Rule

fr though, play Outer Wilds. Don't look anything up.

The statue at the beginning got me good

First time I approached the gas giant I fell in. I bout pissed myself. If you do go back, I suggest turning off frights for the DLC content. It's definitely willy-filled in a couple of small parts.

Unpopular opinion warning: after playing and adoring Outer Wilds, I played Subnautica and, while it's a fine game, I'm having trouble getting engrossed in it. I've never been much of a fan of survival games, though (apart from Minecraft if it counts?) and Subnautica may be my favorite in that category... But it's still firmly in that category

Yeah, the flow of the game is interesting and unique but the trick is bullshit

I mean, the entire game can sort of be described as an easter egg hunt. If you're talking about >!warping inside the Ash Twin project!< then I get it, I got stuck on that for a while too but I love puzzle games and am used to that feeling of being stuck. I've noticed watching playthroughs that most people miss >!clues for how to tell the warp towers apart or how to apply the knowledge that warp towers activate when oriented towards the gravitational center of a destination!<, so there could've been more clues for that.

Edit: I think something that could've improved it is if they made a mini-game of the ship log to get more people to interact with it. A lot of the issues people seem to have with the game stem from them not meaningfully engaging with the clues they've been given. As it is the game relies heavily on people actively trying to piece together the puzzle themselves without any mechanism to ensure they do it.

So, there's a few reasons why everyone wants you to go in blind:

1. It's a puzzle game and a mystery, and one where knowledge is everything. Technically you seem complete the whole game in 5 minutes if you know how. In practice, it's hours of discovery as you slowly piece together an absolutely breathtaking mystery (there's literally a "conspiracy board with polaroids and string" on your ship that you can consult as you start to piece things together). That sense of discovery and wonder is everything, and we're trying to preserve as much of it for you as possible.
2. There's an absolutely brilliant twist about half an hour in that will leave your jaw on the floor.
3. The ending is incredible. Real top tier "best endings in video games" kind of material.
4. The whole game is just full of really really cool "WOW" moments as you discover new things and just lose your mind over them.

But I get it, you want a little more than that. Here's the non-spoilery version:

Its a puzzle game that deftly avoids presenting you with "Solve this Sudoku" style puzzles. You're not doing an IQ test, you're solving a vast mystery that reaches across space and back into the past. You're an archaeologist, unearthing the ruins of a dead civilisation. You're an explorer (most of the puzzles are about navigation; figuring out how to get into or out of places) diving deep into the unknown.

On a more practical level, it's a game about flying around a tiny but surprisingly well simulated star system in a little tin can space ship, landing wherever you want, and exploring whatever you want, as you try to solve a mystery that threatens your whole civilisation.

It's a game of cosmic wonder. If you've ever felt awestruck by the idea of things like black holes, wormholes, four dimensional space, megastructures in space and so on, this game has it all and more. It's cute and fun on the surface, but really it's 2001 and Solaris and Interstellar, just slamming you with the sheer majesty of space.

And it's just full of heart. It's a game about life and community and the beauty of building great things together.

Now the more spoilery stuff. Let's talk about that big twist that happens early on. This doesn't give much else away, but it does slightly lessen the impact of one really cool moment.

That should be enough to give you some idea of why people are so hype about this game. It doesn't even come close to covering some of the truly wild discoveries you'll make along the way, or indeed the truly heartbreaking emotional gut punches the game will deliver.

It's one of the best games ever made. I cannot recommend it enough.

That usually means it's a knowledge-based game and the fun is in the figuring out. Tunic had a similar feel even though the gameplay was very different.