After a particularly intense moment, I caught sight of the sky out of the corner of my eye and, somehow, was jumpscared by the sun. And there are long sections that do deliver near-constant high tension. It’s intended to be a scarier experience, even coming with a warning and option to reduce the worst of it. The samey-ness of being in one place also undermines Echoes of the Eye’s sense of mood. If a player has already completed the base game, there’s no way to jumpstart that feeling again once the location becomes familiar. Echoes of the Eye, on the other hand, is trapped by its need to be self-contained. If you’re stuck, or just in the mood for something different, jetting off to a totally new planet is not only possible but encouraged. Though revisiting Outer Wilds’ celestial bodies over and over again is a key component of the game, it usually relies on its complete open-endedness to sustain its sense of marvel. Careful study and navigation lead to moments of gasp-out-loud awe. Almost the entirety of the expansion plays out there, and finding and first exploring the area has all the joy of a fresh Outer Wilds playthrough. This thread will unravel into the discovery of a whole new location. The only clue that something has slightly changed in this otherwise endlessly preserved solar system is a new museum exhibit. In 22 minutes, the sun will explode, but for now, you’re at home.

Waking up at the campfire, a blanket of stars overhead, a rickety ship ready to take you to them. Unfortunately, more Outer Wilds is not the uncomplicated premise that it might first appear. If I was reading this review rather than writing it, that might have been where I closed the tab, satisfied that that was all I wanted. It’s more of the compelling mystery more of the moments of wide-eyed wonder and more of the thematic exploration of connectedness, curiosity, and mortality. Echoes of the Eye is an expansion that fits right into the base game, playable at any point within the narrative’s open-ended structure.

Outer wilds endings