Game profile
Outer Wilds
Trapped in a time loop, you explore a tiny solar system whose secrets can only be unlocked through knowledge rather than gear. Every one of the 22 minutes before the supernova reveals more about a long-vanished civilization.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Adventure / Puzzle, set in a science fiction world. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays somewhere between light and heavy. The world is open, so wandering off and ignoring the main path is part of the deal. It rewards long uninterrupted stretches more than quick check-ins.
The difficulty is moderate and fair, demanding attention without punishing you for it. The narrative carries the whole thing, and the mechanics serve it. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It is available broadly, on 4 platforms. It sits in the mid price bracket.
What stands out
- Brilliant time loop concept
- Knowledge over skill points
- Unforgettable space mystery
This fits you if
- exploring for its own sake is the point for you
- you want to live through a story, not just play a system
- you enjoy being made to think
- you can sit down for a proper long stretch without interruptions
- you like getting lost and ignoring the main objective for hours
- the writing matters more to you than the mechanics
Look elsewhere if
- you skip cutscenes and want to get to the gameplay
- you only ever get short bursts of play time
- you want to play it side by side with someone
- you want either a pure challenge or pure relaxation, not the middle
How long is Outer Wilds?
About 22 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 4 weeks, or 11 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 85 out of 100, which puts it above 59 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 487 overall. That is mid-table for this database. Not a standout at the top, but solidly rated.
For comparison, Adventure averages 83 points across the database, so this one sits 2 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 902 collected ratings.
Released in 2019, so it has 7 years behind it. Usually cheap by now and the rough edges are long fixed.
The facts
- Release year
- 2019
- Genres
- Adventure, Puzzle
- Playtime
- approx. 22 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Moderate, fair
- Story weight
- Carries the whole game
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Sci-fi
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Mid price
- Platforms
- PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
- Critic rating
- 85 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outer Wilds | 2019 | approx. 22 hrs. | 85 | Mid price |
| Rue Valley | 2025 | approx. 15 hrs. | n/a | Mid price |
| Paradise Killer | 2020 | approx. 12 hrs. | 79 | Budget |
| Planet of Lana | 2023 | approx. 5 hrs. | 80 | Budget |
If you liked this, try these
- n/a Rue Valley Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Sci-fi, shorter
- 79/100 Paradise Killer Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Sci-fi, shorter
- 80/100 Planet of Lana Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Sci-fi, shorter
- 90/100 The Talos Principle 2 Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Sci-fi, rated higher
- 84/100 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Sci-fi
- n/a Orbitals Shared: Adventure, Puzzle, Sci-fi, shorter