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Outer Wilds, and imperatively its DLC, are transcendent gaming experiences.

Like many, I stopped playing my first time over a frustration with the jet pack and ship movement controls.

I returned later, this time determined to master the movement controls only to find that after mastering them you eventually abandon perfect movement for efficiency anyways and perfect gameplay looks a lot like the initial flailings.

Anytime you get 'stuck' in the game the answer is always, "what have you tried, what can you try instead?" Illuminating the tendency to presuppose an answer, and grow frustrated when it fails repeatedly.

It's certainly a "just play it without looking up anything about it" game. I went in without being spoiled by the "first surprise" that is referenced in this article and was stunned when I figured it out.

Swapping FPS violence for scientific and archaeological discovery, and a wholesome story centered on the social bonds of music make for a truly wonderful gaming experience.

I highly recommend the game to anyone.

In terms of things I'd say to encourage someone to play without spoilers, I think I'd focus on mechanics, like:

1. The game has depth to its locations that shows up on repeated visits. Expect to return with better tools/information to see new things. Shortcuts will reveal themselves over time.

2. There is an in-game tool that takes notes for you, hints at undiscovered content, and can provide on-screen waypoints to help you navigate.

3. Don't be too worried about your (avatar's) personal safety, or about rushing. Later there may be times where both might matter for your goals, but the game is designed to support trial-and-error.

One thing to note too is the game can be beaten in the first 10-15 minutes or so without any glitches. You just need to have figured out the grand puzzle of the game. I found that really unique and interesting, like the solution was always available to me but the block was my knowledge of the world, not mechanics or something like an unlockable skill or level.
2. Yes! The automatic notes are perfect for getting back on track without spoilers. "There is more to explore here."
I wasn’t really a fan, didn’t like the gameplay loop.

A puzzle game I liked 100x more is “Baba is You”. Should be very appealing to programmers.

I didn't really get it, and the problem with these games is that you can't ask, because you might spoil the surprise. The controls were fine, even fun, but I just wasn't really captivated by the story.

I don't know if I'm missing something that would make the game click for me, or if I just won't enjoy it. I can't ask anyone, because I'll ruin it if I am actually missing something.

After this comment I immediately closed my eyes and stuck my fingers in my ears (and added the game to my wishlist). I appreciate the rec, it looks great.
The "first surprise" is why I tell people "Just play this game, and don't look up anything about it!".

The two games the article has pictures of games are IMO everyone who plays games should play; they are two of the best of all time.

Your username checks out!

As someone who’s played a lot of video games, very few gameshave come close to the experience that was Outer Wilds.

Textbook definition of a game I wish I could forget so I could play again for the first time.

is it really a puzzle game? I recently dragged myself through The Witness finally and found it to be mostly not that interesting, most puzzle games have bounced off me similarly.

Outer Wilds, though, what a game. but it felt more like exploring in BotW, even although there is obviously no combat... kinda? there is sort of "combat" in one of the planets, although the only thing that you can do is lose. hmm, that planet is like BotW, but you have 3 hearts and a stick, and every enemy is a Lynel.

I really should get back to outer wilds. I like you bounced off of it because of the controls, and I keep meaning to go back because people I have faith in swear by it. I know the most basic secret you learn incredibly early, but that's the only 'spoiler' I know.
I guess this is the one time maybe reading the comments first saved me of a spoiler I didn't want to be exposed to, so thank you :) Guess I finally need to give it a try before it get accidentally spoiled for me.
Controls were great, didn't see whatever it is that people love about the story, and the game loop made me quit.
I’ve played the main game but never the DLC. Is it worth going back and running through again?
The movement wasn't too big an issue for me, but that's probably because I've played Kerbal Space Program, in which moving around in space is a pretty steep learning curve.

Anyway, that aside, it's a great game, you get a board where you can see everything you've discovered, whether you missed anything important, and links to other things you can pursue still. Or just go to a random planet / place of interest.

I hate Outer Wilds and is one of the few games I stopped playing out of sheer frustration. The movement mechanics are a sign of lack of respect for the player.

Blue Prince is the best puzzle game in the past 10 years.

> I’ve met plenty of thinky players who reject any help not contained within the game itself—I’ve been that person—but these days, with so much to play, I simply don’t have the heart to ironman a puzzle for hours and hours just to maintain a sense of pride. I’d rather see more of what a game has to offer. Sue me.

I’m not going to sue the author, obviously; but it sounds as though he enjoys puzzle games in a different way and for a different reason from me, and I find it hard to relate to his feelings about them.

If your plan is to cheat as soon as you get stuck, I can’t imagine why you would choose to play a puzzle game at all. For me, what I enjoy about puzzle games is precisely the immense satisfaction that comes from conquering a well-designed puzzle after a struggle.

Pretty simple: the pleasure I get from solving the puzzle is not always higher than the pain of trying to solve it. There is a limit and it's different for everybody.

When I do the New York Times crossword too, I'll try to figure it out without hints. If no progress for 10-20 minutes, I'm opening google. I enjoy it more this way.

I think this is why you have to be playing a few puzzle games "at the same time" - so when you get blocked/stuck in one, you can work on another.

