Outer Wilds

[Jamie John]

And done!

 

 

What an excellent ending to an excellent videogame

 

Spoiler

I mucked up the final run a couple of times getting the warp core to the Vessel because of the stupid angler fish, but the third time was a charm. The final sequence in the forest was very sweet.

 

I'm tempted to go straight into the DLC. Am I correct in thinking it's a bit more self-contained that the main game? You're just exploring one location, right?

[merrychan]

20 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I mucked up the final run a couple of times getting the warp core to the Vessel because of the stupid angler fish, but the third time was a charm. The final sequence in the forest was very sweet.

 

I'm tempted to go straight into the DLC. Am I correct in thinking it's a bit more self-contained that the main game? You're just exploring one location, right?

I had the exact same thing at the end, however I also had to lookup the final final thing to do despite having all the information to hand

 

Spoiler

Using the code that remains on your HUD to properly fire up the warp core

I'm about to start the DLC too, as I understand it something on the starting planet gives you a clue, probably the observatory / museum area I imagine?

[therearerules]

The DLC is amazing. Just do it, and be prepared for more jaw dropping moments.

[Jamie John]

12 minutes ago, merrychan said:

I had the exact same thing at the end, however I also had to lookup the final final thing to do despite having all the information to hand

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Using the code that remains on your HUD to properly fire up the warp core

I'm about to start the DLC too, as I understand it something on the starting planet gives you a clue, probably the observatory / museum area I imagine?

 

I just bought it from CD Keys for about £6. And yes, when you load up the game again it makes it pretty obvious how you get into the DLC.

 

There's also a 

Spoiler

new warning about how some players might find the DLC too scary, so there's an option to tone down the scares... 

 

[therearerules]

I would actually recommend turning that on- not because of the scariness, but to reduce gameplay friction.

[Jamie John]

4 minutes ago, therearerules said:

I would actually recommend turning that on- not because of the scariness, but to reduce gameplay friction.

 

Really? Does turning it on change the gameplay much?

[therearerules]

3 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

 

Really? Does turning it on change the gameplay much?

Very very slightly. I turned it on halfway through, and wish I did it earlier. I liken it to turning on the easier jetpack controls to make the platforming sections less frustrating.

[Jamie John]

6 minutes ago, therearerules said:

I liken it to turning on the easier jetpack controls to make the platforming sections less frustrating.

 

This is a thing!?

[Jamie John]

I'm 90 minutes into the DLC. Some proper 'I've seen things you people wouldn't believe' bits already. 🤩

 

This is gonna be good.

[smac]

Ah, I took a hiatus and have yet to finish it off. I have yet to 

Spoiler

Land on the quantum moon, although I have been through the tower on the water planet.

 

Do anything with the forges, but I've been to the main ship and the research station so I think this is the key.

 

Do much on Ash Twin.

 

Get to the Sun Platform - I have tried landing on it a few times, but I realise that's tricky and there's a better way…

 

[Jamie John]

I'm a few hours into the DLC now. It definitely is a lot more self-contained than the main game, as I suspected, and relies more on a Groundhog Day-style structure where you have to repeat the same things in a certain order until you learn something that allows you to skip a big chunk of what you were doing previously, like a knowledge shortcut. It's entirely compelling.

 

Not too many scary bits so far, although 

Spoiler

I've found the dark world and have run into a few of the deer/owl men, who are pretty freaky. I liked how they blow out their own candle when they spot you and then suddenly get right up in your face. There's been nothing so far to compare to the first time an angler fish screams at you in the main game, though.

 

Saying that, I cacked it the first time the dam broke in the DLC and a huge wall of water suddenly started rushing towards me. I've mentioned it elsewhere, but this game does megalophobia like nothing else.

 

Playing this has also made me realise that I love these sorts of 'learn-em-ups' - games where the solution or ending is available to you from the very beginning, but you can't access it until you've learnt enough about the world. This has it, Obra Dinn has it, Tunic has it, and they're all fantastic games.

[Jamie John]

I'm still chipping away at the DLC. I think I'm nearly there with it now:

 

Spoiler

I've found two of the forbidden slide rooms - the one through the fire door in the house of the rising sun, and the one at the bottom of the well, behind the stage area (that bit, patrolled by the deer/owl guys, was pretty scary).

 

I also know how to get through the mural in the cliffside house, once you've turned all the lights off, but haven't got around to it yet.

 

And, most tantalisingly, I've discovered that, apparently, *something* happens if you jump off the barge that takes you between areas in the afterlife/dark zone, so that's what I'm going to try out later.

