Outer Wilds Walkthrough

Outer Wilds Walkthrough: A Complete Guide on How to Beat the Game

Table of Contents

The premise of the Outer Wilds is straightforward: you are a young Hearthian astronaut about to embark on your first space voyage. You’re given a newly invented piece of tech: a machine that translates scripture from a now-extinct old civilization called the Nomai.

Your only mission is to go out there and use your spaceship to visit the various planets within your solar system and see if there’s anything new you can find using this new machine.

That’s it.

You’re on your own. There’s no quest marker to guide you along the way. Instead, it’s your spaceship, space suit, signal scope, a probe launcher, and this new machine that translates the scripture.

It’s your curiosity that will guide you along a path to find out what happened to this Nomai civilization, how they came to be within the solar system, and how they, unfortunately, became extinct.

So here we go. You launch your spaceship for the first time and look around you. What do I explore first? What am I supposed to do?

Fret not, my fellow Hearthian; I’m here to help. 

Welcome to a Outer Wilds Walkthrough.

My Bottom-Line Up Front

This guide will walk you through every step in your Outer Wilds journey, from your first campfire to your last. Here is a quick overview of everything you will be doing on your galactic trip:

  • PART 1 | Back at Home: meet your village, its villagers, and its moon.
  • PART 2 | Your 22-minute Short Career as an Astronaut: take your first steps into space as you explore Brittle Hollow.
  • PART 3 | Becoming a Quantum Nerd: get acquainted with the rules of quantum physics.
  • PART 4 | Exploring the Hourglass Twins, on the Clock: uncover the secrets hidden in Ember Twin and Ash Twin before you’re covered in sand.
  • PART 5 | The Missing Harmonica Guy and Intergalactic Fauna and Flora: explore Dark Bramble, find Feldspar, and learn about the uses of jellyfish.
  • PART 6 (fitting, I know) | The Quantum Moon and the 6th Location: land on the Quantum Moon, explore its changing surface, and warp to the sixth location, where you will meet Solanum.
  • PART 7 | The Missing Escape Pod and the Mothership: explore Escape Pod 3 and the Vessel and uncover the secrets of the Nomai’s arrival to this galaxy.
  • PART 8 | Why am I on a Time Loop Again?: Read about the Ash Twin Project and their (working!) warp core.
  • PART 9 | Piecing it All Together: Use the Nomai’s Vessel to end it all. Gather your friends and let go.

Outer Wilds Walkthrough: PART 1: Back at Home

Exploring the Attlerock

Timber Hearth: Fixing the Nodes, Finding the Launch Codes… and Playing Hide and Seek

Arise and explore your homeland. Enjoy a lovely chat with the four-eyed villagers, and maybe eat some marshmallows too. You can play Hide and Seek with the local children, practice being an astronaut in the Zero-G Cave, and visit the local museum.

You’ll watch this wacko PowerPoint presentation at the museum and get the launch codes from Hornfels. Now, make sure you suit up and buckle up before leaving!

Exploring the Attlerock

The first place you need to visit is Attlerock, a small asteroid orbiting your home planet. You can lock onto it and enable autopilot to get here. Once you land on this new planet, make sure you move towards the North Pole to check out the first point of interest.

The Lunar Lookout

Here, you’ll find Esker’s Signal scope Log. In case you are wondering who the heck this Esker is, well, briefly put, he is one of the first Hearthian astronauts. He is kind of a big deal.

You’ll go through Esker’s Signal scope Log and watch him transition from “Well, the folks’ instruments sure do sound nice” to “I can hear this missing guy’s harmonica, and it’s creepy.”

Esker’s Camp

You’ll eventually come across a bonfire and a lovely house. And, of course, Esker’s here too. Turns out you’ve found his camp.

It’s hard to leave this lonely old man, especially after he asks you not to. But adventure calls out for you, and you might want to have a look at what awaits you at the South Pole.

The Signal Locator

This device is used to lock into the nearby planets. If you move the balls towards a planet in the device, you’ll be able to get a better look at it. The device works perfectly for all planets except for one.

Head downstairs and use your translator to read that the device does not work correctly to track the signal from the “Eye of the universe.” By the way, you can refill your oxygen with the tree nearby.

