Nature’s Harsh Truths in Outer Wilds and Rain World
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- čas přidán 19. 01. 2022
- Kat explores how Outer Wilds and Rain World convey the fearsome power of nature, encourage humility and respect for nature, and depict the cycle of civilisational death and rebirth. Video contains spoilers for both games.
Patreon: patreon.com/pixeladay
Twitter: @pixel_a_day
Transcript: bit.ly/pixeladay_naturesharsh...
Thank you to Razbuten for providing his voice: / razbuten
A special thanks to patron Michael Coolwood who due to a technical difficulty didn't get a shout out in the end credits!
All game footage capped by me
Music used in this episode:
Space - Andrew Prahlow
Sundown Theme - James Primate
The Nomai - Andrew Prahlow
Threat (Shoreline) - James Primate
Threat (Outskirts) - James Primate
The Museum - Andrew Prahlow - Hry
If you like what I do please consider throwing me a bit of money on Patreon, check out the tiers and benefits here: www.patreon.com/pixeladay
you forgot to mention the trade/money system of scavengers in rain wold. or mention how the only reason they spear you is because they are in the same situation you are in
In my opinion, the worst thing the ancients in rain world did, is deliberately going extinct, leaving their concious supercomputers to slowly and painfully die.
What's even more ironic, they all used a method of escaping cycle of life, which to not use they actually built said computers
I'm sold: we gotta take down nature
It's gotten away with far too much for far too long
Oh man Rain World really needs some coverage from a bigger youtuber like you Jacob! Maybe something like "Fear of Nature" since predators in RW are so well animated that they trigger a primal fight of flight instinct to the player!
Damn jacob is a rain world enjoyer possibly? based
@@hiphyro After this video I hope so! Also, Videocult recently announced a DLC for Rain World!
@@manigoldo8736 yeah I know, I’m pretty excited too
I bought Rainworld as soon as I finished watching this video, as a fan of Outer Wilds you completely sold me on it. Excellent video!
Oh! Good luck to you, man! :D And some reassurance I wish I had when starting-- if you're finding general movement challenging, it opens up considerably the more you experiment and learn, it's odd... and initially heavy and weird feeling, but incredibly in-depth if you give it some time.
There are many mods that I would 100% not shame you for using just for small improvements, for instance the reliable slide mod
Hey!! As someone who's played for a year now, I want to let you know that there's a movement guide on a google document with literally everything you need to beat the game (and some fun little tricks, too!). There's also a full map somewhere that you can use to navigate easier, and a whole wiki about the creatures and regions. I wouldn't recommend using the wiki or the map until you've had a good chunk of time to explore for yourself. The game's really friggin' tough, but it's GOOD. best of luck playing! ^^
Welcome! We all hate Rain World with a passion!
(Resets Hunter save file to do it again)
Good luck, its really hard.
One of my favorite dichotomies of Outer Wilds is that the inescapable supernova means that you have a strict time limit on each loop and therefore must be decisive and efficient in order to make progress, but the time loop also makes it so that you have _all the time in the world_ .
In the moment, taking too long to get into the Sunless City means that the entrance to the High Energy Lab is now inaccessible and you've failed if exploring it was your goal...but no failure is final. (Well, there is one "real" and "final" failure, but the developers were kind enough to not punish it too harshly.)
Yes! I don't think I've ever had a game confer such a sense of urgency while also making me feel kind of Zen.
You'd better run if you want to get to that angler fish skeleton but if you don't make it in time, you can just try again. Are you low on oxygen and watching your ship float away into space, faster than you can hope to follow? No need to panic: death is coming, and life too.
rain world does the same exact thing!
you have a random amount of time before the rain comes, and if you die you go back in time pretty much to where you last slept
both games have an in-game lore explanation for the respawning too, very cool!!
(sorry if the video mentioned this already)
Nature in rain world is crazy. I once had a moment where a lizard came out a pipe with a huge flying centipede in its mouth and it crawled into an adjacent pipe going upwards offscreen, then few seconds later it Randomly falls with the centipede from somewhere uphigh into a massive pit offscreen then finally the flying centipede gracefully flied back onto the screen free from the lizard. The game feels so alive and vast.