 

I'm enjoying it a lot, overall, and am definitely finding it compelling. There have been times where I've found the time-loop mechanic annoying, however, especially when you have to

Spoiler

fly to the Stranger, get on the raft and grab the artifact

at the start of most runs. It only takes a couple of minutes, but every minute counts!

[Jamie John]

Aha!

 

Spoiler

I figured out how to enter the matrix and 'extinguish' two of the seals on the vault. That was damn cool.

 

I can't figure out how to get to the island with the third one, though - the one with the two alarm towers on the bridge who spot you immediately. My current theory is that I need to find a way to block the light source that is coming in from above, which will prevent the alarm towers from seeing me, or to turn off the alarm towers somehow. Either way, it likely involves finding the code for the rotary dial thing in front of the bridge, but I've not idea where that is. The symbol for this particular dial is the third repetition of the pattern on the other two dials, so maybe it's got something to do with figuring out the sequence of codes based on the other two codes that I've cracked already, but perhaps that's overthinking it. Each of the cabinets with the code symbols on that I've found have had the code burnt off, so I'm guessing they're a bit of a red herring, designed to teach you how to 'glitch' through into the forbidden zone.

 

I've tried entering the forbidden zone by walking of the raft in different places when travelling between areas in the simulation, but you just end up in the same place each time. Maybe there's a way to drop down onto the third island from above.

 

Hmm...

 

How are you getting on, @merrychan? I suppose it's hard to say without spoiling...

[merrychan]

21 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

Aha!

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I figured out how to enter the matrix and 'extinguish' two of the seals on the vault. That was damn cool.

 

I can't figure out how to get to the island with the third one, though - the one with the two alarm towers on the bridge who spot you immediately. My current theory is that I need to find a way to block the light source that is coming in from above, which will prevent the alarm towers from seeing me, or to turn off the alarm towers somehow. Either way, it likely involves finding the code for the rotary dial thing in front of the bridge, but I've not idea where that is. The symbol for this particular dial is the third repetition of the pattern on the other two dials, so maybe it's got something to do with figuring out the sequence of codes based on the other two codes that I've cracked already, but perhaps that's overthinking it. Each of the cabinets with the code symbols on that I've found have had the code burnt off, so I'm guessing they're a bit of a red herring, designed to teach you how to 'glitch' through into the forbidden zone.

 

I've tried entering the forbidden zone by walking of the raft in different places when travelling between areas in the simulation, but you just end up in the same place each time. Maybe there's a way to drop down onto the third island from above.

 

Hmm...

 

How are you getting on, @merrychan? I suppose it's hard to say without spoiling...

I haven't started the DLC and now I've started Elden Ring so will let you know when I get round to having a go on this

[Jamie John]

On 02/03/2023 at 11:34, Jamie John said:

And done!

 

I think, anyway:

 

Spoiler

I couldn't figure out how to unlock the third seal after about 90 minutes of fruitlessly looping about, trying different things to no avail, so I ended up reading a hint online. This directed me to

Spoiler

one of the ship log entries that I'd overlooked, the one about how the alarm bells can't wake you up if you're already dead...

 

That gave me some definite food for thought: I knew I had to die in the 'real world' while near a fire in order to not be woken up while I was in the simulation, but I couldn't work out how to do it. I tried throwing myself off of various things near the fires... until the penny suddenly dropped .

 

After that, it was all pretty simple: I reset the loop, came back, glitched into the simulation, blew out the first seal, found my way to the second and blew that one out, returned to reality, died near the fire, blew out the final seal and, at long last, made my way into the vault.

 

I then found the 

Spoiler

imprisoned owl man, watched his vision, went back to the surface, interacted with the rod on the beach, watched another vision and... that was it, I think?

 

From reading around, it seems like you get an additional scene with the prisoner if you re-complete the true ending of the main game and take all the steps to get back to the forest area at the dawn of the new universe, but I think I'm happy enough to just watch that on Youtube instead of spending half an hour getting the warp core, flying to Dark Bramble, navigating past the angler fish again to get to the vessel, and so on.

 

 

 

So, yes - overall very compelling once more with some real stand-out moments. I do sort of wish that the ending had a bit more closure to it, but I understand that doing that wouldn't really fit in with the time-loop mechanic of the main game. And, having now completed it, I agree with @therearerules in that you should play with the 'Reduced Scares' option turned on, not because it makes the game less frightening but because it makes a minor change that makes it less frustrating, especially if you've spent a while setting stuff up, which you often have to do.

 

Ultimately, if you enjoyed the main story then you should definitely check out the DLC. Reading back through the thread, it seems that some people have overlooked it, which is a shame.

