Gameful Experiences, Unarchived podcast

Outer Wilds: Unarchived, Season 4, Episode 2

with Jeremy Andriano (Host) and Jason Boyd

Broadcast date: 12 December 2025

Writer: Jeremy Andriano

Producer: Jeremy Andriano

Outer Wilds by Mobius Digital is an exploration-based adventure game set in a cozy, at times confusing, and often dangerous solar system that the player soon discovers only has 22 minutes left to exist. However, the player is stuck in a time loop, which results in their restarting those same 22 minutes over and over again. Will that be enough time for the player to uncover the secrets of a lost civilization and perhaps save the solar system? In many ways, the mystique and success of Outer Wilds comes from the ways it blends seemingly contradictory gameplay elements and playstyles into something that feels surprising and new. Outer Wilds somehow builds a narrative that spans 300,000 years, out of gameplay sessions that always take place during the same 22 minute span of time. How it presents an ordered, clockwork solar system that, from afar, seems to spin and move in a predictable fashion, but underneath, is composed of chaotic physics. And the way the game is completely devoid of combat or conflict, but still the player-character is threatened by powerful, violent forces. Outer Wilds has grown beyond its own game, and its paratext now includes hundreds—probably thousands—of video essays that dig deep into the game, unpacking its complex plot, and often sharing profoundly personal stories of their own experiences playing.

All music clips are quoted from the Outer Wilds‘ soundtrack.

Sources and Resources

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