10 Mind-Bending Video Games That Will RUIN You

Beginning life as director Alex Beachum's master's thesis before being fully developed by Mobius Digital, Outer Wilds is a critically lauded puzzle game that puts exploration at the forefront.

Following a brief tutorial that introduces the basic mechanics, players are free to set off in their rickety spaceship to learn about a race of precursor aliens, whose ruins are scattered across the solar system.

The game leaves it up to players to decide where to go. Whether it's the gradually collapsing Brittle Hollow or the ominous-looking Dark Bramble, each location is brimming with discoveries that lead players in different directions. It's by tugging at each of these enticing threads that players gradually uncover the larger secrets hidden amongst the stars.

However, there's a catch. Caught within a time loop that ends when the sun goes supernova, players have 22 minutes to explore the constantly shifting environments before the loop resets. By giving players complete freedom, every puzzle solution and jaw-dropping revelation is a satisfying eureka moment that only motivates them to go further down this cosmic rabbit hole.

Upon reaching the end of this interplanetary adventure, this small title's mesmerising finale underpins just how vast and unknowable the universe is.