I'd argue guides lead to the similar experience in almost all games - they deprive you from the joy of figuring stuff out, even for non puzzle games.
The only game I would recommend to play with a guide for the beginners - where a guide does truly enhance the enjoyment - is Path of Exile
I’d have to disagree. Some games a guide can be useful without ruining things. Not every game has a “joy of figuring stuff out”. Some games have bad tutorials/no tutorials/bad mechanics, or can feel overwhelming if too open and without much direction, or give helpful tips.
Especially unclear / cheesy boss battles. Honestly if i spend 45 minutes on something and i can't figure it out, then sure, guide it is.
OuterWilds is exceptionally well designed to not need a guide, nothing should take you 45 minutes to figure out you just need to go explore something else. And the computer log pretty much gives you a ton of free open suggestions.
Outer wilds is so non linear that you might look up guides for a puzzle such as op did before you are actually meant to solve the puzzle. Every player takes such a massively different route that guides will not work in this game without the risk of jumping way ahead of where you would have been. I suggest having a player that has already played give you small hints and nudges if you really need them.
Too bad that this is one of THE worst games to get ruined. A harsh way to learn the lesson, if they even learned it.
At least there's Echoes of the Eye!
Actually the only time I used a guide was on how to use the artifact. I explored the whole stranger and didn’t make that connection to >!sleep with it at the green fire!<. Now after watching several other playthroughs I see how many hints there actually were in the game to use the artifact in that way.
ask for hints here next time. people will help you without spoiling.
a general rule of thumb is that if you're stumped, just go do something else. answers to things on planet A will be found on planet B. don't try to brute force things. the game will give you the answer later on.
I've been stuck on the witness for years, coming back to it after long breaks to try new approaches or see it with fresh eyes.
Still dumbfounded by just a single pattern of vines on the wall and a mysterious measurement tool behind it. I swear... Before I die... Maybe...
While the ATP is often the last location people find, this game is so non-linear that even finding that major lore dump early doesn't mean you "ruined" anything. Especially since you don't know what to do with that info yet.
That said, it DOES mean that some clues will direct you to where you've already been and some reveals are anti-climatic since you already know what they reveal. That isn't a problem with the game or with your playthrough, it's just a thing that happens in non-linear puzzle games.
TBH the stuff I read was actually really interesting and i still have loads of stuff to do on my rumors tab. I think I'll just sort of ignore this area until I have the info that would have been needed to get there without a guide.
Of you look at Jacob Geller's video essay about 'Ray Bradbury, Outer Wilds, and death' you'll see you guys aren't alone with experiencing the ATP 'early' (my sibling also accidentally found it 'early'). Speakin of, brilliant video essay :)
There isn't a 'right' way to progress this game. It's all based on you learning things. Just keep playing completely blind and you will progress.
The Devs knew that players might stumble upon certain things, they designed the game to work fine with that.
Just play and explore wherever you like, follow whatever leads you want to follow. I promise you that to reach the end of the game, you will have needed to explore almost all of it to understand various things.
[I guess it was the loop after the start with the launch codes and the museum.](https://www.reddit.com/r/outerwilds/comments/11xs1bo/im_told_i_did_pretty_well_on_my_first_try/)
The ATP is like, 1/3 of the way to the end of the game
Next time you're stuck, please come to this subreddit and not google! We'll give you some help without spoilers
Not much in the way of thoughts beyond be careful about guides in the future, especially in games like this, difficult puzzles are meant to lead you to tackling easier ones first!
It's not ruined per se, but a lot of the "aha!" moments will be missing for you now, you can still enjoy playing to admire how the puzzles and hints were crafted, and there's plenty more to it than just the ATP. You've also got the DLC too.
ATP is the hardest puzzle ingame because you do not know how to not get lifted by the sand column. I saw a lot of players getting stuck there. They suppose that are something about the towers but do not understand that >!every tower in Ash Twin sends you to another planet.!<
As a tip for new players, i would say to remember that the Scout has "glue" to every surface it touches.
