Ever since it came out I have heard only good things about this game. And it sounds like a perfect fit for me. I enjoy figuring out puzzles, I enjoy figuring out lore and I love to explore.
I picked it up during a sale a while ago and since then I had 3 or 4 attempts of trying to get into the game but after a few hours I'm just too frustrated and give up.
My problem is, that I am so horribly bad at moving around, it infuriates me like no other game ever has. Like, I want to go to that planet, I board my ship, I fly towards the planet. I either slow down too late and die crashing into the planet or I slow down too early and by the time I get to my destination the planet has already moved away too much. So I either wait until it comes back around or I try to follow it wich usually ends with me crashing into it. It's like slapstick comedy. The autopilot let me crash into stuff blocking its path so I gave up on that too.
The few times I managed to get to a planet, I couldn't enjoy exploring, knowing I will have to pilot this spaceship again. When I think about having to be at a specific location at a specific time, it fills me with horror. Moving in lower/zero gravity is also not enjoyable for me.
I want to love this game so bad but I just can't. I know this game is a one-time experience so I am torn on what to do.
Are my problems with this game so fundamental that I should just give up and watch someone else's playthrough on YouTube? Or are my experiences in a normal range and I should keep trying until the movement clicks with me?
I fear that the longer I wait the higher the chance that I randomly encounter a huge spoiler somewhere in the internet.
Thank you for reading and thanks in advance for any recommendations, advice or feedback
Edit: Thanks a lot everyone! I will give it another shot and use a combination of autopilot and manual movement. If that doesn't work I'll look at some mods. If that also doesn't work I'll give up and just watch someone else play it. I feel like I'm extra bad at this because my spacial awareness sucks in real life too. Can't tell if a car in the distance is moving or parked and if it's moving how fast. Don't worry I never even bothered to try to get a driving license lol
Outer Wilds is one of my favorite games, but I can see a lot of ways it isn’t for everyone.
Try a controller if you can, like others have mentioned.
It took me a long time to get used to the space navigation/flying and towards the end of the game I still sometimes crashed horribly into things. I feel like it’s kind of just part of the experience and can make for some really funny moments. If you really want to experience it yourself, maybe spending some time just focusing on getting a good understanding of the ship controls without the pressure of trying to get any exploration done that round might be helpful. Autopilot isn’t the smartest, but it can be helpful.
Watching play throughs is something I love to do now, because it is the closest I’ll ever get to experiencing the game fully again. Watching a play through before playing it yourself will basically spoil the chance ever experiencing it firsthand yourself, but might be a good option if you really want to know the story and don’t find any joy in playing it.
Edit: few changes for clarity