Outer WIlds is a mastepiece hiding in the shell of a game you'd never think twice about.

If you seek a once-in-a-lifetime experience in a game, you are for the most part out of luck. Most games are either endless but shallow multiplayer "forever-games," or fail to capture both your mind and your heart. Maybe it was a technical issue, maybe the story had bad pacing, maybe it was a good game but it was too linear or not linear enough.

Here, it's different...

I could count the amount of games that legitimately made me cry on one hand, and Outer Wilds is on that list. I could count the amount of games that have actually made me want to go for every achievement, because it's just that fun and enjoyable to play the game, even after I've seen everything, and Outer Wilds is on that list too. It is a gift that keeps on giving, and a week after completion I am still feeling the side effects of this game's ending.

It's beautiful, it's horrific. It's smart and high-concept but also isn't afraid to laugh a little. It's comforting, it's terrifying. It's open-ended but also linear, the perfect balance. There's always something to do, but you get to choose what that thing is.

It is the antithesis to No Man's Sky, and credit where credit's due, that game is great too. But where No Man's Sky failed, Outer Wilds succeeds with flying colors. Nothing is procedurally generated, everything is built by hand with intent. This world feels lived in, it's so big but so small at the same time.

The story is something you have to look for, but it's worth the search.
The gameplay is maybe this game's weakest link, and even then it's immersive and thematically relevant.
The setting is awe-inspiring, and changes as the game progresses, making every area dynamic to your playthrough.
The progression is counter-intuitive, but in the best way possible. You bring nothing with you between loops, only your brain and your ship-log, which I find completing to be a very rewarding and satisfying experience because I found everything myself.

To say anymore would be to puncture this game's Achilles Heel: you MUST go in blind.
To the extent that you receive spoilers is to the extent that this game cannot impress it's leviathan quality upon you, so as hard as it may be, don't look anything up. Believe in your ability to discover this world for yourself, even when it gets tough.

Best of luck on saving the universe, or escaping quantum immortality, or just finding all your friends and roasting some marshmallows. Don't eat the black ones.

9.999_/10, would s'more again.