PART 2: Your 22-minute-short Career as an Astronaut

Riebeck's Camp

Exploring Brittle Hollow: Riebeck’s Camp

You’ll probably want to start by exploring Riebeck’s Camp, as his notes give you a good idea of what to expect on this planet. To reach him, you must land at the Tower of Quantum Knowledge.

Once you’re done reading, you can head downstairs and get acquainted with a new mechanic: crystals that let you walk on the walls as long as you’re near them.

This is where Brittle Hollow requires you to wear your platformer suit to uncover all its mysteries. First, follow the crystals until you find a new signal and hear a banjo. Then, follow his signal frequency until you find him, the banjo man himself. He’ll give you some tips on which landmarks are interesting. 

We are not done exploring this history-rich landmark, but to progress with the story, there is an item you need. Unfortunately, the quickest way to get it is to warp to the White Hole… and the best way to get there is to get sucked by Brittle Hollow’s black hole.

You probably noticed it lurking in the center of the planet and decided it was best not to jump towards it, but now’s the time. Just do it!

Going Down the White Hole

You should enjoy your stay while you are here. Don’t worry; you can get out.

This place is quite dark, but a pentagon-shaped window with bright colors should stand out amongst the darkness. Make your way to it and get in. Solve the puzzle by simply moving this ball to the northernmost part of the wall.

Behind it, you’ll find a ton of Nomai writing. You’ll learn that this is a Warp Station and, just like the Nomai did, you can use it to teleport back to Brittle Hollow. You’ll also come across something important: the Ember Twin projection stone. 

Now that you have gathered everything you need, it’s time to return. Move the ball of light into one of the two diamond-shaped triggers, head to the transported elevators, and see that the symbol on the walls starts to rotate.

The goal is to get the rotating arrow to point towards the Brittle Hollow symbol. Once that’s done, just stand in the middle of the platform and von voyage!

Learning History at the Northern Glacier

You must head towards the North Pole of Brittle Hollow to find this place. Here’s where you’ll find even more fuel and a unique Nomai Ruin. In this area, you’ll start finding a couple of weird things.

If you scan the floating ring with your translator, you’ll find the times of someone’s arrival and departure. What’s weird is that the arrival occurs a second before the departure.

Up the stairs and behind the elevator that leads to the Hanging City, you’ll come across some peculiar Nomai writings. First, they share the successful history of the first warp between Brittle Hollow and the White Hole.

However, this issue regarding the arrival and departure times raises their Nomai eyebrows, and they ask to run some diagnostics at the White Hole.

Turn to your left and head downstairs to find two peculiar columns. One of them seems to have a hole, while the other has a Brittle Hollow symbol. Guess what goes into this hole? That’s right, the Projection Stone you just found in the White Hole. 

Uncovering the Nomai’s Origins in Escape Pod 1

Near the equator, your Signal scope will pick up a weird signal. If you are so brave to get off your ship to investigate it, you might as well stay buckled up because you are in for a ride.

Head inside the escape pod and explore it. After solving a simple enough ball puzzle and breaking the emergency escape hatch, you’ll have some platforming to do.

You’ll eventually end up in an Old Nomai settlement. The Nomai protected themselves against the Hollow’s Lantern by hiding in this place. They are the ones that created gravity crystals to commute safely from one place to another. If you follow them without falling, you’ll end up in the Hanging City.

The Hanging City

Welcome to the Hanging City. It’s divided into four levels, which can be traversed by walking on the walls or using an elevator.

  • Level 1: School District
  • Level 2: Meltwater District
  • Level 3: Eye Shrine District
  • Level 4: Black Hole Forge District

Unlocking the Black Hole Forge District

In the second district, you’ll come across two gigantic spiral stairs leading to a control room. A switch is at the center, and you are tempted to trigger it. When you do, the Black Hole Forge will make its way back to the top of the Hanging City.

Cool. So, the thing seems to be up and running. How do you get there, you say? Oh, you need to uncover an entirely new planet for that. Time to fly your raggedy ship once more!

