Outer Wilds, the award-winning game of the year 2019, has captured the hearts of gamers worldwide with its unique blend of sci-fi, adventure, and puzzle elements. Set in an open world solar system, it offers a rich gameplay experience that revolves around exploration, discovery, and unraveling mysteries.
But what if you’ve explored every nook and cranny of this universe and are yearning for more? Fear not! There are numerous games out there that offer similar experiences. This blog post will introduce you to games that are similar to Outer Wilds and will keep your adventurous spirit alive.
The World of Puzzle and Adventure Games
Puzzle and adventure games have been a staple of the gaming industry for decades. They challenge the player’s problem-solving skills while providing an engaging narrative. Games like Outer Wilds often combine these elements with other genres, such as sci-fi, to create a unique gaming experience.
The Appeal of Sci-Fi Adventure Games
Sci-fi adventure games transport players to new worlds, filled with alien civilizations, advanced technology, and unexplored galaxies. They offer a perfect blend of adventure game mechanics with a sci-fi setting. Outer Wilds is a prime example of this genre, with its time-loop mechanic and solar system exploration.
The Role of Puzzles in These Games
Puzzle games add an extra layer of engagement to the gameplay. They require players to think, strategize, and sometimes even think outside the box. In games like Outer Wilds, puzzles are often integrated into the game world, requiring players to interact with the environment to solve them.
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10 Games Like Outer Wilds
If you’re looking for games that offer a similar experience to Outer Wilds, here are a few recommendations.
Subnautica
Subnautica is an underwater adventure game set on an alien ocean planet. It’s a game that truly allows you to dive deep into the unknown.
A massive, open world full of wonder and peril awaits you! You’ll encounter diverse underwater ecosystems teeming with life and resources, and you’ll need to manage these resources to survive, explore, and build. Just like Outer Wilds, Subnautica provides a unique exploration experience that will keep you hooked for hours.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a puzzle/adventure game where you play as a ghost trying to solve the mystery of his own death.
The game offers a unique blend of puzzle-solving and narrative that is sure to appeal to fans of Outer Wilds. With its innovative gameplay mechanics and compelling story, Ghost Trick provides a gaming experience that is both challenging and engaging.
The Witness
The Witness is a single-player game in an open world with dozens of locations to explore and over 500 puzzles. This game respects you as an intelligent player and it treats your time as precious.
The game is set on a mysterious island where you wake up with no memory of who you are or how you got there. Your only clue is a series of puzzles scattered throughout the island, which you must solve to regain your memory and find your way home.
Return of Obra Dinn
In 1802, the merchant ship Obra Dinn set out from London for the Orient with over 200 tons of trade goods. Six months later it hadn’t met its rendezvous point at the Cape of Good Hope and was declared lost at sea.
Early this morning of October 14th, 1807, the Obra Dinn drifted into port with sails damaged and no visible crew. As an insurance investigator for the East India Company’s London Office, find means to board the ship and recover the Crew Muster Roll book for assessment.
No Man’s Sky
No Man’s Sky is a game about exploration and survival in an infinite procedurally generated universe. Whether a distant mountain or a planet hanging low on the horizon, you can go there.
You can fly seamlessly from the surface of a planet to another, and every star in the sky is a sun that you can visit. Where you’ll go and how fast you’ll make your way through this universe is up to you.
Iron Lung
In Iron Lung, you play as a prisoner with a shot at freedom so long as they can successfully pilot a tiny submarine through an ocean of blood on an alien moon.
It’s a game that combines elements of exploration, survival, and horror to create a truly unique experience.
Much like Outer Wilds, Iron Lung will challenge you to think creatively and solve problems in a hostile, alien environment.
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Chasing Static
Chasing Static is a short adventure game that includes sci-fi themes and gameplay elements that will feel right at home for Outer Wilds fans. In Chasing Static, you explore a forgotten world through the eyes of a weary traveller.
Uncover the mysteries of a strange land ravaged by time and nature. And, like Outer Wilds, Chasing Static rewards players who probe and investigate the details of the world around them.
Discolored
Discolored is a strange and surreal puzzle adventure game where you’re tasked with investigating a roadside diner in the middle of nowhere that the locals say has lost all its color.
It’s a game that, like Outer Wilds, rewards exploration and curiosity. As you explore and solve puzzles, you’ll slowly bring color and life back to the world.
The Forgotten City
The Forgotten City is a mystery adventure game that shares some similarities with Outer Wilds in that your character is stuck in a time loop and must solve puzzles and mysteries to fix the world.
The game is set in a city stuck in time, where the inhabitants live in fear of a curse that turns them to gold if they commit a sin. It’s up to you to break the cycle and free the city from its curse.
Tacoma
Tacoma is an adventure game developed by Fullbright, the same studio that brought us the critically acclaimed title, Gone Home. In Tacoma, you’ll find yourself aboard a high-tech space station in the year 2088.
As you go about exploring the digitalized memories of the station’s crew, you’ll uncover a gripping story of trust, fear, and resolve in the face of disaster.
Much like Outer Wilds, Tacoma is heavily narrative-driven and encourages thorough exploration. The game’s unique mechanic of experiencing the crew’s recorded memories adds an innovative twist to the gameplay.
Whether it’s the detailed environment, the richly woven narrative, or the complex characters, Tacoma offers a deeply immersive experience that fans of Outer Wilds are sure to appreciate.
Conclusion
While Outer Wilds offers a unique and engaging experience, there are many other games out there that can satisfy your craving for exploration, adventure, and puzzles. Whether you’re a fan of the sci-fi genre, love solving puzzles, or just enjoy exploring new worlds, there’s a game out there for you. So why wait? Embark on your next gaming adventure today!
These games offer a variety of experiences, from deep-sea exploration to solving mysteries in a time loop, much like Outer Wilds. They should provide you with many hours of entertainment. Enjoy your gaming adventure!
