Outer Wilds Critique - Examining an Existential Experience
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- Опубликовано: 19 июн 2024
- An analysis of the story, design, and themes of Outer Wilds.
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Twitter - / vgmatthew_
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
02:18 - Game Opening and "Tutorial"
07:16 - Smart Storytelling
11:52 - Progressionless Design
15:21 - The Time Loop
20:17 - The Emotional Power of Outer Wilds
33:11 - Thematic Interpretations
#OuterWilds #EchoesOfTheEye #MobiusDigital 
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Insert “I wish I could forget this game so I could play it all over again” comment
Okay but actually I do wish that
A friend introduced this game to me years ago. The first time I played it, I literally just spend 3 hours going back to giant's deep constantly because I thought the warp pad has something I was supposed to activate from there. And because it was Giant's Deep, I had no clue what was actually killing me ever 22 minutes due to the thick clouds. Still one of my favorite games of all time.
That is the funniest start to the game I have ever heard about other than just dropping into the ATP.
The puzzle solution you mention at 31:14 made me yell/laugh for a solid two minutes when I first discovered it. The most joyous I’ve ever felt discovering anything in a video game.
Great video on a game that I consider to be practically perfect.
Loved this game, very beautiful and delightful, spent many loops just following aimless threads finding stuff that didn't even have any bearing on any actual story points, spent one just yeeting out to deep space, and a few loops i tried to chase the nomai probe, caught up with it once, was very dark and spooky. I think this is also a great distillation of what Majora's Mask tried to do, that game has many of the same reasons that put people off and things you have to learn rather than unlock.
Chapters still aren't working on my channel - the video is probably best enjoyed if watched in its entirety, but if you want to watch specific parts there is a loose list of topics covered in the description.
I'll also probably post an extended thoughts on the second channel relatively soon, in case you wanna check that out. Thank you for watching!
Update: Chapters are working again, so that first part can be disregarded. I also haven't forgotten about that extended thoughts video, I just haven't had time to get around to it. I'd still like to do it sometime, it's just on the backburner for now. Apologies.
I think I know why chapters are broken!
In the description, you have the timestamps listed first, and then the names after. I think if you swap those around they should work.
Hey there. You are probably busy, but if you come around to it, I am still greatly anticipating the extended thoughts video! Don't feel rushed, I just think the game has enough meat to justify a lot of thinking/discussion/analysis. Thanks for your work. On another note; boy am I excited to see what Mobius will do next.
another great thing about the sun station moment is that the nomai's disappointment mirrors your own, you likely came there expecting to be able to disable it and end the time loop while saving the entire solar system but... no, the star is just _old_ and there's nothing you ever could have done to prevent or even meaningfully delay its passing.
it says something that "the sun-exploding doomsday device doesn't work" manages to somehow be absolutely _devastating_ news on multiple levels
I'm really excited to watch this once I've actually played Outer Wilds haha. I've heard it's best to avoid spoilers on this one.
100% you don’t wanna be spoiled
Im so excited to watch this! you have become one of my favourite critiquers on the platform, you deserve a drastically larger amount of subscribers
I wonder if we all just keep meeting again and again in the comments, since we're desperately looking for new Outer Wilds video essays, wishing we could have that feeling of the first playthrough again.
Due to a bug, I never got to see the actual end of Outer Wilds for myself, but having seen it through many other eyes, I agree it's incredibly beautiful.
I think one of the most beautiful things about it is that there are so many ways to interpret it - It feels like a real event that transpired, one that in the most technical sense, has no particular meaning - But is nuanced enough to have many meanings.
In that light, let me say that I respect, but fundamentally disagree with your interpretation of the end of the game. I do certainly see it as an important lesson in futility and acceptance. The Hearthians had no choice in the matter - The universe was ending. Not only was their own star at the end of its lifecycle - EVERY star was. The end of the game, then, is certainly about meeting the inevitable and unavoidable head-on, and accepting it in a healthy and positive way. Making the best of things, even leaving a legacy of sorts. I would argue that even if the Eye of the Universe hadn't been capable of creating another universe, having those last moments with the travellers, with Solanum, and with the Prisoner, would be enough. Even if those people only existed in that moment as memories of the Hatchling, brought to life by the Eye or simply by the mind's eye.