Flying to Your First Hourglass Twin: Ash Twin

Over time, Ash Twin’s surface changes. Throughout the 22-minute loop, sand will drain from Ash Twin and fill Ember Twin.

Once the planet is not covered in sand, make your way to a square-shaped building. If that isn’t descriptive enough, how about this: it’s got a cactus on top.

As the sand drops, a gravity wall will become visible. It would help if you used it to access a room with yet another black hole teleporter. I wonder if it’s connected to the black hole in Brittle Hollow. You will be teleported directly into the Black Hole Forge if you are brave enough to jump into the nothingness.

The Black Forge Itself

This might blow your mind, but you are upside down now. The crystals hold you in place, but if you lift your feet from the ground to, let’s say, jump, you’re done for.

Now you get to witness the fourth district of the Nomai. Did they make black holes here? They did transfer cores to ensure black hole transportation was possible. You’ll also hear of the Ash Twin project and the High Energy Lab for the first time.

Leave this place behind to explore the southern region of Brittle Hollow.

Uncovering the Nomai’s Past at the Tower of Quantum Knowledge

In case you hadn’t noticed, Brittle Hollow’s Moon, Hollow Lantern, is destroying the planet with its raining meteors. Your path to the Tower of Quantum Knowledge has been destroyed thanks to this terrible weather. It just seems that everything these meteor-rain touches crumbles to pieces and falls into the Black Hole!

I guess the Tower of Quantum Knowledge could also fall into it, right?

Land on top of the Tower of Quantum Knowledge and, as suicidal as it may sound, wait for Hollow Lantern to hit the tower and drive it towards the black hole.

After quite the trip, you’ll find the Tower of Quantum knowledge flying across the galaxy. Make your way to it, and inside it, you’ll find two deciphers to unlock vital plot information about the Quantum Moon and the sixth location.

Reaching the Southern Observatory

This is the last place you must uncover in Brittle Hollow… and the hardest to reach.

Land on the Tower of Quantum Knowledge once again, but instead of hanging around waiting for a devilish moon to blow you to pieces, descend until you reach the bottom.

These transporter beams will come in handy. Use your jets to jump from one platform to the next to reach the Southern Observatory. Then, use gravity crystals to climb up and out of the ghost matter and into an area covered in ice.

A secret path will take you underground, where you’ll find a transporter beam that will get you through the ice ceiling.

Soaking Up on this Place’s History

Now that you have made it here, you better take advantage of it. Decipher every Nomai writing you can. You’ll learn of another planet: Giant’s Deep. There are two cyclones on Giant’s Deep: counter-clockwise and clockwise. Counter-clockwise cyclones shoot you beneath the surface and past the current. 

PART 4: Underwater Astronaut 101

Orbital Probe Cannon

Giant’s Deep is a planet consisting of murky waters, small islands, and countless water cyclones. It’s an intimidating planet to land on.

Arriving at the small islands, you see a camp. This is Gabro’s Island. Speaking to him, you learn you’re not the only person repeating the day.

Gabriel himself saw a Nomai statue similar to the one you saw, and now he is repeating the same 22 minutes. This gives you a lot to think about. You’re not the only person experiencing a time loop.

Learning about Nomai Devices

Explore the planet’s surface with your ship until you come across a glowing, orange S right next to a black hole teleporter.

The door is locked, sure, but there’s a gravity crystal path you can follow to get into the building. Underneath the surface, you’ll find a cave full of text to decipher.

Remember the statue back at Timber Hearth’s Museum? In this cave, it’s explained that it’s a device used by the Nomai to record memories later relayed into the Ash Twin Project to whomever the statue is paired with. The Nomai used this device to perfect the Ash Twin Project.

Uncover the Truth about the Orbital Probe Cannon

The last island on Giant’s Deep: a construction yard, one of the most important buildings on the planet. It’s notable because of the distinct structure sticking out from the water. 

A device known as the Orbital Probe Cannon was being built here. The same station you see exploding at the start of each loop. In a stroke of genius, the Nomai realized they could use the natural cyclones to throw built components into space.

A piece of the orbital cannon somehow managed to sink to the core of Giant’s Deep. Since then, the Canon project has been put on indefinite hiatus.

