20 Beloved Video Games No One Admits They Hated

4. Outer Wilds

Certain games are best experienced knowing absolutely nothing about them going in. Outer Wilds is most definitely one of them. With no objectives to note, and no quest markers to head towards, players are literally dropped into an ominously unsettling solar system and asked to find out what to do and where to go.  For those who don't like their hand held even slightly, and enjoy figuring things out for themselves, this is by far the game's main selling point. For everyone else, however, it's a pretty big problem to begin with.

Playing for the first time, it's easy for Outer Wilds to feel confusing or overwhelming, particularly if you aren't someone who likes to consult YouTube or an online guide to help establish your next move. Wandering around aimlessly can feel a little counterproductive, and with there being no combat to keep you busy or enemies to fight, it can also feel pretty boring as you're starting out on your journey. It certainly won't feel like everyone's idea of a good time at first, and many would've found themselves wondering how the game reviewed so strongly.

Then there's the time-loop mechanic, which sees the sun explode after 22 minutes of gameplay, effectively resetting the game. You're then forced to restart, with the additional knowledge of whatever you discovered in the previous run, but, unlike roguelikes, you don't gain any additional abilities of note. Players who needed a little guidance will have likely found this infuriating, as it doesn't allow the world to be explored at your own pace.

These gameplay elements are deliberate, of course, and Outer Wild's biggest promoters will argue this is what makes it so unique and memorable. While they aren't wrong by any means, that's not to say some first time players will have found these mechanics obtuse, and in some cases, enough of an issue for them to hate their initial experience with it. For those that perservered, though, they will have learned to appreciate how the game invites players to uncover its mysteries.