The Outer Wilds is an indie game published by Annapurna Interactive and developed by Los Angeles-based Mobius Digital Games that was originally released in 2019 to near universal critical acclaim, despite the unfortunate announcement of what might have vaguely looked like a similar game but that undoubtedly had a very similar name: The Outer Worlds. This caused confusion, although anyone who played both games will have no problem at all distinguishing between the two.
Nope, we're not doing this. Not like this.
Folks, I can't actually do a "regular" review of this game. It's too special and as I'll explain, too sensitive to be ruined by writing the normal things people like me often write in game reviews.
The Outer Wilds is a work of utter genius - and I don't mean a one-time spark of someone's late night deep thought, some singular good idea put into an otherwise run-of-the-mill game that makes it feel kind of unique. No, this is a brilliant idea that was then masterfully plotted out, intelligently iterated upon through years of painstaking design, and the final product seems, at least while playing it, like the entire vision remained intact from beginning to end. I'm completely flabbergasted that this game exists in this absolutely stellar state. I'm blown away that the development of this game didn't implode, that its original idea actually worked when the creators managed to fit its pieces together, and that a development team was able to polish this wonderful game through to release seemingly without a hint of compromise. (I'm sure there was, but after studying it for dozens of hours and watching many playthrough videos from others, I still can't pick out any such place where I felt the developers cut corners.)
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| Here's a minimalist version of the title screen. There, now this review isn't just all text. |
The difficult part is that I can't in good conscience tell you much about what actually goes on in The Outer Wilds. You see, this game is best experienced with two things in mind: 1) More than with any video game that I have ever seen or heard of, spoilers absolutely ruin the truly once-in-a-lifetime experience that The Outer Wilds offers, and 2) You need to have the conviction to see this game through even if sometimes you don't know what to do.
I can't violate #1 by telling you much about this game, and if you play it and struggle with #2, then the most I suggest you seek out are some vague tips out there that can help nudge you in the right direction. But trust me - do your best not to catch any spoilers including gameplay videos or Let's Plays you might see on YouTube.
OK, back to the praise. What Mobius Digital accomplished here is nothing short of a minor miracle. Everything comes together in this game in a way that's almost too good. The mystery, the sheer enjoyment of seeing some amazing sights, a few horrors, the joy of exploration and of discovering something new and important, and of just getting to live in a game world that was truly cared for and where nearly everything was built with purpose and where things make sense - as a gamer, getting this is almost indescribable, it's so rare. And here, in 2025, with a blockbuster game industry struggling to find success with its insanely long development times and hugely bloated budgets, a game like The Outer Wilds - which admittedly is an indie game and wouldn't likely have worked as a big-budget project - stands out even more than it did when it was released.
I've heard people say that this game actually changed their lives, and while it didn't quite do that for me, I totally get why people would say that. I also understand that from the outside not even looking in (since I can't even tell you what goes on in this game), if you heard people say stuff like "my whole outlook on life is different after The Outer Wilds", yeah, that sounds frankly ridiculous. But I think many people who have seen this game through will tell you that statements like this actually make sense.
And let's not gloss over the absolute masterpiece of a soundtrack put together by Andrew Prahlow. Sometimes minimal, sometimes dissonant or seemingly feeling wrong or out of place, sometimes swelling with emotion, and often folksy and comfortable, the score for this game shot to the top of my list of favorite game soundtracks almost immediately and it has stayed there since.
Admittedly, this game does have its potential downsides. It's easy to lose your way, feel stuck or lost, put it down and not pick it back up again, and with so much of this game's fanbase refusing to just tell people what to do for fear of ruining a discovery or surprise, it can be hard to get tips on what to do next. It's to the point that it becomes a liability not just for getting help in the game, but just even discussing the game in front of others who haven't completed it. The community cannot evangelize it to others except to say "go play this game and that's all I can tell you", and then it starts to seem like you're in some sort of cult. I can say that it's all entirely worth it, but I do wish the developers had found a way to structure the game so that players could just talk a bit more about even just the premise and introduction without fear of ruining anything.
Additionally, the Echoes of the Eye DLC is a big change to the structure and mood of the original game. It's a different kind of vibe, gameplay, and set of puzzles to solve, something that feels less like an ancient mystery buried in time like the base game, and more like trying to discover something new but getting actively blocked or pushed away. It can be frustrating and while it is eventually exhilarating and just as rewarding as the base game, Echoes of the Eye takes a lot of getting used to. Just like with the base game, it's worth it, but players usually find themselves tested harder than ever before with Echoes.
As far as concerns for the future: I guess the problem with making a game so good is that expectations go through the roof for the next one. I have to wonder: did Mobius Digital peak already? They've been working in secret on a new game for a couple of years now and by their admission recently still have years to go to even announce it. We know it's at least not a sequel to The Outer Wilds and that it's something entirely new. But I've got no idea how, after making a game like this, a development team is supposed to sit around at a table and actually outdo their previous game which many (including myself) hail as their favorite game ever made. Maybe I'm not the right person to be speculating how to top this game, but no matter what happens, there's no doubt I will be there on day one to see if they did get remotely close to the sheer excellence of The Outer Wilds.
10/10
The Outer Wilds is available on PC via Steam or Epic as well as on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. A copy of the game was provided for review by Valve Software via Steam. The base game goes for $24.99 US and the DLC costs $14.99 with the "Archaeologist Edition" containing both for a small discount. Steam occasionally puts the game on sale for between 25-40% off.