But where I disagree is that I find that that conclusion is NOT mutually exclusive with the goal of life and health extension. Yes, we will all die someday - The heat death of the universe will come for us all, or the Big Rip, or any other thing. Statistically speaking, we can't last forever. But concluding from that, that it's pointless, or even harmful to try? I've always seen that as a completely idiotic conclusion, missing the point entirely.
The thing that gives life meaning is NOT that life ends. Life just ends. There's nothing inherently good about it. The universe made us no promises to that end, and has no such obligations thus.
The thing that gives life meaning, is that we exist, and we are capable of creating and perceiving meaning - Both acts being two sides of the same coin. That's it. If we stop existing, meaning stops existing too. There's nothing inherently bad about that, but there's certainly nothing good about it either.
I would argue that every single death is an infinite tragedy. It is the severing of a person from the possibilities their future could have held - With an effectively infinite lifespan and healthspan, the possibilities of that person's life are equally, effectively infinite. Even spending a thousand years miserable and aimless and hopeless would be a tiny sliver of such a lifespan.
I would argue that, with effective life and health extension technologies, there would be no point in a person's life where it would make sense to deliberately choose death over continued life, if the choice is made entirely for its own sake. I can always see one choosing to die *to achieve some goal,* people will sometimes sacrifice themselves that way - But to die simply because your sensibilities demand that you ought to die sometime, and for no other reason? That seems misguided to me. We frown upon suicide in modern times for good reason, why would we suddenly find it vitally important to demand suicide of everyone else in a world where it's possible to live until the end of time?
That's really what we're talking about here. To say that life extension technology is "missing the point of life" is to basically claim that there is no value to living past a certain point - And when medical technology can render everything past that point effectively identical to everything that came before it, one is effectively putting a completely arbitrary limit to lifespan. Or, worse, inadvertently making the claim that there was never a point to life to begin with.
I find that Outer Wilds demonstrates the meaning of life quite well through its gameplay, actually - In much the same way that the player starts out with every tool and no concrete objective beyond exploration and discovery, one starts life not knowing what the point is, and if you ask me, the point is to figure out what the point is for you, personally. And to give yourself the time you need to do that, much like Outer Wilds needs just a little bit of time, just a few loops, to start to sink its hooks into you.
And in my opinion, there's not really a sensible end to that - Just insensible ends, that we are all subjected to exclusively and solely because we have literally no alternative.
I don't think death is beautiful. I think people are beautiful, despite their many flaws, and we are very good at finding the beauty in just about anything. I think death is stupid and bad. We put up with it, even justify it, because we have to, because we're resilient and capable. The beauty we see in death, I think, is really the beauty in the people it's taken from us, instead of any inherent beauty in stopping existing as an agent in the universe.
Stories might need endings to be complete, but if you ask me, there's no reason to subject people to the same rules.
thank 4 comin 2 muh ted talk g'night errybuddy em sleppy nao
I would say that an immortal world sounds horrifying. Why should I be forced to exist eternally? Immortality sounds nice, but after I’ve done the things I wanted to do, then what? Passions don’t seem to burn indefinitely, so you could theoretically burn yourself out after the first few hundred years and then exist aimlessly for THE REST OF ALL TIME. I would argue that the finite nature of life is what makes your choices important, since an infinite life would in theory have you do every conceivable thing, so all your choices do is change the order you do those things in, no singular choice truly being important since it’s all just a matter of time before you do those other things anyway. It would also mean that there is no rest, you would never be able to stop near the end of life to savor the fruits of your labors, since life would never end and you would need to work forever to sustain yourself infinitely. If we had progressed past the point where we need to do things to stay alive… then what would we do with our lives? Our minds and instincts are ordered towards the concept of survival, and without that all that is left is the pursuit of things simply for the sake of it. What happens when we learn everything? After that point what is there to do with our lives, since the questions of life have already been answered? Would you say we should live indefinitely simply because we can, even if we no longer find satisfaction or meaning in it? Life is surely precious, but not everyone would be suited to immortality, methinks.
Death and life are inextricably linked to each other, the death of beings is what fuels life. The passing of the torch between generations is a large part of what ushers in change, which only happens because each generation cannot exist indefinitely. A world without death would be a world largely unchanging, sort of frozen at the moment of immortality.