I will admit that sometimes once I figure out "the trick" to the puzzle, I'll cheat and grab the solution rather than working it out by hand.

The AAA game industry as a whole has encouraged this mentality in gamers. They make games which are basically movies that you have to put a bit of work into to watch. The concept of virtuous struggle and overcoming challenge -- which used to be the default in arcade games or consoles like the NES -- has been relegated to niche categories.

I agree with you though. The idea of having my sudoku puzzle spoiled for me by giving me a critical digit seems totally alien. They might as well be the kid blurting out answers in math class, depriving everyone else of learning. Of course many kids in the class were happy to have the "freebies" even though it contributed to lack of skills down the road.

I have a limit how much time I’ll spend on a puzzle. So if it exceeds that I don’t mind cheating to get to the next part.

My limit might be lower than yours but I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong having a limit that means you shouldn’t play puzzle games.

Is it cheating, though? I find it is more like bringing the games difficulty down to an acceptable level. I enjoy puzzle games, but often the puzzles boil down to combining everything in your inventory with everything in the game world (in LucasArts terms). That can simply be unfun for some of us in a game we otherwise enjoy. A variant of this is that I would e.g. enjoy open world-ish action combat fantasy games, but I really do not find the Souls like loop of git gud compelling at all, so I... basically don't play these games. But AA or AAA fantasy action games with this kind of presentation are (at the moment) basically only Souls like, so... yeah, great. At least for puzzle games I can "cheat" if one of the puzzles is simply illogical for my way of thinking, so I can skip over that part and go back to enjoying the rest of the game...
An excellent 3 part video from Elyot Grant [0] introduced me to the term "fiero" for this conquering after a struggle, in contrast to a simple "aha/eureka". The difference being one is transmissible, the other is not. Thought it was a nice distinction. Highly recommend the videos!

[0] Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCHciE9CYfA

I looked up the answer to some of the bird noise puzzles in the witness because I figured out (correctly) the concept, which was fairly obvious, but the actual noises in some of them were impossible to discern for me. that area was unique in that it required some actual skill beyond thinking about the puzzle

some of the harder ones I did screenshot and overlay in Inkscape and draw out the candidate shapes, which I guess isn't really cheating?

I like digging into well designed puzzles and figuring them out, but also - like the author, I like interacting with friends around puzzles and the group dynamic and power of bouncing things off of each other, as well as the reduced likelihood of stupid blind spots.

When I played through Blue Prince, I had an important area of the game undiscovered for in game weeks because I just didn't notice a path that was not meant to be hidden. It was in an area that it made no sense for me to further explore because it was challenging to get to and seemed to have nothing else to offer (I presumed until I had unlocked something further in the game). It was a big relief when I was talking through my progress with a friend who was further along than I, and they prompted me to go back and look again.

It's hard to have a universal philosophy for puzzles - or depends a lot on how much you trust the designer. There are lots of tedious or unfair puzzles, which ruins the experience or expectations when you encounter a well designed puzzle.
Really glad they brought up Outer Wilds -- it's exactly the sort of game where the tiniest detail is a spoiler. Knowledge discovery's the game, so any piece of information about the game that doesn't need to be discovered is like cutting ahead to the next chapter in a game. Like playing on someone else's game file.

Wish someone would wipe my memories of that game so I can play it again.

> Wish someone would wipe my memories of that game so I can play it again.

Felt the same for years, now I am doing a new playthrough.

I figured, of course I know the solution to the puzzle, but I am hard pressed to remember all the details of how I uncovered that answer, and I know that you can uncover the clues in nearly any order so I know this playthrough will be new in its own way.

And I miss the world, and the gameplay.

I took something away from this article. While I enjoyed Blue Prince very much even though I played it alone, the surprisingly most enjoyable aspect of the game came externally - it was (and is) following my friends' journey through the game and being there to give them custom made consensual spoiler-free, hints when they needed. Some times simply being told you're barking up a very wrong tree or that you don't have enough information yet is exactly what you need to not get burnt out. I keep wondering if there's a way to have that baked into the game. Something to brainstorm.
Yeah, I was like your friend, fumbling through the game and texting him to receive some hints on how to proceed further, as I lost patience with the repetitive nature of the game. Still fun though.

>I keep wondering if there's a way to have that baked into the game.

Demon Souls' system of leaving little messages behind for other players is sort of similar.

The Reddit community of Outer Wilds maintains an extremely comprehensive list of recommendations, in the style of "if you liked this aspect of the game, try these other games":

https://www.reddit.com/r/outerwilds/wiki/index/gamerecs

I can vouch for Outer Wilds and Tunic being masterpieces, with Blue Prince getting a B+ from me.

Tunic's true ending is unfairly difficult to find. Fun, and obviously attainable, but unfair.
I disagree with the author that there’s no automated solution for getting spoiler-free help. I have found ChatGPT excellent for getting minor help without spoilers while playing Blue Prince. I can ask it things like “I’m playing Blue Prince and I want to avoid all spoilers. <question>? Use search. Answer only ‘yes’ / ‘no’ / ‘clarification needed’.”