You just arrived in orbit, and the station is in ruin. When the cannon fired, the station was torn apart. What activated the probe cannon after its long hiatus? And why did they allow the station to be overpowered as they knew it would be destroyed?

It’s also revealed that the probe’s results can only be viewed from the probe tracking module. Unfortunately, the same module sank to the bottom of Giant’s Deep. Darn. I guess you did all this exploration for naught.

PART 3: Becoming a Quantum Nerd

The Tower of Quantum Trials

Now might be an excellent time to pursue your Quantum studies. First, let’s head to the Ember Twin, the other sand-covered sibling.

Getting to Know Chert

Listen, I said the next step would be to study Quantum physics. But since you are here already, you might as well visit your fellow explorer Chert. He’s right at the north pole, playing his drums, and thrilled to share that the stars are dying. So much for paying him a lovely visit.

Learning the Second Rule of Quantum Physics

Whip out your signal scope and look for quantum frequencies. Right at the south of Chert’s camp, you’ll come across a quantum rock that just vanishes whenever you’re not looking. There’s some Nomai writing that doesn’t vanish, though, and shares the story of an archeologist who went missing while chasing these rocks.

The Final Exam: The Tower of Quantum Trials

The next point of interest you should head to the right after having your mind blown is The Tower of Quantum Trials. Here, you’ll learn the first rule of Quantum Objects. If you go inside one of the swirling tornadoes, you will be spat out into the galaxy.

But, crashing your ship into the biggest of them will get you inside the Tower of Quantum Trials. The purpose of these trials is to learn more about quantum physics. You’ll need to head into the hole beneath the archway to get started.

The First Trial

Here’s where you’ll learn that quantum objects move when you don’t look at them. You probably found the wandering arch, but it kept slipping away. The solution is relatively straightforward: keep your Eye on it as you walk toward it.

Second Trial

This trial will teach you that looking at a picture of a quantum object is the same as actually looking at the object itself. The arch seems to be unreachable until you internalize this rule. Photograph the arch with your Scout, hold the picture, and walk towards it. Good job! Down the arch hole, you go.

Third Trial

This one’s a bit trickier. There’s a gravity crystal to climb walls and an arch. Both are made of Quantum, so they’ll move when you’re not looking.

So, step one is to place your Scout in the opposite direction of the crystal and photograph it. Then, look away from the arch until it appears at the same spot as the crystal. Finally, photograph them together and make your way to the last trial.

Fourth Trial

This time, the game has taken it upon itself to tell you it’s hard. For the last trial, you’ll have to climb a giant wall using gravity crystals. Keep looking away from the crystals until they position themselves above the other on the same wall. Take out your Scout and photograph them.

Walk to the second crystal and, while keeping an eye on it, look around until the crystal below appears above you. All that’s left is to photograph these two, climb to the top and go down the last arch hole.

You have beat all of the Quantum Trials; the Nomai congratulate you!

PART 4: Exploring the Hourglass Twins, on the Clock – Exploring Ember Twin

Finding Escape Pod 2

Finding Escape Pod 2

You’ll see a glowing beam next to ship wreckage as you re-explore the surface or Ember Twin. This is Escape Pod 2. Through Nomai writings, you’ll find out that many survived the crash.

As you did in Brittle Hollow, break the hatch to make your way to the depths of Ember Twin. Ensure you follow the instructions left by the Nomai to avoid getting lost.

Here’s the short version:

Walk forward until you reach the landfall, turn left, and keep walking until you reach a room full of rock columns. Look up until you find an opening, and keep following that path until you find new writings.

Jump the broken bridge and walk past the sand column. A note will tell you that the sand is falling and will quickly fill up the place. Jump the gap and walk through another sand column. Ta-da! The Sunless City stands before you.

The Sunless City: hey, did Anyone Turn off the Lights?

The Sunless City is full of points of interest for you to uncover.

Anglerfish Overlook District

After understanding the Nomai writing, you’ll know what to do.

Step 1: Return to the Overlook and shoot your Scout into the Anglerfish Fossil’s mouth as the first step.

Step 2: Head to the Steppingstone District using the light switches near the trees, then make your way through the caves until you can see the light beaming inside the top of the Anglerfish Mouth.