I've been writing a Rain World video for quite awhile now. Its one of my absolute favorite games, and I find it so completely underrated. One of the things I find fascinating about Rain World is the way it combines beauty and brutality. Rain World is a BRTUTAL game, and its the reason why so many people bounce off the game, but I also think that the brutality of the game is why its so beautiful. Getting through a harsh and unrelenting area only to find something vast and incomprehensible is incredible if it happens once, but Rain World makes it happen again and again. Without spoiling the ending for those who haven't played it, when I first stumbled into the final area, it was such a surreal experience. It was the only place in the game that felt totally hollow and empty, aside from the light that kept trickling through from the world above like fireflies. Its empty, until it isn't. When I discovered the creatures there, I knew they weren't to be trifled with. They made me feel a fear that no other game enemy made me feel. And same with the other creatures. So many of these things are so vastly outside of your control that all you can hope to to is to squeak by and hope they don't notice. Rain World is a game with such brutality, but because it is brutal, it's beautiful. Rain World doesn't deserve to be as obscure as it is, but hopefully a few people who watch this video will play it. Great video!
It's brutal, beautiful, but mostly TERRIFYING. HELP I CAN'T GET PAST THE SPIDERS lol
It's seriously one of my favorite games and I'm no where near completing it. I think the spider area is only the 3rd area, depending on which route you take.
If you can't get past the spiders may I suggest randomly finding a red glowing rock lying on the ground, it really does help
@@PixelaDay On my first playthrough I made the same mistake, however I never found a lantern and had to rely on the map.
@@PixelaDay Well the first problem in me not continuing is the game really takes a sharp turn right into blatantly horrifying lol. But yeah, I tried using the little mouse lanterns. Haven't found any glowing rocks though.
@@DesignFrameCaseStudies there is a way to finish the game without going through the spider zone (Shaded citadel).
But it's kinda complicated, nothing tooo hard, but still, it's not easy
Humanity is often so obsessed with separating ourselves from nature. We have removed ourselves from the food chain and invented central heating, but in the end nature will always still have the final say. It's good sometimes to humble ourselves with the knowledge of just how small and weak the universe knows we are.
Very nice piece Kat :) I'll be rewatching from time to time I can already tell
YO! Outer Wilds and Rain World sit comfortably at the top of my favorite games of all time, you have no idea how good it is seeing a video essay on the two, together, haha
The almost completely hands-off approach both these games give you is something I treasure, gives you such a raw feeling of adventure.
"Rain World pits you into the deep end and then stands there watching you drown" is so true lol. I absolutely love how real and alive these worlds are, like you said. I want more games like these for sure. Also, your comparison to Alone is awesome. Great job.
I know I'm not nearly as popular as Razbuten but you may enjoy my Outer Wilds commentary. I normally wouldn't mention this kind of stuff but it's a complete design analysis of the entire game that I'm quite proud of.
But anyway, keep up the good work!
You've piqued my interest...
@@dylanschleben5558 I'm glad! A lot of work went into it! 😄
Haven't played Outer Wilds in an age, and hearing the breathing at the start of the video was a genuine shock to the system. Like, the chills were real.
And now, I just found out that the Rain World devs just got back full ownership of the Rain World IP from their publisher, and plan to not only update the game more, but take a certain mod team in-house to make the massive 'More Slugcats' mod (that's been in development for like four years) into an official expansion for the game! And they are making another game themselves too! Lots to look forward to for Rain World fans!
🥳🥳🥳
Rain World has left such a psychological mark on me. After finishing the stories of all but 2 of the slugcats, I was left with a new outlook on life and nature that was very similar to what this video was about. That connection to Rain World is now permanently imbedded on me as a tattoo, with more on the way.
Part of my experience with Rain world was also playing it with my girlfriend. Getting to experience the process of someone else learning the game reminded me of my first playthrough, and I learned that I will always cry in General Systems Bus.
That game leaves the kind of mark that will never go away.
(Also, I'm curious as to how far Pixel got in RW, since I didn't see any gameplay of the Exterior onwards. Then again, this is a year after the video came out, so I would guess that she finished a survivor run? If not, should really consider playing again, especially with the downpour DLC.)
Very glad to see you tackle these two games together! It feels like there are too few video essays on Rain World compared to how interesting it gets with its themes and mechanics.
Agree! Not enough people talking about this game!
