Throughout this alternate reality are members of the alien race, who upon finding me would wake me from the dream in a sort of jumpscare moment. Most of the usual mechanics are gone, such as the ever-useful jetpack, replaced only with a strange lantern that can be concealed or focused into a beam. The latter half of Echoes of the Eye takes place within a dark dreamscape. Unfortunately, those hidden mysteries I mentioned were covered in a literal shroud of darkness, and light was a point of misery. This reliance can become a slight nuisance when holding a lantern, but otherwise felt like a neat addition to everything that came before in Outer Wilds. Fumbling in the DarkĪ lot of the minor puzzles in Echoes of the Eye rely on the usage of light, including opening doors and operating rafts. I enjoyed discovering how these slides fit into the bigger picture of why this world exists and how the information on these slides could help me solve the mysteries hidden deeper within. ![]() This provides some great narrative worldbuilding, adding yet another solar system and some backstory into the history of the eye itself. ![]() Throughout the ring are projector slides detailing the tribulations of an ancient alien race that found the eye of the universe, the primary objective of the base game. It looks neat visually to see this all happen in real time and has a neat gameplay effect of changing which areas are accessible. After enough time has passed, the dam breaks, flooding most of the ring while destroying many of the buildings. The gimmick of Echoes of the Eye’s new area involves the flowing water being held back by a dam. This scene instantly reminded me of a smaller-scaled Halo ring, albeit fully explorable.Įvery world in the base Outer Wilds does something special with its central time loop, whether it’s the tornadoes of Giant’s Deep or the sandy nature of the Ash Twins. Looking up and around me, I saw that I was on the inside of a large ring, with multiple huts scattered throughout as points of interest. Upon reaching the new area proper, I was greeted by a bright and colorful landscape as I rode down a flowing river. The separation between the good and bad parts of Echoes of the Eye is like night and day, leaving me with a feeling of dissatisfaction. Now that I’m on the other side, I’m left with a conflicted opinion. With Echoes of the Eye on the horizon, I was excited to step back into the Outer Wilds’ worlds and see what more could be added, both in terms of gameplay and narrative. ![]() Also, it's more great Outer Wilds' content, so if you love the original, this is a no-brainer.I reviewed the base Outer Wilds game a little over a year ago when it came out on Steam, and I found the process of solving the riddles of the solar system to be absolutely fantastic despite its clunky mechanics. Since this is an expansion, you do need to own the Outer Wilds to play, but it will only set you back $15. Every loop holds the promise of discovery every time I accidentally drowned in a flood or crashed my ship into the side of a planet, I started up a new loop wide-eyed and ready for another adventure.Įchoes of the Eye releases today for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. I loved hunting around the Halo world for new clues and solving environmental puzzles to uncover hidden doors. Echoes of the Eye is full of its own awe-inspiring sights. I marveled over the massive water world covered in tornados and watched in awe as a black hole tore apart a planet from the inside out. My favorite moments from the base game revolved around exploring the tiny solar system and learning about its history. I'm only a few hours into Echoes of the Eye, but I can already tell it's worth the price of admission.
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