You may read letters close to the fossil on the ground that reveals an essential fact about anglerfish: they are blind and can only attack what they hear.

High Energy Lab District

To uncover a stairway leading to the High Energy Lab at the base of the Sunless City, choose the light switch for the High Energy Lab Trailhead from the light switches in the Sunless City.

Continue down the route and the building it leads to until you see a blue light cord coming out of the structure and under a switch-operated door.

Use the switch to unlock the door, then follow the blue cord until it leads to a landfall with a wall of cacti rising above it. Pass it by and continue down the crooked road until you reach another upward transporter you must cautiously boost into.

The High Energy lab is a vital place. This is where the Nomai were experimenting on black holes, warp drives and why toast always lands face down. All the important stuff happens here.

They made a crucial discovery that items sent through a black hole appear through a white hole a tiny fraction of a second before they leave the black hole. In essence, a very mild form of time travel. 

The Eye Shrine District and The Stepping Stone District

These two areas are worth a visit, but you won’t find much besides Nomai scripts inside them. In the Eye Shrine district, you’ll learn more about the Nomai’s adoration of the Eye.

Exploring Ash Twin

Getting to the Sun Station

As you orbit the Ash Twin, keep an eye out for the Ember Twin. Continue to move about and keep an eye out for a gear-shaped structure to emerge from the sand.

Just be sure to position your ship’s landing zone slightly north or south of the equator to prevent it from being sucked up by the sand and landing on a different planet.

You can’t enter via the first door that appears on the tower since the lock is broken. Instead, turn around and wait for an open entrance to appear on the tower’s other side.

The inside space is covered in cacti. You’re highly unlikely to survive without tearing your suit. However, you’ll have enough time to fix it in a few seconds and use trees to refuel your oxygen tanks.

Follow the hallway around to the left after taking the first right. You’ll find an elevator beam leading up on the side of the room where you entered from the opposite direction.

To enter the beam and ride it up, jump over the cactus. Then, in the center of the room, take a position on the blue glass teleportation pad.

Watch the sky and wait for the sun to rise. Then, you’ll be warped to the Sun Station.

Trying Not to Get Burned to a Crisp

On the Sun Station, search for a gravity wall that leads you upwards. Follow it to the top and then leap to the following gravity wall. In the end, read the entire Nomai script before blowing the door open with the blue ball lock. Then, of course, you may just jetpack right through the door.

Near the top of the tower across from you is a small door with yellow chevrons you aim for. Read the Nomai scroll inside, which is to your right.

This chamber has a wall that climbs, although you are not required to do so. There is nothing to find or read but a great overlook as you follow the wall. Instead, descend via the floor slit. The room you started the tower in will be perpendicular to where you ended up because of another gravity wall.

As soon as the room opens, stay against the right wall. Next, seek the benches in the large window’s center.

From the area next to the Nomai skeleton, pick up the Ash Twin Projection Stone. Take it to an adjacent wall and study the entire Nomai script to discover the flaws of the Sun Station.

Let’s do that because it’s implied in the screenplay that the Nomai should go back to the Ash Twin. Walk back to the warp pad.

You can find out inside that this station was built to make the sun in this solar system go supernova, thereby, fictitiously, producing the energy required for the time interval experiment and the launch of the Orbital Probe.

But as you discover via translation, the experiment was a failure.

PART 5: The Missing Harmonica Guy and Intergalactic Fauna and Flora

Exploring the Dark Bramble

Exploring the Dark Bramble

While Dark Bramble is a dangerous, treacherous, and perplexing planet, it is a vital stop to learn more about this galaxy’s mysteries.

When you listen via the Signal scope and concentrate on Dark Bramble, you can hear Feldspar playing his harmonica somewhere within Dark Bramble.

Fly into one of the bright crevices of the black bramble to get to him. Several brilliant white lights will appear there. However, be on the lookout since a giant, angry anglerfish in this area will approach you and eat you if it hears even the slightest disturbance.

Anglerfish are blind and, as a result, only respond to sound, according to the fossilized remains of an anglerfish discovered in the Sunless City on Ember Twin.