"and then stands there watching you drown" *Shoreline flashbacks intensifies*
I WISH this was the way I found out about Outer Wilds and Rain World. The only reason I ever I Outer Wilds was because my mom thought the soundtrack was beautiful while looking for things to listen to, so we picked up this adventure, only to find it wasn’t just a fun space adventure, but had a deep history to find. And Rain World? I randomly watched a video by Skurry about a challenge called “The Mother”, I saw the funny little baby Scugs running about and playing and thought “That looks like fun” only to find out that it was, in fact, an unforgiving ecosystem that would not hold your hand. They barely even tell you how to move around the world, let alone what a predator is.
HUH?! Dude that’s the BEST way to find out about Outer Wilds! W mom
yeah I mean she kind of spoils a lot of big stuff for outer wilds so you got lucky
ive played both these games last year, started in rain world and then went to outer wilds.
it has left me a lasting affect.. that changed the way i think over games but over life as well
and i havent fully realized these things either.
they are called games and whatnot but in my eyes, they are experiences.
i will never get to experience the discovery of learning something important in outer wilds for the first time again
i will never get to experience the mindless instinct to survive in rain world for the first time again
these things are beautiful in games. but you only experience them once..
so i think its time to appreciate that we only see those things once.
what happens has happened, it just is. as nature is.
these games have been my favorites, in years
it inspires me to make my own like them, but also to be a greater person
This is a really interesting perspective!
But I can't help but pick a nit - I think characterizing the Nomai as arrogant or uncaring of nature is a bit unfair - you can find a note on Timber Hearth that talks about how they discovered life in a desirable mining site, and relocated as not to disturb it - that life would go on to be the player's race, and they talk about only taking what they need for their projects, and ensuring enough was left for future creatures - much of their buildings are made out of stonework rather then the metal that their original ships were, as well, their little shuttles seem to make use of some kind of anti-gravity propulsion, and can be recalled to be reused, rather then being disposable.
That said, I do think the Nomai play very well into the "nature doesn't care" aspect - despite all their efforts, technology, plans and caution, they were wiped out in a moment. There's no deeper meaning to The Interloper, it's not some evil weapon, there is no malice. Similar to the revelation that the sun exploding is not a result of the nomai experiment gone wrong. Similar to Dark Bramble itself - it's some kind of cosmic organism that infests plants to reproduce - whatever happened to the former 6th planet is/was going to also happen to Timber Hearth - despite how sinister it might seem, it's just...nature. It has no motivation.
(Also the sun exploding plan wasn't quite so reckless, since their intentions/plan would be such that the sun does not really explode, but you could still see an aspect of arrogance or risk in a plan that could run the risk of them not being able to undo it.)
Ha ha, nitpick away! I do see the sun station as being a fairly insane and arrogant project (as you say, what if it went wrong?) but fully agree that overall the game is pretty positive toward the Nomai and scientific advancement.
And rain world's timer got even stricter in downpour slugcat rivulet... I think that before you take [RIV SPOILER] from [RAIN WORLD SPOILER], you only have 150 seconds in the shortest cycle ( i forgot how long is the longest cycle ). rivulet timers would be almost impossible if it werent for the SPEEED of the lil guy
I cannot tell you how satisfying it is to see both of these games talked about in the same video-- and for someone to draw the connections between how helpless and small they make you feel. Or how alive the worlds are-- you're just another person or creature passing through them, not the first, the smartest, or strongest-- just another creature. And nature does not differentiate. You will be given no special privileges-- and GODDAMN it is so humbling, and immersive, and rewarding.
However, having logged several hundred hours into Rain World there are some statements I disagree with. Rain World absolutely has combat, it's... so intimidating, with such a fine margin for error it doesn't seem worth interacting with at first, but if you spend some time in the arena, work on getting to grips with some of the slightly more complicated movement tech, you can absolutely dominate some of the smaller creatures, like lizards. Nature will still ruthlessly snap around in an instant and end you if you become too confident in your abilities, however... a lizard falling from above, numbers of vultures swooping down on you... Overall, you can never really get the upper-hand on nature-- but through careful observation and lots of... aggressive failings, you can definitely stand your own against most manner of creatures.
...Including vultures, if the stars align just right... meaning, you have the fire-power and they've gotten themselves stuck somewhere fairly cramped.
You're totally right of course, the game does technically give you ways to fight but my goodness it's so finnicky I never dared even try it XD
this video is so specific to what i have been watching and playing that i have to applaud the algorithm.
