Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Jun 28, 2019
    100
    Outer Wilds is easily my game of the year thus far, and continues to move up the list of my personal favorite games of all time. It’s an experience I genuinely cannot stop thinking about, managing to encompass everything I love about the adventure gaming genre and the smart sci-fi musings of my all-time favorite authors. The few negatives brought on by the time loop at the game’s core are universally outweighed by the pioneering spirit cultivated throughout. I urge you to seek out Outer Wilds if you can, if only to try out what is surely one of the greatest adventure games ever created.
  2. Jun 10, 2019
    95
    Outer Wilds' compact clockwork universe does more with twenty-two minutes than its spacefaring peers can imagine in a lifetime. It treats curiosity as a Möbius strip and trusts its network of divine secrets will drive the player toward a reasoned conclusion. By turning away from the zeitgeist, Outer Wilds' sublime presence can only be defined as otherworldly.
  3. Jul 12, 2019
    91
    Outer Wilds is well worth checking out. It’s got an intriguing hook and even better execution, and it’s one of the more inventive games you’re likely to play this year.
  4. Jul 9, 2019
    90
    Outer Wilds is simply a wonderful and brilliant space exploration adventure. Inside an hand-crafted solar system, the game is an ode to adventure and curiosity where you journey through space, trying to understand the stakes of a quantic situation.
  5. Jul 3, 2019
    90
    Forget about the space battles and hours poured into crafting. Outer Wilds redefines what exploration means in a video game. Smart writing and ingenious game-design, it’s a vibrant call to follow your own curiosity.
  6. Jul 3, 2019
    90
    Outer Wilds is a revolutionary gaming experience. It is boundless in creativity and imagination, with a knowledge-gathering system that permeates throughout the whole experience and serves to create a title that is easily one of the most immersive games in recent memory.
  7. Jul 1, 2019
    90
    While some may be turned off by the lack of focus and direction, Outer Wilds excels because it doesn’t do either of these, allowing you to explore the galaxy at your own pace in any way you want. Curiosity will constantly pique your interest, pulling you to new places every new time loop, with tons of secrets and mysteries to uncover for those that want a specific goal. Oh, and it’s on Game Pass currently, so there’s absolutely no reason to not suit up for 22 minutes and explore wherever you desire.
  8. Edge Magazine
    Jun 20, 2019
    90
    Rare is the game that comes along, one that believes in its hero - in you - so earnestly, and shows us the real value of being brave. [Issue#334, p.116]
  9. Jun 17, 2019
    88
    Outer Wilds It is one of the great sleepers of 2019, without any doubt. An space opera to recommend for its ingenious proposal and beautiful world, but maybe someone find too much effort needed to understand how their narrative and gameplay works.
  10. Jun 5, 2019
    85
    Outer Wilds viscerally fascinates mysteries and sci-fi fans, owning a huge potential expressed thanks to a heavy dose of creativity applied to gaming and top quality writing.
  11. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Aug 8, 2019
    80
    One of the best exploration games ever, thanks to a small but perfectly crafted setting. [Issue#179, p.85]
  12. Jun 28, 2019
    80
    Outer Wilds is good-looking and quite unique in its subgenre, and there's a compelling, intriguing mystery to solve that will keep you guessing as you progress across the galaxy.
  13. Jun 13, 2019
    80
    Given that Outer Wilds is all about discovering the sort of phenomena that once astonished and befuddled an advanced alien civilization, it seems right that I should have been unsettled by it at first.
  14. Jun 4, 2019
    80
    It may not have the grand scale of some other space exploration games but, frequent deaths included, Outer Wilds is such an enthralling excursion that you’d be mad to miss out.
  15. Jun 28, 2019
    70
    While the concept with its “groundhog day of destruction” is intriguing, the technical as well as mechanical execution is not.
  16. Jun 14, 2019
    70
    Outer Wilds provides an incredible and imaginative solar system to explore, one that is filled with genuine mystery and wonder, immersive music and an imaginative sci-fi lore. Still, the issues in control, gameplay, and level design hamper the intended blissful exploration which it tries to build its premise around.
  17. Jun 3, 2019
    60
    Enjoying Outer Wilds depends on your willingness to read guides and discuss the game online. Otherwise, you'll probably feel like you're regularly hitting your head on a brick wall as you try to make just an inch of progress.
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  1. Jul 11, 2019
    Outer Wilds is a game of intense originality, charm and beauty. It’s an escape pod to strange new experiences, where great stories are to be found, deep in the bellies of ancient worlds.
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 304 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 32 out of 304
  1. Jul 27, 2019
    8
    Outer Wilds is a first person free roam game with 22 minutes to save the galaxy. It's Groundhog Day at the end of the Universe, with beautifulOuter Wilds is a first person free roam game with 22 minutes to save the galaxy. It's Groundhog Day at the end of the Universe, with beautiful environments and unique game play. In a small universe on the brink of catastrophe take your ship and explore the galaxy, picking up clues to help you along. Every time you fail, you start again with all the knowledge you've acquired in an attempt to stop the sun from exploding. The path ahead of you isn't always clear, but the ships log can help you a bit. In those dire moments, you can't figure the next move, sit back and watch the glorious supernova, wake up and get back to it. The exploration alone is enough to keep most glued to the game, and the intrigue makes it a worthwhile experience. The controls are a bit heavy, and feel under-explained, making early game play rough, but once you learn how to better control the ship, and some of the tools, life gets easier. A lot of the controls feel like the could be worked on, but the overall experience well makes up for it. Outer Wilds is an amazing experience, that is barely detracted from with the hefty controls. Exploration at it's finest, and a fun feel, Outer Wilds is a must for those after a grand adventure in space. Full Review »
  2. Jun 15, 2019
    10
    A truly special experience. Go in as blind as you can, and stick with it until the full solar system opens up to you.
  3. Jun 2, 2019
    9
    The game is just like fresh wind, plays great, not much interaction with other characters and some puzzles are iritating. But it is reallyThe game is just like fresh wind, plays great, not much interaction with other characters and some puzzles are iritating. But it is really worth the price. Full Review »