With this knowledge in hand, use your ship’s jets as you move slowly but steadily toward the Signal scope’s origin.

You’ll eventually reach a seed with several glowing entrances. But, first, you must navigate the weird Dark Bramble, which features room after room of bright lights. Fire your Scout within this seed before entering, and then go inside.

You’ll see that the Scout has dispersed into three distinct signals once you’re inside. Making as little noise as you can, move forward toward the one on the extreme left. Once you get there, enter directly; a scout is not necessary this time.

An anglerfish fossil will be waiting for you on the other side. The legendary explorer Feldspar can be found inside this fossil!

Backtrack to the flickering light in the fog as you pass through the corpse of the anglerfish. Feldspar’s wrecked ship will be there, along with the hollow vine it fell through.

As you move inside the jellyfish, you’ll discover that the electric current around Giant’s Deep’s Core won’t affect you while you’re in one of the atrocities.

Hey, this info should come in handy on your next expedition!

Entering Giant’s Deep Core

To reach the core, you must implement your knowledge of the counter-clockwise tornado, which launches you downwards.

Once through, you see that another impassable wall protects the core, this time an electric one, with jellyfish regularly passing through. You must get out of your ship, jet the jellyfish, and ride from the inside past the electric wall.

This was a bit of a brain scratcher for me because touching the top of the jellyfish will hurt the player, but the tentacles don’t, which is the polar opposite of how jellyfish work in real life.

I just assume that if the head hurt the player, the whole body would. But waiting inside the jellyfish was mad tense, mainly because my head kept clipping through his body, and I was convinced it would glitch out and fry my brain.

The core of the planet. It’s dark; it’s eerie. There’s a little sound that’s even less inviting. Exploring, you find the missing cannon part: the probe tracking module.

And here you learn that the Eye of the Universe has been located. The coordinates are now in your possession in the form of three separate symbols. This is huge.

PART 6 (Fitting, I Know): The Quantum Moon and the 6th Location

Getting to the Quantum Moon

Now it’s time to head for one of the last locations of your journey and one of the most challenging locations to reach: the Quantum Moon. It changes location every time you look away from it, even if you stare at it the whole time.

When you fly into its surface, you’ll end up going straight through the Moon, and it will disappear.

Getting to the Quantum Moon

The first challenge is how to get there. The average betas will log its every move, work out a movement pattern, and predict where it will land. Then, natural alphas will fly over to Giant’s Deep, play a game of red light and green light, and then it will appear.

The surface of the Moon is small, and all the objects on the surface will randomly teleport around you. After exploring for a while, this tower will appear. There’s a switch at the back that turns lights off and on.

You can use this to make the moon jump between planets. Whatever planet the Moon is currently orbiting, the Moon’s surface will take on its properties. 

After jumping around the galaxy, you eventually arrive at the 6th location outside the Eye of the Universe, following the twisted path to discover a shocking sight: Solanum. They are the last Nomai in existence. A Nomai that’s been trapped on the Quantum Moon for an unknown period.

They explained that they have no idea how long they’ve been on the Quantum Moon, but they’re pretty sure they’re technically dead. They’re a quantum version of themselves.

The Eye of the Universe appeared to be the starting point of all life and existed before the galaxy’s formation. This person considers you friends. What a cutie patootie.

Exploring the Eye of the Universe

Talk to ancient Nomai? Check. There’s only one thing left to do: jump into the clouds of the Eye of the Universe.

Unfortunately, you don’t land in the Eye. Instead, you land on another part of the Moon with the corpse of a Nomai traveler. It changes position every time you look away, and I still can’t decide if that’s hilarious or terrifying.

In any case, it’s time to get some answers. So, to the Dark Bramble, you go.

PART 7: The Missing Escape Pod and the Mothership

Uncovering the Secrets of the Nomai’s Arrival

Explore the surface of Dark Bramble once more until you find the third escape pod. Then, in the same manner as you did the first time, approach the central area of Dark Bramble.

Set the frequency of the distress beacon on your signal scope inside. Your goal will be on your right if you don’t roll too much.

The signal will shift down and slightly to the right inside the next seed you encounter.