👏👏👏
I love both of these games to death. And beaten neither of them.
This speaks to how good a game can be.
This sums up perfectly my fascination for Rain World. A harsh world that doesn't care about the player, but that feels so much alive. And my best sessions were indeed when I just accepted my fate. (also it might explains why watching other people play it or even speedrun is captivating) Thank you for this excellent essay!
So I FINALLY started Rain World and the two rain deaths you describe at the beginning were in exactly the same places as me. I even did the same thing where I took shelter under that same overhang (after spending ages trying to make that jump). I'd already died underground so... maybe if I was high up taking cover? Hahaha. Nope!
I also took that same route through the Shaded Citadel but never found the red rock, I grabbed one of the glowing creatures which wasn't ideal because they wriggled around and made vents really tough to squeeze through, hahah. I gasped 'oh no' when you fell off after leaving the dark depths :(
I love that you raise the openness and sense of discovery of both Outer Wilds and Rain World. I recently said on Twitter to John Walker that Outer Wilds is one of my favourite open world games and he thought it was amusing that so many folk were saying that, when the game kills you every 22 minutes, but for me, and you get at this: it's that total kind of 'indifference' to you as a player that makes them feel so refreshingly open or freeing to me. There's no pandering to the player; you have to explore, observe, experiment, discover and put stuff together yourself and that's SO much more rewarding and satisfying than being told how everything works. I think it's that kind of openness that I love and crave: openness to be left alone to discover stuff myself, not necessarily just openness to move through a space without limit.
When a game expects that of you, it makes you pay more attention which in turn makes you notice even more details. For example, I was trapped in the Garbage Wastes, deep down, just above the Drainage System (I've died there a lot and don't want to return, yet), but there was no easy way out. There were these horrible creatures one way, the Drainage System another, and then this shaft I'd fallen down that was too tall to scale. I realised I could throw spears into walls as grips (wooo!!) so I decided to build a 'ladder' of sorts over several cycles depending on how many spears I could scavenge. Just as I was about to add my final spear, those tribe folk appeared--who were friendly after I'd given them some of those pearls/marbles (I was so happy to discover this myself). I watched one of the tribe folk go over to my lowest spear and try and pull it out of the wall! Dude, that's my way out of here! Anyway, it wouldn't budge, but I thought that was such a cool detail to see.
I'm really glad you brought the Nomai's demise into this. I remember some folk expressing disappointment of that, saying how they wanted to discover that they'd fallen victim to their own techno hubris or curiosity rather than just be snuffed out by an unceremonious cosmic dice roll but I thought it was perfectly in keeping with the game's themes. I also love that you called out their arrogance. I thought I was alone in feeling that!
A fantastic video as always. It's about time I became a patron.
Oh my god spear guy! What a jerk!! XD Clearly we're of the same mind on many things including how to die in Rain World lol. Thanks so much for everything, you're a gem of a supporter to have!
Rain world didn't make me fear rain, but it did make me slightly jump at the sight of cyan speckles or curved, blue X's.
Stumbled across this video 2 years later. Im overjoyed i see two of my favourite games mentioned together :) they are in my top 3.
Absolutely gorgeous. This made me feel that those heartfelt melancholy gutpunch emotions of the ending of Outer Wilds again, something I wasn't sure I'd be able to truly experience again. Thank you.
I will watch any outer wilds content, forever. So glad to see you making this!
Each and every one of your videos is fantastic. You see the true art in games and present it beautifully.
Thank you!
I got Outer Wilds as soon as I finished watching this video, as a fan of Rainworld you completely sold me on it. Excellent video
1. yes I love rainworld
2. Yes this video is good
3. Yes I copied Steven
4. Yes I'm getting Outer wilds
Enjoy!
A video about my two favorite games! Awesome!
I've spent a few weeks really sinking my teeth into rainworld (100 hrs to 100 cycles exactly) and it really is just a game that keeps pushing you to keep going keep going keep going. As five pebbles said death in that world is meaningless, it's the iterators job to keep everything alive whether they want it or not.
