[Possible spoilers] For those who played Outer Wilds, what was your favourite part of the game or your most "Ha-Ha!" discovery ?
There will be spoilers for the game and the DLC in my text and the comments
If you don't want to be spoiled, play the game first, it's a really really nice game that's best when discovered
My favourite moment for the game (as for most players), was when I fetched the Warp Core and had to go to the Nomai Ship. The music made my heart beat so much, and the trip seemed so friggin long.
But my best discovery within the game is understanding how simply turning off the flashlight would be enough to make the quantum objects move. It was so satisfying discovering it for the first time.
It's a shocking revelation when you discover the sun station doesn't even do anything, when up to that point you might think to yourself that it's the sun station that causes the supernova.
Up until that point many players will have thought they could stop the supernova, that they could save everyone, they thought that was the point of the game, how you won.
To then be faced with the fact that there is no stopping it and that the star has just reached it's end.
It's like getting a bucket of ice water dropped on you realizing that there is no saving anyone, everyone will die, this system will be destroyed, this universe will end.
Accepting that end is hard, but I think the ending showing that all ending are also new beginnings, that everything is built on what came before goes a long way to letting people be ok with it.
via the teleporter on the twin. I KNEW that that one was important, but couldn't figure out how to get there, and after too much time I just looked up what to do online - that's the only puzzle I had to do that for though, luckily
It's such a shame I used online guides for some parts of the game (such as the quantum moon tower puzzle). I think if I pushed a little harder, I would have been much more satisfying !
It's still crazy to me how they thought out all of the mechanics of the game like the quantum objects not moving when observed by a photograph.
I looked up hints at a few points. Felt a bit bad about it, but on the other hand it's highly likely I'd have taken one too many and too long frustration breaks and just ended up forgetting to finish it.
That was pretty cool to discover, but I at first thought I could only apply it to pillars I could sit the lamp down on. I had to look up how to progress with the final puzzle, and only then did I realise I could place the lamp on the ground. I think it was the whole having to look practically straight down that really got me.
I think the thing that got the biggest reaction out of me was in the DLC when you figure out how to bypass the bell alarm.
spoiler
Having to burn yourself alive made my skin crawl and then walking in front of the statues and not hearing the bell, being confused for a moment, then realizing that a corpse can't hear was chilling.
I think I have to agree with you. The music on that last run was sooo good. I don't know if I've ever been more excited in a game before; my heart must've been doing 140bpm
::: Brittle Hollow spoiler
Realizing that Brittle Hollow crumbling actually results in you being able to uncover more mysteries. I always tried to find some solution before it collapsed and frenetically search for a solution that didn't even exist at the time. The simplicity of just waiting didn't even cross my mind for so long.
:::
One of my favourite discoveries was the multi-layered puzzle that is the Quantum Moon. At first I was super puzzled by why I couldn't seem to land on it, but after getting the clue to take a picture of it (from Giant's Deep, I think?), actually being able to land on it was a fantastic feeling.
From there, I found the tower and immediately tried getting to the eye, but was met by the solid wall, and that stopped my progress. I explored more of the solar system, and I remember always being confused on how to climb the tower in Brittle Hollow. One loop, I thought to myself, "hey, maybe I should wait here until it falls into the black hole." The piece fell through after quite some time, and I was able to float into the top section, which I believe reveals that you need to venture to the north of the Quantum Moon to explore the sixth location.
With this knowledge gained, I restarted the loop, went back to the Quantum Moon, utilised the tower to make my way north, and the excitement I felt when I managed to open the door to the sixth location unimpeded was immense.
Just so many things coming together for that one moment, amazing.
I think it's one of the best puzzles I've ever seen in video games, that along with the main puzzle of the game. It's so nice the developers added the Quantum moon plot, when it's not even necessary to finish the game
In the expansion, I accidentally discovered what happens when you put your lantern down and walk away... That one was easily the biggest suprise out of the whole experience!