Outer Wilds

Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.

Overwhelmingly PositiveOverwhelmingly Positive · 96%2020

$24.99

US Steam price, checked 5 h ago · Lowest we’ve seen since Oct 20, 2026: $12.49

The verdict

A landmark mystery-exploration game where knowledge is your only progression, set in a 22-minute time loop. Skip it if timers, clunky flight controls or reading logs frustrate you.

Great for

Curious players who love unguided exploration, piecing together mysteries and going in blind

Main risk

The 22-minute loop, clunky controls and vague direction can feel tedious and frustrating

What players love

Unforgettable story best played blind

Mentioned in ~2 in 5 positive reviews

“This game's gift can only be felt once, in a completely blind playthrough.”
Steam review · 44.5 h played ↗

“This is the one game I wish I could have amnesia just so I could experience it again for the first time.”
Steam review · 41.3 h played ↗

“A game you can only play once, but will remember for your whole life.”
Steam review · translated · 42.7 h played ↗

Knowledge-based exploration and mystery

Mentioned in ~1 in 3 positive reviews

“There's no guide. No map markers. No intended linear path. Just a curious astronaut and a lot of trial and error.”
Steam review · 28.1 h played ↗

“I also really liked how progression is entirely based on knowledge instead of upgrades or skill trees.”
Steam review · 26.7 h played ↗

Emotional, life-changing ending and themes

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews

“Outer Wilds felt like a warm hug, teaching you to find comfort and acceptance in the act of letting go, and the ultimate end of things.”
Steam review · 26 h played ↗

“This game broke me, gave me a full existential crisis, and then put me back together better than I was before.”
Steam review · 32 h played ↗

Great music and beautiful visuals

Mentioned in ~1 in 7 positive reviews

“(Also a shoutout to its Goated Soundtrack)”
Steam review · 33 h played ↗

“The best space game, very scary and impressive, wonderful soundtrack.”
Steam review · translated · 28.7 h played ↗

Genuinely scary atmosphere

Mentioned in ~1 in 17 positive reviews

“Outer Wilds is the first game to make me afraid of a rock.”
Steam review · 93.5 h played ↗

Fun physics and ship flight

Mentioned in ~1 in 30 positive reviews

“It's a physics simulation of an entire imaginary solar system all with different gravity levels”
Steam review · 15.2 h played ↗

What players complain about

22-minute time loop feels stressful and repetitive

Mentioned in ~1 in 3 negative reviews

“it resets every 22 minutes so you’re constantly rushed to speed through as quick as you can and literally cannot stop to look at it or enjoy the game whatsoever.”
Steam review · 12.5 h played ↗

“A huge minus: the whole game is a race against time. You get 22 minutes for everything, then start over.”
Steam review · translated · 9.9 h played ↗

“you spend a lot of time preparing, reviewing notes, flying around, and very little actually progressing the game before the time loop gets you.”
Steam review · 12.1 h played ↗

Clunky, imprecise flight and platforming controls

Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews

“Maneuvering the ship and the jetpack is floaty, imprecise, and often leads to death by kinetic impact”
Steam review · 19.1 h played ↗

“I just cannot get behind the ship controls, too tedious for me to enjoy the rest.”
Steam review · 1.7 h played ↗

Tedious log-reading and backtracking

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews

“five hours of reading obscure, joyless wall inscriptions and trying to physically reach the next one.”
Steam review · 5.1 h played ↗

“i'd rather just read a book than continue playing this, because there is nothing to do but read in this game.”
Steam review · 11.9 h played ↗

Vague direction and obscure progression

Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews

“this game is actually impossible to figure out without a guide”
Steam review · 28.7 h played ↗

“after visiting everything possible I have no idea what to do next.”
Steam review · translated · 11.1 h played ↗

Story and characters fail to engage

Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews

“The intrigue just isn't there, and once you get to the end, the story underneath all that buildup is subpar at best.”
Steam review · 8.1 h played ↗

“I found it hard to empathize with any of the characters”
Steam review · 19.9 h played ↗

Motion sickness

Mentioned in ~1 in 38 negative reviews

“This game unfortunately made me SO motion sick within 10 minutes!”
Steam review · 0.8 h played ↗

System requirements

From the Steam store page

Steam Deck: Verified

Minimum

OSWindows 10

ProcessorIntel Core i5-2300 | AMD FX-4350

Memory6 GB RAM

GraphicsNvidia GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB | AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB

Storage8 GB available space

Recommended

OSWindows 10

ProcessorIntel Core i5-8400 | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X

Memory8 GB RAM

GraphicsNvidia GeForce GTX 1060 | AMD Radeon RX 580

Storage8 GB available space

OSWindows 10

ProcessorIntel Core i5-2300 | AMD FX-4350

Memory6 GB RAM

GraphicsNvidia GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB | AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB

Storage8 GB available space

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−10%

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Mostly Positive · 73%

+ Gripping story with strong twists

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analyzed 4 d ago

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