Rain world took my favorite aspect of hollow knight ( the movement system where moving throughout the world felt like a dance ) tuned it up, made it messy and said figure it out. The first time I backflipped by accident in the first area and then spent a whole cycle learning how to do it perfectly sticks in my mind, then learning to throw a spear down while back flipping way later on (deep in farm arrays) felt like graduating to a new style of play, the unweildly slugcat home and honed in its own body
wow, youve really nailed why i love both of these games and why they are so special- and so familiar to each other in a away i couldnt figure out. thank you! this is the first video of yours ive seen, but im looking forward to watching more :)
Thank you! :) Hope you stick around on the channel!
Rain world player here.
Outer wilds sounds interesting, I’m considering playing it now!!
Rain world is probably one of my favorite games of all time.
This was such a wonderful video!
These two games are some of my all time favourites, and I feel like you perfectly encapsulated the reasons why I found them to be such powerful and engaging experiences. These worlds feel so profoundly ‘real’ because you aren’t the centre of it all, you aren’t given special treatment, you’re just another gear in the great uncaring mechanism of the universe. And by accepting your place, you can look past their cruelty and see their rich, fascinating beauty.
It’s something I’ve not seen many other games accomplish (or really attempt), and I think its really something special.
I WAS SO HAPPY WHEN ISAW THIS VIDEO outer wilds and rain world are my favorite games of all time ever ever EVER i am so happy this video exists tysm
Have returned to rewatch. I'm so happy these games exist, and that we are too
I randomly picked up Outer Wilds on game pass around a year ago, with zero knowledge about it, zero expectations. When I finished it, it was easily one of my favorite games of all time. And I... just didn't know why. I could list a bunch of reasons why I thought it was good, but not one for why it touched me so much. However, now I know. Thank you.
I wouldn't have drawn that connection between these games before you pointed it out, but I think it's a really apt comparison. Great essay!
Rain world is just the casual experience of living in the amazon. LOVE IT TO THE DEATH!
You speak very passionately. I can practically feel you smiling when I listen to you. I'm always interested in games where combat isn't part of the main loop. Really interesting video.
Wow, what a great video! I've done so much thinking on Outer Wilds (and to a lesser extent Rain World) and you still managed to surprise me!
This is such an amazing CZcams video, i absolutely adore the take away you had and I think it’s an important life lesson! Thank you!
Kat this video was absolutely beautiful. Thank you for making it.
eh, rain world, rain world... my absolute favorite game, and the DLC made it even better. i didn't play Outer Wilds yet, but i am thinking about now. thank you for this video.
I hope you'll give Outer Wilds a go! Thanks for watching :)
Absolutely loved this contrasted with the Alone show. I really need to play these games!
I also couldn't help but think about how we artificially add to the struggle of survival for some reason as you talked about nature
I gravitate around and into things that promise pain and loss. Books, music, games, movies, even people. It's pain and loss what makes me feel alive.
I also appreciate wonder and awe, because they make me forget life, they take me out of myself. I find this in books, music, games, movies, but also people.
It's not suffering what I am after. Suffering comes from life. It's meaning what I want.
I regret watching Jacob Geller's video on Outer Wilds because I hadn't played it before, and now I can't play it because I already know what happens, and I can't stop crying imagining what I would have felt, had I played it without any prior knowledge. I know it would have destroyed me (which is what I want in the art I consume), and knowing I can't get that makes the game almost unbearable, if this makes sense.
Play it! You’ll find your own story ❤️
i honestly watched this video so many times, every few months. It's so so good. As for the games i'm most def. getting outer wilds soon - already got rain world and its frustratingly interesting c:
Wow, what a compliment!
This video filled me with equal amounts of existential dread and calm. Fantastic work!
15:48 damn pole plant
The shot at 1:40 with the quantum moon is perfect.
This channel deserves much more love!!! Thanks for the video, great quality. Rain world is one of my favorite games and I still haven't finished it lol. Looking forward to the growth of this channel, love ya
Beautiful video, you’ve gained my like and subscription. These are some of my favorite games of all time and it’s really interesting and insightful to see you compare them relatively to nature.
Keep up the excellent work
Thank you! :)
yes! two of my favorite games, and here's a video discussing both of them!
so apt and relevant for our times w great reflections, & food for thought. LOVE IT!!!
I'm always glad to see both of these games get more attention. This was a lovely video essay.
WOW, You gave me chills! I have never played Outer wilds but already love rain world. When you gave me the lore of Rain world, even though I knew it, it felt like I was hearing it for the first time again. This was absolutely amazing!
Thank you, that means a lot!