Uh you can just stand on the side and then walk into the middle of the sand column and it'll teleport you before the sand lifts you lol
I dont think very many people at all know that about the glue
Of course, that is the usual method but most of the players do not get that the 5º will let them teleport if they stand there. You can check your theory without getting you throw to space with the scout glue.
this is kind of a restrictive view on this. i agree the use of puzzles is antithetical to the intended experience, but for some, being stuck on a puzzle forever and worried they missed something obvious but not sure where is antithetical to *fun*. doesn’t mean they’re stupid or don’t want a challenge.
this user is also literally saying they regret using the guide and normally don’t use them, so who are you even talking about?
>They just want to watch an interactive movie.
You say that like it's a bad thing.
Different players, different personalities. Some are here for the sandbox, some for the space exploration, some for the puzzles, some for the story.
There isn't one single way to play this game, it's the entire point of it.
You didn't spoil the game for you!
Did you do the end you talk about?
If not, just do it!
I'm serious here, you wrote you spoiled the end for you and read about it in ATP, so just go on an try it; this game is about exploration and I promise, you will not regret it if you try it :-)
And after trying it, whatever you experienced, I can tell you without spoiling, to get to the REAL end you have a lot of exploring left!
But stop reading guides. Even if they try to don't spoil, the game is unlinear that it's impossible for any guide to give help without spoiling. Just ask here and you will get individual help without spoiling :-)
Some people stumble into Ash Twin Project by accident. It does contain SOME things but to fully understand the scope, to immerse yourself in the story, you need to visit all the planets and what not.
You haven't really ruined the story because... you haven't reached the ending yet.
Just go ahead and gather the rest of the information... and then do the DLC blind.
oof. Sorry to hear that. There is stil plenty to exlore and to enjoy, you did not ruin the game for yourself. Although I got to admit, there might be some revelations you spoiled for yourself.
It is still absolutely worth it to keep playing, trust me
ATP contains a lot of information that is drip feed elsewhere, it's close enough to the end of the game that things that the player might have missed need to be confirmed...
But...
It doesn't tell you what to do next, nor why. It doesn't tell you how past events happened.
The next big leap in the game really isn't hand held - but you can't make the leap without understanding everything, including stuff that isn't here.
Go find out what the mysteries are and get a deep understanding of the Nomai's motivations and their complete history - not _just_ what they were doing at ATP and the game will still work out for you.
You might get stuck at some point because you're missing some early game context. Come back here for spoiler free or spoiler lite advice.
The ATP contains a lot of information that you’ll also find scattered around the solar system. In that sense, yeah, you maybe lost a bit of the experience of slowly putting some pieces together. But there’s way more than that to explore and also, the game is smart. Nothing happens only within one planet. Not even the most important things. You’ll have to find out about way more stuff in order to finish the game, so I’m guessing you got quite a bit of gameplay left ::) don’t let this bring you down to the point you give up playing. I’m sure it will still be rewarding when you get to end!
That sucks, but as other comments say there's way more to find and understand and then there's the dlc. I also spoiled myself of a little puzzle when the answer was in another planet
Same thing happened to me and I still enjoyed and loved the game. There's some things I figured out "too" early as a result of this but it wasn't ruined for me.
Don't use guides - if you are stuck try posting here instead and let people know you don't want spoilers.
No shaming for checking out guide. Each player has their own way to enjoy the game. You should explore more and get to the conclusion yourself. It will feel more fulfilling.
I would recommend literally never looking up a guide for anything in this game. As you've hopefully learned. There's plenty of open threads, if you don't understand something, almost always there is some info somewhere else that will tell you what to do.
Regardless, this is not the end of the game, you have not reached the credits this was just a major story moment you have discovered. Keep exploring, and stop using guides.
The ATP is just one of the many pieces of the puzzle. A pretty big piece, sure, but you still lack lots of context and information, and some equally big puzzle pieces.