Pay attention to your signal scope, and keep your engines only slightly adjusted when necessary. When you get to Escape Pod 3, turn around and go inside from the back. Continue inside after checking the floating Nomai recording.

After reading everything on the Nomai computer, descend farther to blow open the escape pod’s door. Just before you go, read one more Nomai recording. The Nomai left a trail of lights that led to their following location.

Nothing comes as close as landing on the Sun Station but getting to the Vessel isn’t that far either. You should follow the signal from the Nomai Grave until you find a burning red seed.

Some anglerfish are waiting for you on the other side of this seed, so take baby steps. You have to be patient and cautious to get through them.

Ensure the instruments on your engines never light up more than one notch. Even before they light up even one notch, you can move. You’ll have to start over if you get eaten.

When your scout signals to go to another seed, do so. Pass through it and keep going in the direction of the signal to get to the Vessel. Near where your Scout landed, there is a tunnel in the side that leads to the entrance.

There are two surfaces inside—a flat one and a curved one. The control room of the Vessel is accessible through this tube. Unfortunately, numerous perplexing controls in this area are inactive at the time. You can see the fractured warp core of the Vessel in the room’s center if you gaze there.

To reach the second floor, use the spiral staircases. There are two Nomai-scripted walls to translate.

PART 8: Why am I on a Time Loop Again?

Learning about the Ash Twin Project

Learning about the Ash Twin Project

Back at Ash Twin, head to the Ash Twin Towers and unlock the main door. Then, keep an eye out for the Ember Twin as you continue across the bridge.

Our next stop is at the towers that you reach after that. Turn to the tower on the left as you get to the towers. Ride the elevator beam to the tower’s summit after ascending the spiral ramp to the right of the entryway.

Jump over the opening, then grab the scroll from the nearby shelf. Retract your steps to the elevator beam’s base. To get to the other tower, cross the bridge.

Drop down through as there is no roof on this one. Go back and read the Nomai scroll at the other tower. Stand outside once more beneath the bridge that connects the two skyscrapers.

The Ember Twin’s sand column won’t pick you up beneath the bridge.

Keep waiting for the Ember Twin to arrive here. Then, step onto the warp pad in the damaged tower when the sand column is directly overhead.

Continue after reading the Nomai computer in front of each mask. Then, as you continue along the walkway, read the entire Nomai lettering along the wall on your left to discover more about Nomai’s numerous initiatives around the solar system.

A projection stone wall will be on your right after the script wall.

Pick up and read the Giant’s Deep, Brittle Hollow and Timber Hearth Projection Stones, and the Probe Tracking Module.

Although much of this information has already been published elsewhere, these stones also include new notes.

The large one opens the containment barriers surrounding the warp core of the project. The project’s artificial gravity can be turned on and off using the more miniature switch to the side. The one can be helpful if, for example, you ever need to get hold of that warp core in the future.

Once you’ve finished reading everything, use the warp pad to return to the Ash Twin Towers.

A much-needed, Quick Recap of what Just Happened

So, these last two places might have easily made your brain supernova. In short, the Nomai were brought into the star system in search of the Eye. Unfortunately, their ship crashed in the Dark Bramble, forcing them to settle in your star system.

But, driven by an obsession with knowledge and scientific progression, the gnome fixated on finding the Eye at some point; they developed the ability to store memories by linking their brains with machines simultaneously.

While creating their warped rise, the Nomai discovered that objects sent through a black hole would appear slightly before they departed. This is where they came up with the genius idea of creating a device with a powerful enough warp core to send something back in time by 22 minutes.

This idea matched up perfectly with the Nomai’s plan to create an orbital cannon that could shoot a probe into deep space to find the Eye.

While it was initially impossible due to its extremely low probability of success and high energy costs, they could theoretically fire the probe an infinite number of times without a single second passing by launching the probe and sending the results back in time.

The problem is that this device requires so much power that only the energy generated from a sun going supernova would suffice.

So, while the Nomai built the Ash project and the Orbital Cannon, the rest of the species began work on the Sun Station, building a device capable of forcing the sun to supernova.