Found your channel through Super Eyepatch Wolf’s latest video and I’ve been really enjoying going through your videos. Really fantastic analysis with interesting connections between different media. Fantastic work :)
I played rainworld after picking it up from hours of scrolling on steam, spent 40 hours in the outskirts
Loved it
Champion
Yooooo these two games are truly my favorites of all time! They faithfully embodied everything I want about videogames as truly unique experiences that can't be extrapolated to other forms of media and at the same time having such originallity on their own. They are my top example of how despite sharing similar concepts on its core and how make me feel similar emotions, they look like (and are) completely different videogames, which illustrates the particular freedom you have in this medium to craft your art on so many levels.
It's really beautiful and stands out easily the sheer passion and vision each game's developers had for their own craft, and I deeply thank them for helping push the medium forward.
Thanks for the video and for speaking about these two gems of a game!
This will help with the horror game part of my game so much! Thanks!
These are mine two most favorite games.
And this video has utterly amazing narrative.
Glad you liked it! Share it round if you know someone who would enjoy it 😊
One of my most favourite thing about Rain World is that the "enemies" you encounter are not evil, they just want to survive. They all have a life of their own, unique personalities, colouration, memories and thoughts about the player and other creatures. You can enter a room and see a heated battle, doesn't matter, if you see it or not, participate or run, it just happens on its own, the world lives without you, rarely disturbed by your meager actions.
But what matters is that you can choose to either understand the world and its inhabitants or fight it.
Outer Wilds is my favourite game. And you have successfully sold Rain World and Alone to me as a favourite game and a favourite show. There's something so grounded and real in each of these pieces of media that I believe everyone should experience, but not everyone can take. It's a real shame things like these are extremely niche in entertainment.
a really incredible video
i'm really happy i found your channel
Wonderful video
One of my favorite things about Outer Wilds is the subversion of expectations. Everyone thinks the supernova is being caused by something, and that you'll be able to stop it, and the game baits you twice. Once with the sun station, then again when you pay attention to the interloper and notice it falls into the sun not long before the nova happens. Both times you assume AHA this must be what's causing the sun to blow up.
But nope, the universe is just old, lots of stars are dying, and yours is one among many. The moment when you truly look at the distant stars and realize how often they're going nova is incredibly sobering.
This. I was clinging to the "bait" for so long. And when I finally got to the sun station, after pausing for a moment to celebrate, I learned the truth. Or really, accepted the truth.
My 2 favorite games in one video, amazing! I really love the observation of how both of the civilizations were careless and arrogant in their pursuit of something higher (whether ascension or the eye) that they disregarded nature. Never thought of that before but it's really cool
This was an excellent video about two of the most fascinating and awesome games I have ever come across, and Rain World needs much much more love just in general. Very well done indeed! ^w^
Thank you!
That was a really thoughtful video. Thank you.
wow. You explained this so well, i dont know what more to say, thank you for making this
I put down Rain World after a couple tries and it's always bugged me because I recognize it's amazing. After seeing this, I've resolved to try again!
Good luck! ☺️
I feel like a lot of the hardships people have in Outer Wilds comes from not picking up information or cues you can get on your first couple minutes of the game. There's an area explaining you can see ghost matter with your camera, an area where you could play around with your camera & a quantum rock to find it fixated when taking a photo, there's an area where you're told how anglerfish behave, one explaining spaceship controls, etc.
Oh yeah that was totally me! It was so much info, with no context to really understand it, that I just didn't absorb most of it. There was a lot of hitting my head upon re-watching the footage for the video
Amazing video!
That was a beautiful analysis, thank you :).
Awesome video! Rain world actually intimidates me even more now I'm not sure if I want to pick it up 😭😭
As for outer wilds, discovering the sun station and the nomai's plan to blow up the sun was one of the most affecting moments in my playthrough. In my experience, the game really paints them not so much as an arrogant bunch of wacky scientists but more like an investigative people but who knew when to rein in their wild curiosity (They even made sure not to exhaust timber hearth's resources so that future civilsations may thrive). That's what made the sun station such a strong moment for me, because I didn't expect that they would try such a stunt.
And that's also what makes echoes of the eye so interesting, because it offers a brilliant and tragic parallel to this civilisation defined by discovery (I don't know how far you are into the dlc and I don't want to spoil anything so I can't go into detail😭)
Anyway great video! I'll try to pick up rain world and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the outer wilds's dlc!
