Once you've explored what you need to explore and the mystique is gone, there's really nothing leading you forward. There's also little to no replay value in Outer Wilds. You get your information through reading and not via voice acting, and so the Nomai, as we get to know them, all start to sound the same with their heavily science-clad language and therefore could have benefitted from an audience surrogate character to ask questions. The story feels scattered through dimensions when one has to explore non-linearly with no real guideline as to where to go next for cohesion. The main issue we had with the game was the lack of narrative structure, themes and memorable characters. What goes up must come down though, and Outer Wilds, like any other game, has some flaws. Outer Wilds truly does a great job of letting the mystery of its world and document-based narrative lead the player further. This may sound tedious, but the information you collect is saved aboard your spacecraft ready for the next run. You have twenty-two minutes to collect as much information as you can, whereupon the sun enters a supernova, swallowing the entire solar system before you wake up again like nothing happened, safe in your sleeping bag. While on the topic of ticking timers you'll probably wonder why you suddenly die throughout the game. The game offers incredible variation and therefore never gets boring and always keeps you on your toes, especially when you realise what's waiting for you in the dark. Other places need to be explored little-by-little due to ever-changing weather- or structure conditions that adds a ticking timer to keep track of during your stroll on the surface. In some places, gravity is stronger, making platforming sequences heavier and more treacherous. You see, your objective isn't just to land on a planet and explore it - each celestial body has its own conditions, rules and regulations for exploration. There are no detailed depictions of the panels, cannons, lights and screws in or outside of your spacecraft - instead, the player pilots a rickety, oversized structure made up of planks that almost looks like something out Sea of Thieves.
There are no rival pirate factions there to ruin your day or space battles to dodge, just dangerous and treacherous terrain to explore in the search for answers. There's no universe stretching into eternity to explore, instead, the player is treated with a reasonably sized solar system of visually stunning planets.
Comparisons with other titles are not to be avoided, however, because it's in the noticeable absence of what one usually finds in space exploration where Outer Wilds really excels. Perhaps this is a question the release of Star Citizen can answer if that ever happens, but until then, Mobius Games gives the genre an honest attempt with its unique take, an adventure game called Outer Wilds. Do we really need an entire galaxy to explore right off the bat? If a yawn-inducing gap of infinity is to be the framework, there's only so much content you can distribute before having to abort the mission of filling the world evenly with content. If No Man's Sky and Elite: Dangerous taught us anything, it's that space exploration games can, due to their size, struggle to remain truly compelling.
0 kommentar(er)