I would also point out that the assumption that physical immortality is an infinite good presupposes that nothing exists after death, which one cannot know without first dying. So it is basically impossible for the living to know if death is truly the end of one’s story. If it isn’t, then living forever would trap us in a situation where we can never be truly satisfied.
@@adamhellegaard2019 I appreciate your consideration! The crux of your argument dissolves under scrutiny, for a few reasons:
-True immortality isn't really possible just due to thermodynamics - Even with perfect maintenance, all systems run out of energy. The universe is not immortal.
That, and all practically achievable forms of immortality are "mundane" immortality - They do nothing against violence, or sudden deaths. The real goal here is to remove the IMPERATIVE of death, not its existence entirely. The goal is having a choice in when you die, in other words, not the eradication of death as a concept.
That said, I can think of a hundred years of interesting things I want to do, and I only need a quiet afternoon to have all those thoughts. Give me a few hundred years in good health, and I'll have a plan for the next couple eons or so.
I won't fight you on the point of not everyone being suited for immortality, though I could. But this comes back to choice - Just because you think you wouldn't be all that jazzed about immortality, doesn't mean it's fair to remove the choice for other people.
And on the point of the "old guard" and society only changing as those in power die... I tend to fundamentally disagree that that is even the correct way to think about the problem. That implies that you're wishing death on your political opponents as an activist, which fundamentally does not have to be true. It SHOULDN'T have to be true. Politics should be structured in a way that change can happen without death, or we're just a war, coup, or insurrection waiting to happen anyway.
Here's a last point - Immortality WILL exist. Do you want only the rich to enjoy it, or everyone having the option to partake in it? (There's that important word again - This is fundamentally optional. If you're fully determined to die, it's VERY hard to truly stop you.)
Edit: I realized that I didn't directly address your thoughts on post-death, but I think my first point comes back here - You'll always die, someday. You always have the option to die. But there's no guarantee you have the option to change your mind once you DO die, so... Why ever choose that option willingly? When it will always and inevitably come eventually, exactly and precisely once, regardless of what path you take? The only real, quantifiable difference is how much time you have to enjoy life.
A critique on my favourite game of all time? Sign me up!
Fantastic video that hit home a lot of my thoughts and takeaways from playing the outer wilds. Thanks for an excellent examination of what he of my favorite games in a very long time. Outer Wilds can be so difficult to fully talk about explore and examine because it has to be kept so hush hush from people who haven’t gotten into it yet, and I think the actual essay/deep dive critiques and examinations are less common than most games as a result. Great video and I look forward to more content.
every upload brightens up my day, great content as always
This game was the most unforgettable experience I wish I could forget.
Lately I’ve been recommended videos by channels like yours with under 10k subs, and I’ve been completely blown away by the quality that these small creators achieve. The kind of content you’re releasing is on par with a channel 100x your size, really hope you stick with RUclips.
Algorithm gathered its shit together.
This and undertale changed my entire view of video games as a medium. I loved games since my childhood, but these made me really see that they can be art just as much as anything else. I can't even imagine how much I'd pay to be able to play them again for the first time.
Now THIS is the Outer Wilds video I've been waiting for someone to make for a while. This game means a lot to me and I think you summed it up better than almost anyone could!
I found your channel through the elden ring boss video a couple of weeks back and have since watched the rest of your work and just wanna say that I absolutely loved it. Your points come across very clearly and you linger on them just enough to have the time to properly explain them without it getting boring .The videos just have this great flow to them that makes it easy to stay engaged and want to watch the whole thing, also helped by the fact that you're a great narrator. I've watched plenty of video essays on yt and it's shocking how you're already at such a good level so soon after you started. Looking forward to the next one
This might be the best all around comprehensive video on Outer Wilds that I've seen. You excellently covered both the mechanical and narrative brilliance of the game seamlessly and in less than 40 minutes even! Beautiful work, you've got my sub.
From the tie between gameplay and story (and how more games should follow suit) to the expressiveness and warmth of the Nomai to the sublime ending and its optimism, you did a great job capturing the beauty and vital aspects of the game. Great video!
I just discovered your channel yesterday and I've really enjoyed hearing your takes on game design. You have a good insight into the building blocks that make up a game and your commentary is on the level of Matthewmatosis imo. I actually started my own game critique channel last year as well and we've covered quite a few of the same games, so it's always interesting to see where our opinions line up. For me, Outer Wilds is the most important game to be released for a long time, and I'm really hoping that the next few years will see plenty of new projects that were inspired by it. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos!