Perhaps one difference between the author and me is that I usually have closed-ended questions rather than open-ended questions like “give me a minimal clue that’s helpful but not obvious”, for which I’d trust ChatGPT far less.

A mini version of this in Mario Maker (and thus MM2 which is currently playable) is the Knowledge Check Point.

Mario Maker 2 has a "Check Point" system where the software remembers whether Mario has reached one of two "Check Points" in the course and if so resets Mario to that point if/when he dies. You can only have zero, one or two such "Check Points". This leads to two important phenomena

1. Antis. A Soft Lock is a situation where Mario can't win, but also can't die, this is extremely frustrating because the player must start over, losing any progress. A good course designer ensures this never happens. But a twisted course designer does so by making it possible yet extremely difficult to die in this situation, thus the art of the "Anti-Soft-Lock" or just "Anti". The player is tricked into entering a situation in which they must complete some very difficult tasks, not to win but just to die and keep playing from a check point they've reached.

2. Knowledge Check Points. With only two CPs, a really elaborate course must either stretch considerably between the CPs, meaning players who die between CPs must re-do a lot of work and that's annoying OR invent a way to re-use them. There are tricks to re-use exactly two CPs plus the "Red Coins" from Mario which are kept when Mario dies, but a cleverer trick is to just have the player learn something which changes how they will behave.

My favourite KCP is an MM2 level where the player can't win... until they realise there's a way to obtain an important power up right at the start of the course, which then changes how they tackle everything else and opens up a route to success. The dead end you'd reach if you don't know about this, reveals that hidden power up.

Hello fellow MM troll level enjoyer. :) perhaps we have mutual friends
I really really love both Outer Wilds and the DLC and think the reddit community, when asked, does a great job of providing advice or tips for specific situations without revealing too much.
Has anyone played Bean and Nothingness? Great game, but also a great Discord server for this problem, with lots of norms around spoiling. I've been disappointed in some board gaming forums moving to Discord (because it's hard to search for old knowledge), but for puzzle video games it's almost ideal.
The strategy I see with the most success in online communities is something to the effect of, "If it appears in the trailer, or what is very obviously the earlygame tutorial area, it's basically fair game. Otherwise use spoiler tags." Some puzzle games are best experienced entirely unspoiled (Outer Wilds) and others benefit from sortof a layered hints approach.

Steam guides for Blue Prince are fantastic about this, and were extremely welcome to me once the RNG nature of the game stopped being exciting and started being a tedious obstacle. There's nothing quite like needing to spend several real world hours to try a puzzle solution that may be a complete waste of time, simply because the game doesn't really like to spawn the needed rooms (in an acceptable configuration) very often.

Come to r/myst. I think we do alright. It's true that it's its own skill though. You have to learn to refer to things in vague terms at least.
If you like Myst, try the RHEM series. Not quite as compelling a setting/story (though that's praise of Myst far more than any put down on RHEM), much, much better puzzles, with the same "Slideshow of 3D rendered environments" presentation.
And there's also Tunic, that is both a zelda-like action RPG and and information game !

So it's still very fun to replay it with a randomizer for example.

Tunic is probably my favorite game that has multiple "Aha!" moments when all the hints and puzzles so far suddenly click in a different way.
Look, 90s era point and click games are tonnes of fun, but also many of them were designed by sadists. Sue me if I look up a GameFAQs walkthrough.
I've found LLMs are quite good for tailored game hints where you don't want more of the story or puzzle ruined. Rather than looking up walkthroughs and hoping you don't accidentally digest something you didn't mean to, you can ask the LLM very specific questions and ask it to only answer with very specific answers.

I'm not someone who uses LLMs heavily, but I've found this kind of usecase suited my needs very nicely.

The utter inanity of asking, ‘how do you talk about puzzle games when spoilers are devastating’ and then spoiling the supposedly best game in the genre in the next friggin paragraph is driving me absolutely wild.
That game is 7 years old.

But it seems to me spoilers are mostly for narrative puzzle games, or secret twist / riddle puzzle games. There are a lot of puzzle games where you either can't look up the solution (games like Demon Bluff) or where looking up the solution/hints mostly spoils one level at worst (e.g. Baba is You).

> We live in a time where innocently surfing the web can result in seeing a single screenshot and completely ruining a game

A game where seeing a single screenshot ruins the experience wasn't very substantial to begin with.

> Because information equals progress in this genre, there’s typically no way to brute force the path forward whenever you find yourself truly stuck.

Except that is almost always possible - games by their very nature are usually very restricted in what you can do which makes exploration of all possible options possible. But usually better would be trying to reason about the problem. Looking up outside help is and has always been equivalent to giving up - which is fine if you don't want to solve the puzzle but definitely not needed to progress if you are patient.

> A game where seeing a single screenshot ruins the experience wasn't very substantial to begin with.

I don't think that follows at all, I'm currently working through Blue Prince and the way in which that game gives you information later on which completely recontextualizes things you have encountered earlier makes it so that a screenshot of something could definitely rob you of experiencing that moment, which is a big part of the joy of that game.