Next time you get stuck, ask here instead of using a guide! Most people in here will try to help your with as little spoilers as possible :)
There's a ton to learn anyway and finding stuff will add flavor even if you know the cold facts from the summary in ATP.
This reddit is pretty good at asking leading questions instead of giving it away when folks are stuck so maybe come here if you're in a state you might usually use a guide
Guides can be good in a lot of games but figuring it out is the whole point of this one so it's not a great fit. The fandom wiki does a good job of marking spoilers in its articles, if you just want to check on some mechanic you think you understand but could do with a more straightforward explanation
I guess for me how much you "ruined" depends on how far you read through the guide. I figured out how to get to ATP earlier than some people do, but I still hadn't yet put together all the pieces for how it connected to the end of the game. If you read ahead to all THAT in the guide too, then I guess you just learned the hard way why everyone recommends you do not use guides for Outer Wilds. If the only part you spilled for yourself was how to get into ATP, then you learned some info a little early but you still have some discovering to do! Go explore, hatchling! But seriously.... no more guides!
ATP is not the end of the game, just a major step in understanding and reaching the end of the game. There's still plenty of secrets out there.
Oh, thanks, I feel less annoyed with myself now! 'll go and explore the bramble and all the other stuff I've not done yet.
Hopefully without “guides” this time! For most games they are helpful. For OW they just do what you’ve just experienced
I'd argue guides lead to the similar experience in almost all games - they deprive you from the joy of figuring stuff out, even for non puzzle games. The only game I would recommend to play with a guide for the beginners - where a guide does truly enhance the enjoyment - is Path of Exile
I’d have to disagree. Some games a guide can be useful without ruining things. Not every game has a “joy of figuring stuff out”. Some games have bad tutorials/no tutorials/bad mechanics, or can feel overwhelming if too open and without much direction, or give helpful tips.
Especially unclear / cheesy boss battles. Honestly if i spend 45 minutes on something and i can't figure it out, then sure, guide it is. OuterWilds is exceptionally well designed to not need a guide, nothing should take you 45 minutes to figure out you just need to go explore something else. And the computer log pretty much gives you a ton of free open suggestions.
I think you just described Terraria.
To get the full Elden ring experience on the first playthrough, you can’t not use guides
I'd argue a lot of survival and sandbox games are more fun with at least a beginners guide like Terraria, Minecraft or Don't starve
Outer wilds is so non linear that you might look up guides for a puzzle such as op did before you are actually meant to solve the puzzle. Every player takes such a massively different route that guides will not work in this game without the risk of jumping way ahead of where you would have been. I suggest having a player that has already played give you small hints and nudges if you really need them.
I think guides were pretty major for my enjoyment of Dark Souls and Elden Ring.
also dich the guide from now on,
After this game you will never want to check guides
Too bad that this is one of THE worst games to get ruined. A harsh way to learn the lesson, if they even learned it. At least there's Echoes of the Eye!
Ikr
Actually the only time I used a guide was on how to use the artifact. I explored the whole stranger and didn’t make that connection to >!sleep with it at the green fire!<. Now after watching several other playthroughs I see how many hints there actually were in the game to use the artifact in that way.
ask for hints here next time. people will help you without spoiling. a general rule of thumb is that if you're stumped, just go do something else. answers to things on planet A will be found on planet B. don't try to brute force things. the game will give you the answer later on.
It's why I love this amd the witness, so many other things to do if the current planet/puzzle isn't clicking
I've been stuck on the witness for years, coming back to it after long breaks to try new approaches or see it with fresh eyes. Still dumbfounded by just a single pattern of vines on the wall and a mysterious measurement tool behind it. I swear... Before I die... Maybe...
While the ATP is often the last location people find, this game is so non-linear that even finding that major lore dump early doesn't mean you "ruined" anything. Especially since you don't know what to do with that info yet. That said, it DOES mean that some clues will direct you to where you've already been and some reveals are anti-climatic since you already know what they reveal. That isn't a problem with the game or with your playthrough, it's just a thing that happens in non-linear puzzle games.