Please upload more videos. Your channel is so good. I appreciate the time and effort that goes into them.
Great video VG. I'd like to add that the music in this game is phenomenal. It plays a huge role in crafting the atmosphere and feeling of melancholy, nostalgia, contenment and bitter sweetness. How they managed to capture that so accurately with music I'll never know.
Outer wilds is a masterpiece in so many walks of life and genre, it allows people to understand the world and themselves in a way no other game I know could do.
Your analyses are really fantastic and I can’t wait to see the channel get the credit it deserves sometime soon ;)
Amazing video! Outer wilds is the best piece of art I've ever experienced and I will never tire of listening to people talk about it
I found your channel and instantly subscribed. Long form essays help me sleep and you're now on the playlist
BRO YOU ARE SO UNDERRATED WHY DO YOU NOT HAVE A GAZILLION SUBSCRIBERS
While echoes of the eye might instill players with fear, I think it's point was about conquering that fear. The fear of the unknown. What lies in the dark. Once you see the inhabitants up close a few times or get a better mental map through the darkened world that fear fades and it becomes another mystery to solve. Why are they like this? What did they do to themselves? And discovering that reinforces part of the endings theme of being able to let go and accept that sometimes things have to come to end. No matter how desperately you want them not to, and that maybe that's not always a bad thing. Maybe something new can begin because of it.
I feel like many ideas this game are so hard to convey, I honestly have no idea how you made a video essay which is simultaneously so accurate, detailed and concise. Incredible game, incredible video, wow!
Time to sub and check out some of the other content :)
Absolutely nailed it on the artistic interpretation, man. 🤛🏻
8:40
“The way a story is being told is more important than the story itself”
Another great example of this would be the game “The beginners guide”
Your videos are great, I really like this concept
Thank you Matthew, this is exactly the game that I would like to hear your thoughts on!
Wholesome video. Thanks!
Me on my quest to watch every Outer Wilds video in existence.
More Outer Wilds content ::D
I love this game so much, and seeing more people talk about it.
16:00 I see what your saying, but I don’t think that’s the case for all players, for me I was almost instantly hooked because as soon as the sun exploded I wanted to know why and how to stop it. To me that was what the end of the game was going to be; that was my goal. Even though I was wrong, that’s what was driving me forward.
Love your work!
Thanks! Great video!
I'd like to add that it's literally so much fun to just scuttle around space in your itsy bitsy spaceship. That's the part that made me immediately buy and play the game, even. Wish to see more of that in other games.
People who like this game should try "The Forgotten City". It's a quest mod for Skyrim that plays very similar to Outer Wilds. It's so similar in concept that I suspect the designers of OW may have been influenced by it. It's also been released as a stand alone game of the same name on steam, although I've never played that version.
I actually just played and platinumed the PS5 version of the standalone game last week! It wasn't until your comment that I noticed the similarities between Forgotten City and Outer Wilds. I second your recommendation.
The biggest difference would be that one is an astrophysics exploration game, and one is a detective/town simulator. That leads to some more minor downstream differences like how FC has a combat and inventory system, but those are overwhelmed by how similar the games are in concept and design principles.
However, while Forbidden City is a great experience that I enjoyed as a game, it didn't ever land as well philosophically with me as OW. The best I can say about it in that sense is that the story is very well told for what they were trying to achieve. It's a great journey with a mediocre destination, but don't let that turn anyone off from making the journey in the first place. 😄
Yes! finally someone who analyzes technically and philosophically this great game / work of art
I really really liked this game, but I don't think it was a transcendent experience for me like it was for some others. That being said, this is one of the mostly smartly designed games I've ever played. My main feeling after the game was done was "Man I wish more games were designed like this." The devs knew exactly what they wanted to make, being exactly as long as it needed to be. I don't think there is a single thing in this entire game that could be described as ''filler'
Also, I love your videos I'm mostly just commenting so the algorithm pushes the vid.
Your voice is calming
Love your videos man
Hi from Honduras
It's a shame your non-soulsborne content doesn't get the same attention. This was a really well made enjoyable watch!
That ending was brilliant, I got a little teary-eyed. I can't ever truly experience this game again, but sometimes videos like this help me to recapture the feeling of my first playthrough.