Just as the Orbital Cannon was created and the Ash Twin Project was complete, the Sun station has concluded a disaster; it won’t work. They couldn’t cause the sun to go supernova at the same time the Interloper arrived in the galaxy and an instant. The entire race was extinct for generations.

The Orbital Cannon and Ash Twin Project lay stagnant, forgotten by time, until the sun, through the end of its natural life cycle, went supernova and inadvertently kickstarted this complex procedure, which by sheer chance, you’re entangled.

PART 9: Piecing it All Together

Outer Wilds Eye of the Universe

Replacing the Broken Warp Core

Time for some math: a working warp core in the Ash Twin Project + a massive Vessel in the Dark Bramble + the coordinates for the Eye of the Universe itself = the game’s ending. That only leaves one option: stealing the working warp core and making your way to the Dark Bramble.

By taking this core, you are making an active choice. You’re choosing to end all life. Your friends and the home world will all be wiped from existence. When you take that core, you’re accepting that fate and causing it.

Flying across space for the final time. The music we’ve come to love and loathe kicks in, except this time is not bittersweet. You know this is the last time you’ll hear it. It plays as a last farewell to the star system. I’m not crying. You are.

Flying to the Eye of the Universe

The first order of business is replacing the broken warp core to get this bitch moving. The device at the front deck is where the coordinates must be inserted.

The ones you discovered are at the core of Giant’s Deep. These three shapes have to be drawn with the ball. Doing this will activate the jump to the Eye of the Universe.

The coordinates being a shape system is pretty weird. It’s a primitive design for an advanced alien race. Nevertheless, it’s the only plausible way to allow your species, who have no idea how the technology works, to pilot an ancient spacecraft. So, I’ll suspend belief. Who cares? You have an eye to see.

Two thousand years of planning from a long-dead civilization and an unknown amount of time from a lone wanderer have led to this moment.

Lightning strikes constantly hit the ground, bringing objects in and out of sight from around the galaxy. So, arriving at this bizarre structure and much like the Quantum Moon, you hedge your bets and decide the best course of action is to jump into the storm in the sky.

Back at (Quantum) Home

You suddenly appear at a quantum version of the museum is used to the same effect as the long wall of dialogue in the Ash Twin project. 

Then, you’re dropped into a forest with a campfire; you see your old buddy Esker from the Attlerock. This is the last puzzle of the game.

Using your scanner, you can find the signals from multiple instruments, the same ones all the different adventurers are using when you find them in the galaxy. Tracking and grabbing each instrument brings its owner to the campsite. 

All your friends are recreated around this campfire, each ready to play their instrument. It’s one of those sad but cute full-circle moments. The few people you meet along the way are all here, and it’s time for the end.

Quite literally. It appears that time is up for the whole galaxy. By viewing this quantum object and closing every reality, we’ve created a big bang, the same one that formed your universe billions of years ago.

In the final scene, you see new life forming with new planets forming. And in the last instance, you see a new primitive life form gathered around a fire pit, staring into space. It’s a circle of life and death.

FAQs

Question: What is Outer Wilds about?

Answer: Outer Wilds is a space exploration game set in the final minutes of a dying solar system.

Question: Is the Content in Outer Wilds Randomly Generated?

Answer: This is not a title whose elements are generated randomly, which is common in similar games. Instead, here we have a solar system with a series of planets -and their respective moons- that we can explore freely, but they are always the same and are located at specific coordinates.

Question: How to Save Your Game in Outer Wilds?

Answer: Every time the loop activates, the game automatically saves, but there is no other method to save your progress.

Parting Words

Here ends your journey, which started so innocently. With your maiden space voyage, you visited many inspiring locations, solved mysteries of a peace-loving civilization that had gone long silent, and gained valuable knowledge throughout many time loops.

You were unlucky enough to be born close to the end of the entire universe, yet fortunate enough to be able to celebrate its conclusion together with friends.

And, of course, ultimately assist in creating a new iteration of what it means to be a conscious observer in a mysterious theories universe.

Outer Wild tells a tragic tale of cosmic coincidence and, ultimately, how insignificant you are among the grand schemes of the universe. But it’s more than that. It’s a game about hope, the beauty of discovery, and the importance of enjoying your limited time.

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