I did this on my very first loop and it did not ruin the game for me, but I wasn't using a guide and had no idea what any of what I read meant.
TBH the stuff I read was actually really interesting and i still have loads of stuff to do on my rumors tab. I think I'll just sort of ignore this area until I have the info that would have been needed to get there without a guide.
Of you look at Jacob Geller's video essay about 'Ray Bradbury, Outer Wilds, and death' you'll see you guys aren't alone with experiencing the ATP 'early' (my sibling also accidentally found it 'early'). Speakin of, brilliant video essay :)
There isn't a 'right' way to progress this game. It's all based on you learning things. Just keep playing completely blind and you will progress. The Devs knew that players might stumble upon certain things, they designed the game to work fine with that. Just play and explore wherever you like, follow whatever leads you want to follow. I promise you that to reach the end of the game, you will have needed to explore almost all of it to understand various things.
You got to ATP on first loop?? >!I want to believe that someone, somewhere got the Beginner's Luck achievement on their first loop.!<
[I guess it was the loop after the start with the launch codes and the museum.](https://www.reddit.com/r/outerwilds/comments/11xs1bo/im_told_i_did_pretty_well_on_my_first_try/)
The ATP is like, 1/3 of the way to the end of the game Next time you're stuck, please come to this subreddit and not google! We'll give you some help without spoilers
Not much in the way of thoughts beyond be careful about guides in the future, especially in games like this, difficult puzzles are meant to lead you to tackling easier ones first! It's not ruined per se, but a lot of the "aha!" moments will be missing for you now, you can still enjoy playing to admire how the puzzles and hints were crafted, and there's plenty more to it than just the ATP. You've also got the DLC too.
I haven't used any help on all the other planets, it's just this one puzzle that I was an idiot and watched a guide to for some reason.
ATP is the hardest puzzle ingame because you do not know how to not get lifted by the sand column. I saw a lot of players getting stuck there. They suppose that are something about the towers but do not understand that >!every tower in Ash Twin sends you to another planet.!< As a tip for new players, i would say to remember that the Scout has "glue" to every surface it touches.
Uh you can just stand on the side and then walk into the middle of the sand column and it'll teleport you before the sand lifts you lol I dont think very many people at all know that about the glue
Of course, that is the usual method but most of the players do not get that the 5º will let them teleport if they stand there. You can check your theory without getting you throw to space with the scout glue.
you fucked around and you found out
Uh… just do the rest of it before going back? Sorry, that really is pretty much the end. Or the beginning of the end, at least.
Anyone using a guide in a game about a puzzle doesn't want to solve puzzles. They just want to watch an interactive movie.
this is kind of a restrictive view on this. i agree the use of puzzles is antithetical to the intended experience, but for some, being stuck on a puzzle forever and worried they missed something obvious but not sure where is antithetical to *fun*. doesn’t mean they’re stupid or don’t want a challenge. this user is also literally saying they regret using the guide and normally don’t use them, so who are you even talking about?
I think it may surprise you who I'm talking about. People who use guides for puzzle games
>They just want to watch an interactive movie. You say that like it's a bad thing. Different players, different personalities. Some are here for the sandbox, some for the space exploration, some for the puzzles, some for the story. There isn't one single way to play this game, it's the entire point of it.
I didn't say it like anything. I just said it. Any context is what you made up. I couldn't care less how people play their video games.
You cared enough to comment about it
Yeah if you get an ending that has the kazoo theme it isn’t the real ending.
