Patient Gamers

Oh man flying to planets manually is TOUGH, the physics engine is just realistic enough that doing it manually takes more skill than I care to develop.

Just use the autopilot. Yes, you have to be careful about not starting it when there's something else between you and your destination. But for real, use the autopilot.

Mind you, you are still going to die a lot because the universe is as amazing as it is unforgiving. You WILL die in that one specific way that will be your own damn fault because everyone does sooner or later. It's okay, and it's fun.

And it's very, very worth it.

Yeah, people tend to have that problem, especially if they're treating it like driving a car. If you want to fly manual, never fly more than 400 m/s, because then you won't have enough time to slow down.

My actual advice though is to just use autopilot. People seem to forget that you can cancel autopilot. If you start to see that there's something getting in your way, cancel the autopilot and push the ship to the left or right (it's easier to go around the planet than to slow down). Once you're clear, resume autopilot.

Are you playing with a controller or keyboard? It's one of the few games I think really only works with controller.

Hey, Outer Wilds super fan here. Bought the game twice, recommend it to everyone, etc.

I’ve seen a couple people bounce off the game because of the space flight, which is totally valid! It’s legitimately very difficult, doubly so if it’s your first time doing a zero G type of thing.

I’ve also seen people thoroughly enjoy the game despite crashing into everything! So that’s possible, too. I wish I knew the secret to making it click, as I think once the story really gets its hooks in you it’s one of the most rewarding experiences out there.

With all that being said, a couple tips:

The autopilot let me crash into stuff blocking its path so I gave up on that too.

Don’t give up on auto pilot! I simply can’t imagine traveling between planets without it.

You just have to keep in mind that the auto pilot isn’t intelligent. When you activate it, it does exactly three things: it lines you up, it accelerates you, then it slows you down to a stop in front of your destination. You have to watch and be willing to interrupt it if it looks like you’re going to crash into a planet or the sun. You also have to make sure you’re reasonably far away from a planet before activating it in the first place. Once you’re there, keep a close eye on your instruments and just guide the ship in slowly until you can land.

Even if you don’t have any obstacles, the auto pilot can still rarely result in a crash in certain scenarios where the planet is orbiting directly at you. This is especially prevalent with the twin planets.

But the game is designed with crashes of all sorts in mind! Make sure to always put your suit on immediately when you first enter it on Timber Hearth. That way you can abandon the ship if necessary. There’s even a working eject button!

I hope things work out, but best of luck no matter what you end up doing!

Once it's boring.

Very specific kind of game, you have to settle into it and realize there are no stakes.

If the only problem is moving the shuttle, it's probably worth watching a video and figuring that out, but if exploring is still boring for you, it might not be your brand of soda.

Watching a playthrough is a good idea too, it's a good story and I think you'll still appreciate it vicariously.

Flying in Outer Wilds is like kerbal space program without manouver nodes or orbit prediction. It's doable if you understand orbital mechanics.

Just use autopilot. Mind you, it doesn't have collision avoidance.

I bought the game during last year's sale and dropped it because it doesn't explain anything and the constant anxiety from unavoidable events was not fun in my opinion. I never got a refund for it but I don't see myself picking it up again.

Figuring out the navigation and flying the ship is definitely part of the experience. As others said, it's much easier with a controller and the autopilot is really nice, but precision flying is a part of the game you'll have to go through at some point (like small platforms landing and flying only with your momentum).

I'm going to give you the unpopular answer: it's not going to get better. I almost beat this game, and really enjoyed a lot of it, but without spoiling there will come a point where you have to do a lot of things in a specific and high stakes order across multiple planets. I tried it a bunch of times and found it so frustrating to have to redo it over and over again that I eventually just threw in the towel and moved on.

It sounds like you're enjoying it even less than I did, so I would guess this point in the game I'm alluding to will frustrate you even more as well.

I'd recommend just watching a playthrough. I was like you and tried to get into it 2-3 times and the game was just too frustrating. Starting over from almost scratch every time was annoying given how often you die. So many things in the game are time sensitive as well, so you're either sitting around waiting to time something or rushing to get somewhere in time only to miss the time window and have to wait or come back later. You couple that with the lack of QoL features and clunky controls and it just wasn't enjoyable for me.

Just as a disclaimer to people who are passionate about it, I'm not saying it's a bad game, just that it's not a game for everyone and that's fine.

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

There's an autopilot that will basically fly you right into orbit on a planet.

I played it for like an hour or so, but it didn't click either. I'll give it another go one day, but there are just too many games in my backlog right now

I'm kind of in the same boat. I played this game expecting it to be the best game ever made, based on what people said. I played about 2 hours. The flying controls were annoying as absolute fuck, and I was just kinda bored. Maybe I need to give it another shot? Is it not for me?

Use a controller instead of a keyboard if you can.

Use the practice missions in the starting town. Get those challenges done.

Take a few lives to just practice visiting different destinations as fast as possible.

Outer Wilds was the best game I played on PS4. I strongly recommend experiencing it for yourself.

I would say the space ship/0g flight is maybe 30% of the gameplay, and you don't need to be really excellent at it, thankfully.

As others already said, autopilot. Withoutit would not have finished the game. I really wish you get to the end, it's worth it ! Also, at some point, I read a spoiler free-isb walkthrough because I was stuck with some puzzles.

If you're on PC and you find you absolutely can't make progress, consider modding the game. https://outerwildsmods.com/

Just casually scrolling, I saw a few that modify movement and a few cheat mods that go so far as to just allow you to teleport places. Obviously just teleporting around would lessen the surprises the game offers, so I'd recommend that as an actual last resort.

Have not played Outer Wilds, just here because I am curious what other people will say ~~and to add more engagement to the Fediverse~~

I had a similar experience with Pikuniku. Controls just didn't click with me at all. I could work them but it was frustrating. I proceeded to drop it and bounce off of gaming for a full on year.

Personally, I tried it a wee bit, but the game kept stressing me so much, which I really hate. It's a shame because I keep hearing that it's an incredible game... Maybe if I try it at another time I'll have a different experience, I hope.