I hope he's still alive, his videos are really good and help me sleep, I suffer from debilitating insomnia and love gaming...
Still alive indeed, haha. Glad to hear these videos can help you out a little bit.
@@VGMatthew Cool man, my favorite one is your Sekiro review
Alright, here I am getting my outer wilds fix. This game is my absolute favorite. For a little background, I’m visually impaired to a degree that I cannot drive, I live in the south US, so I can’t go anywhere on my own. I’m naturally inquisitive and I love exploring, so you can see why I love this game. It didn’t tell me where to go or what to do, it just put me down and let me learn, explore, adventure, and just do what I want. The game wasn’t running around like a museum curator on crack trying to get me to see everything. It sits patiently, letting me put everything together. It’s an amazing game
I don't really agree that Outer Wilds says anything about the search for life extension, we will all die - if not from our biological shortcomings then at the end of time due to entrophy - but there's nothing wrong or overly self-important with not wanting to miss out on everything that could happen in our potential lifetime
In fairness, as far as we know the universe will someday completely die.
I can't wait to watch this when I've completed this game but I'm 100% not going to spoil any of this story for me!
I feel the DLC was not meant to be seen as separate part with an ending but just another chunk of the main game that gives additional elements to the main ending.
Personally, I did not like the DLC to put so much stress on me after teaching me to take it easy in the base game with it's casualness in both world and characters.
Before outer wilds it was the Zelda series now it’s outer wilds as of 2019 my favorite game
Nice
WHAT, YOU CAN PASS TIME FASTER!!?
Man, my only two problems with this game were the time it took to try things again and that there is A LOT of text. I found it hard to focus at times, non linear stuff can be confusing. I think voice acting may have helped.
But since the first one was something I missed and the second one is a problem with my brain, the only other thing I can criticize this game for is that exploring some planets can be a little frustrating.
I really feel like it was a strange choice to not have the game pause by default when the player is reading. It's so incredibly important to developing the characters of the authors of the notes that you find! You shouldn't have to feel rushed through something like that just because the world is ending around you. 😅
I dunno about voice acting, but maybe a biography panel similar to the clues page in the ship, that fills in with info as you uncover it? That way when you find a note from Cassava or Poke, you would at least have some reference for who they were and what you know about them.
What’s that quote from ?
Hey bro are you planning on making more videos or are you doing other stuff in life?
While I don't particularly like the puter wilds but I really like your content and I hope you make some god of war videos.
I was told that every npc needs to be stupid and comically evil to give a point to the story
I missed some word on Atmosphere and Soundtrack
A word some use for the "progressionless design" you talked about is "Metroidbrainia" due to it being similar to a Metroidvania, but the upgrades replaced with knowledge
I respect what the DLC is going for, but the dream world was just a little too frustrating for me. As you've pointed out, most of the tension evaporates after you actually confront the inhabitants a few times, and you're left to wander for hours in a confusing, maze-like environment where you can't see anything. It's just so easy to miss a door or stairs and get stuck. It was still overall enjoyable, but maybe move like 50% of the dream content to the real world? It felt too small and simple in comparison, especially because it's mostly very linear.
the music... ಥ_ಥ
Are you my computer teacher
Don't look this video. Just begin to play.
Alright honest question
Am I the only one that somehow can get this game mixed up with "Outer Worlds" or no?
Most people mix the names up.
is there a point where you stop talking about echoes of the eye?
It isn't discussed past 33:11, but the footage does still spoil some of it.
i gues the game wasn't for me , 8/10
I feel so bad for the people who decided to watch this video and tell themselves "eh, I wasnt gonna play it anyway, I dont mind spoilers."
Hey, Pony-boy, make at least one video of any Sony's "masterpieces". There's shit-tonn to critique and laugh at in any of their games.
My only critique is that in the end the next species is bug like instead I wish it was US the humans who came next
Big missed opportunity imo
Eh, didn't like it.
I heard “They” pronouns like 10 times in the first 10 minutes. Had to tap out. I don’t put up with dumb shit.
Holy shit this comment is so fucking funny I can't stop laughing 💀💀💀, how much of a snowflake do you have to be to be triggered like that because of pronouns
@@Luxy1411 That kind of thinking leads to the sterilization and mutilation of minors, so I want nothing to do with it
hey matthew why not make a video about hades since there will be a sequel