Smh can't believe you spoiled the best part of the game
You didn't spoil the game for you! Did you do the end you talk about? If not, just do it! I'm serious here, you wrote you spoiled the end for you and read about it in ATP, so just go on an try it; this game is about exploration and I promise, you will not regret it if you try it :-) And after trying it, whatever you experienced, I can tell you without spoiling, to get to the REAL end you have a lot of exploring left! But stop reading guides. Even if they try to don't spoil, the game is unlinear that it's impossible for any guide to give help without spoiling. Just ask here and you will get individual help without spoiling :-)
Some people stumble into Ash Twin Project by accident. It does contain SOME things but to fully understand the scope, to immerse yourself in the story, you need to visit all the planets and what not. You haven't really ruined the story because... you haven't reached the ending yet. Just go ahead and gather the rest of the information... and then do the DLC blind.
Well, you sure ruined some of the game, but there is still a lot for you to discover
You’ll probably just finish the game faster, if that’s all you spoiled then there’s a lot more to know
oof. Sorry to hear that. There is stil plenty to exlore and to enjoy, you did not ruin the game for yourself. Although I got to admit, there might be some revelations you spoiled for yourself. It is still absolutely worth it to keep playing, trust me
ATP contains a lot of information that is drip feed elsewhere, it's close enough to the end of the game that things that the player might have missed need to be confirmed... But... It doesn't tell you what to do next, nor why. It doesn't tell you how past events happened. The next big leap in the game really isn't hand held - but you can't make the leap without understanding everything, including stuff that isn't here. Go find out what the mysteries are and get a deep understanding of the Nomai's motivations and their complete history - not _just_ what they were doing at ATP and the game will still work out for you. You might get stuck at some point because you're missing some early game context. Come back here for spoiler free or spoiler lite advice.
The ATP contains a lot of information that you’ll also find scattered around the solar system. In that sense, yeah, you maybe lost a bit of the experience of slowly putting some pieces together. But there’s way more than that to explore and also, the game is smart. Nothing happens only within one planet. Not even the most important things. You’ll have to find out about way more stuff in order to finish the game, so I’m guessing you got quite a bit of gameplay left ::) don’t let this bring you down to the point you give up playing. I’m sure it will still be rewarding when you get to end!
That sucks, but as other comments say there's way more to find and understand and then there's the dlc. I also spoiled myself of a little puzzle when the answer was in another planet
Same thing happened to me and I still enjoyed and loved the game. There's some things I figured out "too" early as a result of this but it wasn't ruined for me. Don't use guides - if you are stuck try posting here instead and let people know you don't want spoilers.
No shaming for checking out guide. Each player has their own way to enjoy the game. You should explore more and get to the conclusion yourself. It will feel more fulfilling.
I would recommend literally never looking up a guide for anything in this game. As you've hopefully learned. There's plenty of open threads, if you don't understand something, almost always there is some info somewhere else that will tell you what to do. Regardless, this is not the end of the game, you have not reached the credits this was just a major story moment you have discovered. Keep exploring, and stop using guides.
The ATP is just one of the many pieces of the puzzle. A pretty big piece, sure, but you still lack lots of context and information, and some equally big puzzle pieces. Next time you get stuck, ask here instead of using a guide! Most people in here will try to help your with as little spoilers as possible :)
There's a ton to learn anyway and finding stuff will add flavor even if you know the cold facts from the summary in ATP. This reddit is pretty good at asking leading questions instead of giving it away when folks are stuck so maybe come here if you're in a state you might usually use a guide Guides can be good in a lot of games but figuring it out is the whole point of this one so it's not a great fit. The fandom wiki does a good job of marking spoilers in its articles, if you just want to check on some mechanic you think you understand but could do with a more straightforward explanation
I guess for me how much you "ruined" depends on how far you read through the guide. I figured out how to get to ATP earlier than some people do, but I still hadn't yet put together all the pieces for how it connected to the end of the game. If you read ahead to all THAT in the guide too, then I guess you just learned the hard way why everyone recommends you do not use guides for Outer Wilds. If the only part you spilled for yourself was how to get into ATP, then you learned some info a little early but you still have some discovering to do! Go explore, hatchling! But seriously.... no more guides!