By the end you’ll have an idea how and why the time loop occurred, and what to do about it, assembling the story like a puzzle. The story is told in scraps of a lost language-reminiscent of Heaven’s Vault, albeit without the translation mechanic. Only your knowledge changes, as you uncover shortcuts that make it easier to get to hidden areas, or chart when and where certain events occur so you can be in the right spot next time, or learn in one area a heretofore-unknown mechanic that will get you past an obstacle in another area. More likely: You’ll die, either by crashing into a planet at top speed (as I did), or in a blaze of glory as the clock expires.īut you could finish it, because nothing about Outer Wilds changes. You could theoretically finish it in your first-ever playthrough-provided you looked up the answer, where to go and what to do. The same events play out every run, with 22 minutes to explore any planet you’d like and uncover its secrets. It’s a clockwork, a solar system in miniature that’s trapped in a time loop. I settle in to watch the sun explode, already planning where I’m going to explore the next time out. By now, I know exactly what those first musical cues mean: The universe is about to end again. And how well you understand that story also depends on how deep you delve into its translation side, with a “lost” language for the player to slowly decipher as they explore the Nebula-for the first, fifth, or tenth time.Ī linguistics-based puzzle game won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it’s very much to my taste, and I’ve rarely felt smarter than when I finally deciphered the rules to Heaven’s Vault’s glyphs. Inkle already demonstrated its prowess with 80 Days and Sorcery!, but Heaven’s Vault is its most ambitious work of interactive fiction yet, a sprawling archaeological sim of sorts, comprised of dozens (maybe hundreds) of different story branches that still manage to coalesce into an engaging sci-fi story. Less, after the game’s post-release patches, but they still comprise a significant portion of the experience. Its more action-oriented bits-sailing around the Nebula, walking around various planets-are the least interesting facets, and you do them a lot.

Pc games released 2019