I’ll let you know! I think I’m pretty close to the end but then again I’ve thought that like five times already 😅
It's worth noting that, should the Sun Station have succeeded, the time loop would have triggered the supernova repeatedly until the Eye was found, at which point the Nomai would simply turn off the ATP and disable the Sun station, so in the end the supernova would never "really" happen.
I really like this video on the whole, but the indictment of the Nomai as possessing arrogance and disregard for nature seems to be tenuous, especially since (as you said) they deliberately left Timber Hearth to seek a new source for ore because they didn't want to handicap the eventual development of the primitive life forms they had encountered.
I'm seeing no mention or footage from Echoes of the Eye here. Did you know that Outer Wilds has a DLC now? I highly recommend checking it out!
Also, I loved this video, but I think you slightly misunderstood the message of Outer Wilds. (FULL SPOILERS BELOW)
First, the Nomai were never callous about life. They were very careful when mining Timber Hearth for the Ash Twin Project, making sure they'd leave enough resources for what would once be the Hearthians to develop. Besides, had their project succeeded, they could've retconned the Sun's explosion from the timeline. Essentially, the sun would've never exploded to begin with. So, while it was still an irresponsible feat that could've gone wrong in a million ways, the Nomai weren't careless, and were in fact way more thoughtful than most other species, real or fictional, act in their place.
Secondly, the idea that the Ash Twin Project was all for nothing, and the Nomai's pursuit of the Eye was meaningless. It wasn't. The Nomai might've been unable to complete the journey, and the Sun Station might've failed, but the ATP still _worked._ When the sun reached the end of its natural life cycle, it successfully launched a probe over and over again until it found the Eye. Only thanks to that was the Hatchling able to reach the Eye before the end of the universe.
And this is the one time in the game where you actually influence something. It's strongly implied that a conscious observer was necessary to reset the universe, or at least to create a universe with life. The Eye isn't sentient, it's not conscious, so it's just a sea of endless probabilities. Said probabilities can only lock into place and become reality once observed. So without the Hatchling, there would be no next reality. And the Hatchling couldn't have done it without the Nomai.
Rather than a condemnation, Outer Wilds is a celebration of science. It teaches you not to swim against the tide, but to instead build a sail. The universe is massive, chaotic and unforgiving. But the more we understand it, the more we can use it to our advantage. Which is exactly what the Nomai did. They failed at the last hurdle, but that doesn't make every other step worthless, especially with how things ended up working out. Pursuit of knowledge is never a bad thing.
That's where the difference seems to lie between Outer Wilds and Rain World. I never played the latter, but from what you said, Rain World seems to be very skeptical of the pursuit of knowledge. Whereas Outer Wilds embraces it, despite and exactly because of its chaotic unpredictability. The universe is big, scary and uncaring. It takes a conscious observer to inject it with meaning.
I actually didn't mean to portray the ultimate message of Outer Wilds as some cautionary message about scientific hubris. I don't think it is, I agree that it's mostly a celebration of curiosity and the spirit of scientific discovery. But I do also think there's room to doubt whether everything the Nomai did was worthwhile (yes if the time machine works fine then all good, if it malfunctions the solar system gets blown up though? Also, a bunch of them died tragically in the trek over - so I don't know, that's kind of bad?). I haven't finished the DLC but interestingly so far it feels like a fairly explicit cautionary tale about messing with things you don't understand. I'll have to finish it first though, I could be totally wrong :) But yeah, Outer Wilds is definitely way more rosy-eyed about science & tech than Rain World. I think it's more life-affirming too.
I played Rain world and I can say that the notion "knowledge is power" is engrained in the gameplay. The little protagonist doesn't get new abilities but knowing the functions of each object or how the creatures behave gives a huge advantage!
