If this is the first you’re hearing of Outer Wilds from me,
maybe you want to stop by my Substack first. Or maybe you’d like to start here
and then see what else you can find.However, if you’re coming from the other posts I’ve made
about Outer Wilds, then let’s get to it.
Accessing the downloadable content for the video game Outer Wilds is so simple that I
had to look it up. (this is what we call sarcasm).
While other games give you a second menu or something
normal, this game goes full meta and invites you deeper into its universe. As
for bang for your buck and whether it’s worth the price of admission, I’ll go
on record saying I’ve never played any DLC that is half as memorable as this,
because Echoes of the Eye is brimming with character, mysteries, puzzles, and
enough new things to soothe that pain you have once you finish the main game.
Unlike the main game, Echoes of the Eye’s tone is much
darker, with genuinely creepy moments that offer plenty of jump scares, while
expanding and deepening an already rich lore. Whereas the main game is hopeful quite often, this chapter often feels and plays downright
Lovecraftian and the stakes are just as drastic as in the main game, except you
have new hazards to worry about.
While Outer Wilds explores several planets within a solar
system, Echoes explores a cloaked spaceship somewhere hidden in orbit of said solar system. The
first time you get past the veil and see the spaceship, it is a huge moment.
Gravitationally, navigating around the vessel can be extremely tricky until you decipher how to approach it effectively. Once you get inside, the space
feels so vast and constricted at the same time. It’s a marvel and you can see
that they fleshed out a story before they designed the rest of the game, which
seems to be the opposite of how they developed the main game. What results is a
narrative heavy epilogue that becomes more so a sequel. You discover another
race of beings that explored this solar system. Very polished, very organized,
and quite often, very much out to get you.
In the main game, you’re surviving against the elements
around you. In the DLC, on more than one occasion, you are running like crazy
in the dark trying to get away from creatures who have realized you are where
you shouldn’t be. These moments of tension might not be to the liking of many
people, though I found them extremely exciting.
As for the tone, it reminds me of the Room mobile phone games. Dark, ethereal,
heavy. Quite often you find yourself discovering a new room or a new piece of
the narrative that is unsettling. Quite often you see a sequence that kind of
rattles you and suddenly, there’s a flash flood or a super nova goes tabula
rasa on you so that you can get your bearings and dive back in to explore that
ship.
The ship has several zones and rather than have its own distinct
flavor like each of the planets, everything here feels connected just enough to lead you into a shadow world. If
this sounds a bit out there, it is. If it also sounds a bit complicated, you’re
also right.
Mechanics, narrative, gameplay, and puzzles are heavier and harder
than the main game. Whereas with Outer Wilds I was able to decipher roughly
80% of the game, with this DLC, I needed help almost half the time. The clues
are there, but they’re subtle. And in some areas, you have to turn so many ways
in the dark while avoiding sentries, that a walkthrough is recommended, because although it won’t be easy, it’ll be doable. In this game,
making a sound draws attention and sentries are agile and will outwit you and force you to restart on several occasions.
But like I said above, the narrative is heavier, and with
that heaviness comes a rich story that shakes you as deeply as the main game,
but in a different way. What the main game has better is that you have quite a
few solutions to a couple of things while the DLC is very specific in when,
how, and if you have to do something to get a solution or not. Although it was
frustrating that I needed to ask or look for help, it never took away from the
game. And once the end credits roll for this second part, you still feel that
desire for more, though have to applaud the team for going to the lengths they
did to present something so different while still maintaining the core of its
DNA.
From all I’ve posted, I think it shows that playing Outer
Wilds and its Downloadable chapter of Echoes in the Eye is one of the best and
most profound video game experiences I've ever had the privilege to ply. This is storytelling and
exploration reimagined in ways that should invite artists of any medium to
challenge themselves and their audiences. These are games that reward
exploration, experimentation, curiosity, and painstaking attention to detail.
These are not games merely developed to reach into your wallet. It’s an experience
that reaches into your soul to shake your hand, pat you on the back, and wish
you well upon the journey of life.
Or maybe it’s just a video game.
To Héctor Álvarez, thank you for the game recommendation,
brother. My apologies for taking so long though I wanted to write and create
something worthy of the experience.
To the kind readers of this blog, my Substack, or my books,
thank you as well. As a small thank you for tagging along, I mentioned there
was one more breadcrumb as a thank you for joining me on this little scavenger
hunt. It’s the least I can do as thanks to everyone who’s joined me. Feel free
to share the link to the Substack, this blog, or just what’s below.
CLICK HERE For a thank you to my fellow dreamers. Better if you click from July 22-25 ;)