[Jamie John]

On 09/10/2021 at 12:39, Ketchup said:

Just finished this and I have mixed feelings. Spoilers for everything including the ending.

 

  Hide contents

The DLC is not as good as the base fame. You lose your ship, you lose your translator and it all being on one place makes a lot of the puzzles frustrating.

 

The new place looks great but is very dense with locations that it made it difficult for me to understand what doors access what and this means you can find new information in an order that can make things confusing. Certainly not helped without being able to see past reels again without actually going to get them again or the fact your ship log doesn’t seem to list all details. I especially had trouble with the ship log showing me there was nothing new to find but actually there was lots to explore still!

 

I loved all the hidden in plain sight puzzles, so inventive but I didn’t like that some mechanics worked on how you typically

played games. Eg. If you push a button and it does nothing why would you expect it to work another time due to something unrelated to it changing.

 

The time loop I enjoyed in the base game because I could use it as a natural break point to go somewhere else or review info I found. But with the single location it just stops you exploring or means wasting a few minutes getting back to the place. Then there is another timer with the dam which can be confusing till you figure it out.

 

I only ever found one clue obtuse in the base game and that was the final one like most people found. Where as I found a lot more in this dlc. Either because the information I learnt didn’t make sense at the time and later I’d forgotten it or because it wasn’t detailed enough for me to piece 2+2 together.

 

The stealth sections could have easily been way more fun without the pitch black setting (turn up the gamma in game for a bit of help) or by having the ‘enemies’ as ghosts. The issue with these sections is you’re trying to explore, just like the rest of the game except now you can’t see anything and have enemies you can bump into that set you back in progress.

 

The ending too needed to be more definitive. I wasn’t sure if I’d finished the DLC or if there was something else I needed to do. An achievement, end credits, a reset, just something to show I’d seen and done it all.

 

Whilst I’ve focused on all the negative aspects there is a lot to like and I do recommend playing this. But it’s not as clear and easy to understand as the base game and the single location does mean a bit of Information overload and feeling stuck not knowing what to do next. It has some great moments, more moments of frustration than the base game and a very interesting story that perfectly fits into the world that can be a little difficult to understand but I’m glad we got more. It’s another great mystery but not as good as the base game.

 

 

Bumping a two-year-old post, but I agree with a lot of this. I imagine that coming to the DLC after a long break from the base game would have exacerbated things a lot, too.

[NecroMorrius]

FYI they redid lots of the DLC since that post, whole areas were redesigned, puzzles and hints were changed, and a new ending was added.

[Jamie John]

36 minutes ago, NecroMorrius said:

FYI they redid lots of the DLC since that post, whole areas were redesigned, puzzles and hints were changed, and a new ending was added.

 

Oh, really? That's interesting, as a lot of what @Ketchup has written still resonates with my experience of the game. I imagine that it could have been frustrating if the puzzles were even more opaque than they were post-patch. Apart from the final puzzle and the last seal, which I've posted about above, I was able to do it all without a guide, but if you do come up against something that stumps you then you're pretty stuffed as, unlike the main game, it's not like you can just fly off to another planet and pick away at something there instead.

 

Also, is there a reason that 

Spoiler

the dam breaks when it does? I get that it's wooden and, presumably, no one has been around to maintain it for hundreds of years as the owlmen are all dead, but it seems like too much of a coincidence that its destruction coincides with the 22 minutes that you're alive.

 

Also, also,

Spoiler

I really thought there was going to be another bit where you break into or access another part of the ring's exterior, like that cool bit when you discover the window that's blown out from the failed experiment. That was an awesome revelation, so I'd have liked more of that.

 

[therearerules]

3 minutes ago, Jamie John said:

 

Oh, really? That's interesting, as a lot of what @Ketchup has written still resonates with my experience of the game. I imagine that it could have been frustrating if the puzzles were even more opaque than they were post-patch. Apart from the final puzzle and the last seal, which I've posted about above, I was able to do it all without a guide, but if you do come up against something that stumps you then you're pretty stuffed as, unlike the main game, it's not like you can just fly off to another planet and pick away at something there instead.

 

Also, is there a reason that 

  Hide contents

the dam breaks when it does? I get that it's wooden and, presumably, no one has been around to maintain it for hundreds of years as the owlmen are all dead, but it seems like too much of a coincidence that its destruction coincides with the 22 minutes that you're alive.

 

Also, also,

  Hide contents

I really thought there was going to be another bit where you break into or access another part of the ring's exterior, like that cool bit when you discover the window that's blown out from the failed experiment. That was an awesome revelation, so I'd have liked more of that.

 

Spoiler

Iirc, the damn breaks because of the added gravitational pressure from the ship moving away from the sun.