My exact thoughts after finishing the video, thanks for exposing them in such a clear way
I love this videos and games, i love how you talk about it, i hope the best of you in this chanel, keep like that and be proud of what you do
It makes me really happy to know that people are still talking about Rain World. I bought it last year, right after Christmas, because my cousin had the game and I thought it looked cool. Never did I think I'd play it near daily. Took me a full year to beat the game, but that's my fault: It's a challenge, and that's why so many people are discouraged to play it. Besides, the only reason I took so long is because I was enamored with the sheer size of the world and the huge variety of creatures and lore and just-- everything. Speaking of the lore, I'm not sure which of the 2 of them wrote it or if it was a collaborative effort, but I feel like it's the best part of the entire game. It's so well written and creative and I SWEAR you'd have to have a CRAZY good imagination to think of something even remotely close. It's WILD. If there's anything I can say here, please, PLEASE go play Rain World for yourself. It's hard, and you'll get frustrated, but I promise you, the beauty of the world and exploring its many facets is a worthwhile cause to suffer for.
great vid. Définitely gonna check Rain world now
Amazing video, Im sharing this now
Great video!!
OMG BOTH THOSE GAMES IN ONE VIDEO??? NO WAY! Thank you so much for this :') It's 2 of my most favorite games for all time
Such a beautiful essay on themes of these games. I am absolutely sold on Rainworld now, thank you
Yay! :) :)
Amazing as always!
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A shame i had to stop watching this video near the end because of some rain world spoilers, but these are two of my favorite works of art, particularly for many of the reasons you pointed out in this video. This is so well-made of a video that it's the first I've seen of this channel and it's an instant favorite.
Glad you liked it! Hope you stick around on the channel :)
As of watching this video, i have 239 hours in Rain World. It is one of my all time favorite games, and seeing it being mentioned in a video alongside Outer Wilds, which I unfortunately only watched a playthrough of instead of experiencing for myself, is a joy to behold. Even with mastery of the game's controls and mechanics, Rain World's natural ecosystem is as unforgiving to me as it is to new players. Even the path of least resistance has obstacles around every corner, such that remembering the locations of every individual pole mimic, as well as the layouts of every map, only accounts for an infinitesimally small fraction of the intricate ecosystem and the challenge.
The dry wood bit and laughter was too funny. 20:05
I love watching videos like thes they so amazing!!! And this video is amazing!! I might get outer wilds after I beat rainwold
On one hand it's a shame that a channel like this can stay hidden from us for so long. On the other it's beautiful that other creators (I don't know if I heard it on Jacob Geller or Jack Sather's channel) reference these gems for the betterment of us all.
I love your content and it makes me happy that your channel is starting to grow so quickly in the last couple days.
Haven't played Rainworld (will keep an eye out for it now though) but you beautifully captured the dangers of the environment in Outer Wilds. Whether it's boosting too high with your jetpack and knowing gravity is about to bring you crashing back down, accidentally going adrift in space and being powerless to get back or falling past the event horizon of the black hole and being totally unable to stop it; the sheer overwhelming force of nature that is outer space in that game makes you feel constantly vulnerable. That atmosphere of unrelenting danger and threat but mixed with a sort of quiet, humble beauty makes Outer Wilds a truly unique and unforgettable experience. Great video as always!
As always, some of the most haunting game commentary I've ever seen.
This video made me feel a little better about myself. Thank you Pixel a Day.
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Very well written. Thanks for this!
I find it interesting what you say about how these games are successful in making the systems not care about you as a player. I always tend to think that games should always make sure to give you control, to make it feel fair, to make it feel like you can master the world as long as you are skilled enough. But in Outer Wilds, I find so much satisfaction in learning to adapt to the world around me instead of mastering it. It becomes about developing acceptance more that developing mastery. Its a different design philosophy and the result is, in these cases, a world that feels more alive and one that you respect.
I used to feel like games should be fair, and then I played Pathologic.
Thank you for this
I can't get over how I enjoy anything that you put out. You should get a lot more tracktion. One of the best media + thoughts creator out there. Thanks for your vidoes.
That’s so nice to hear! Thank you ❤️
Now now, the nomi were conflicted about the sun station. They even commented how it was against their whole way of living
This is a beautiful video. This presence of nature is such an important part of Outer Wilds to me. I'll never forget how I fell from the orbit of Giant's Deep into the ocean. And then helplessly floated there until the supernova went off and illuminated the clouds.
As a competent Rain World player it was fun analyzing all the situations you were in and thinking about how I would resolve them. It's a very satisfying feeling, knowing what to do and how to do it. No other game gave me survival instincts like this. It is truly worth the struggle.
As an incompetent Rain World player I'm sure you would do much better than me
Well gosh, guess I'm gonna have to stop putting off Rain World! Excellent connection you've drawn between these, and well written as always!
Thank you 🙏!