finish the game, but brilliant testament to how many cool little secrets there are - it’s all just using the gravity quirks and weird mechanisms that are right there in the game.

https://twitter.com/medeasuki/status/1140079758929268736?s=21

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

This is pretty wild - someone finishing the game without using their ship at all (other than to grab the spacesuit). Goes without saying this is spoiler city for how to finish the game, but brilliant testament to how many cool little secrets there are - it’s all just using the gravity quirks and weird mechanisms that are right there in the game.

https://twitter.com/medeasuki/status/1140079758929268736?s=21

There is an achievement for doing it in one loop on a new save. Easy when you know how right?

Sit on ash twin for 7 minutes to get the warp core then off to bramble

Got

eaten by the giant fish a few times by being impatient and didn't realise if you insert the core in the vessel first you get gravity

making the final puzzle easier.

Last achievement I need is for getting to the sun station by ship, which if you know how gravity works is f'n challenge. The two times I managed to get the ship wedged in and matching orbit I got thrown around the ship and stuck to the back. Has to be a trick to it by matching velocity but getting to that point is tricky indeed.

Mr.Fantastic

Is there any talk of this coming to ps4?

Or will it be xbox exclusive?

johnny_ultimate

Mr.Fantastic wrote: »

Is there any talk of this coming to ps4?

Or will it be xbox exclusive?

Nothing in the way of confirmation yet, but the developers have said it will be released on “other platforms” in the future.

Mickeroo

I'd say Switch and PS4 a guaranteed eventually. Probably when the Epic exclusivity finishes and whatever deals they had with Microsoft too.

The more people that get to play this game the better, finished it about a month ago and it's brilliant.

Zillah

Epic are really pissing me off with these exclusives. It makes me less willing to use their platform.