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The Hidden Meaning Of The Outer Wilds Ending
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- čas přidán 16. 12. 2022
- Hello everyone! It took me four years to reason this out. I look back on old videos so frustrated because I missed this message. But when I figured it out I found it very poetic and impactful. I hope others do as well!
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![Outer Wilds Echoes of the Eye - Reels in chronological order [SPOILERS]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pu32IwQXLfA/mqdefault.jpg)
One thing that really strikes me about the ending image in the new universe:
For all of the themes of isolation in Outer Wilds, the Hearthian is a connector, bringing together three species from across space and time and treating them with empathy.
When we see the new universe, the planets have literal tendrils connecting them, and multiple species coexist on a planet, something we never get to see in our gameplay. In my headcanon, the true impact of the Hearthian was to give birth to a universe that manifests these themes of connection on a cosmological scale. What could be more beautiful?
The tendrils itself looks like a ghost matter too. So I headcanon that after discovering how the Nomai died, we felt heartbroken that we wished that the ghost matter could’ve been something harmless. And the Eye made it come true.
You’re kind of describing Orthodox Christianity
Sydney Sweeney for one
And the universe said you are not alone,
And the universe said you are not separate from every other thing,
And the universe said you _are_ the universe, tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own code,
And the universe said I love you, because you are love.
Is this from the Minecraft ending? I forgot how beautiful that was
@@torikenyon Yep. This video reminded me of it, thought it was fitting
Beautiful, when two amazing things can be used in the same context.
Ok but this is just beautiful, both games are about appreciating the beauty of existence. They both have the same message
I always thought that Hornfel's notes were unchanged because the devs figured people wouldn't check. The idea that it's the Eye trying to communicate the importance of scale is one that never crossed my mind until now, and is a fascinating concept!
The devs said Hornfels is the only mandatory conversation in the game, and in that conversation, he gives you the launch codes and asks you what you want to explore. Curiosity and exploration are some of the most important aspects in the game, and the devs chose Hornfels to convey that information to you. It's beautiful that the only thing unchanged by the Eye is Hornfels's notes, in which he expresses pure wonder and excitement about the universe. Hornfels embodies the spirit of Outer Wilds Ventures, and his notes remaining the same at the Eye has been one of my favorite details since my first playthrough.
Wrong the idea of the game is dying over and over
You can trust the Lore Explorer to uncover more meaning in Outer Wilds than you thought possible. A true scholar.
@@breadm8101 Why did this make me laugh? I do hope you're joking though.
@@breadm8101And the point of the Sistine Chapel is to look at a bunch of paint on plaster.
This ending is why Outer Wilds is and forever will be my favorite game of all time
for me it was the journey
@@cougotgames-theoldies2687 Yeah, this ending was the perfect cap to the game's journey
With what they did with the DLC I think mobius digital's next game might be even better
Same, its beautiful af 😭
@@k0lpA didn't you like the dlc?
I don’t know why people move on from the trees our self turns into because the first thing I did was turn my flashlight on and off to see if it changed, since everything in glade seemed to be quantum and when it changed I was all like I KNEW IT !
I also never left the campfire I just turned around and around until esker was there
Not everyone experiences things in the same way. I think I knew it was quantum right away too. Especially after the big trees. But thats just me.
i will never forget the goosebumps i got when i saw the poem in the end campfire scene appear one wooden log at a time. Idk why but it just felt so.. satisfying
Honestly? The ending made me scared at first, and then somehow, watching everyone around the campfire and a new universe's birth genuinely made me feel the most at peace I've been in a while.
Outer Wilds is a very rare perfect game. I've played games for decades and Outer Wilds is one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. The ending had me in shock. Actual shock. I cried like I just had a spiritual experience. I don't know how else I can describe it. No other game I've ever played has done that to me. A hard 10/10 gaming experience.
I finished it today and am still crying about it, almost 12h later. It stirred something profound in my being. This is what I work with games. I want to make something that does this to people.
Even ignoring the symbolism and how the experience affects you, just the basic game design is so on point. How every piece of information you uncover gives you new leads and new solutions. And your discoveries are the keys to progress, not upgrades or collectibles. Such a tightly engineered exploration game. And all leading up to that finale, tying it all together.
As someone who wants to study the universe for my entire life, this game really broke me. This is such a beautiful experience. This is NOT a game. This is an experience.
100% agreed
Did u cry like a soy boy
Jumping in the grave represents accepting the reality of your own death so that you can truly live authentically, something they just couldn’t do. It is very sad. 16:24
This I really hit me when in the grave there are pictures of the 3 civilisations with a candle underneath them that you blow out one by one. Forcing you to accept and blow out that light yourself
I think I always took the opposite message away, more of an exploration of nihilism. The universe is massive, indifferent toward you, and try as you might, the sun will always explode. So all you can do is be there for the people you love, and accept that all things come to an end. Even if you're the spark for the next universe, it all goes up in fire, and the most you can do is accept it, knowing that, whether it's billions of years later, or immediately after your death, life will go on. It sounds sad, but there's a quiet comfort in knowing that you can be your tiny piece of a much bigger picture, and in the end, "the future is always built on the past, even if we won’t get to see it. Still, it’s um, time for something new, now.”
Thanks for sharing your take, what a memorable game experience we get to have.
This is the design philosophy as well behind Outer Wilds, as the devs have stated. The player is not important; they can't change what happens in the loop or control the environment. I think Lore is taking the symbolism in the Eye too literally, something that's meant to just show we're the foundation for something new, even if we're gone, doesn't automatically mean we're the most important person. Alex Beachum in his thesis mentions how 2001: A Space Odyssey was a major influence and it shows here in this ending.
Everything in the Eye is familiar in some way and mimics Hatchling's home. This comes about because of how the Eye molds around our memories, and the effect is that we're put at ease. Yes, there's the anglerfish and the dead inhabitant, but those are things we've already dealt with now in our journey. There's ultimately no harm that can be done to us, even physically since the fire doesn't hurt us. It's hard to tell if this is on purpose, but the end goal is seemingly to make us comfortable once it comes to jumping into the quantum ball of possibilities that will lead to our inevitable death. I think in the Eye, it's all about us, not because we're the most important, but because we're fulfilling an important purpose.
I agree with all of this. I just feel like thats the surface level hearthian story. No , its not all about you. If Solanum made it to the eye itd be all about her. Its just a cycle in the universe that needs to be fulfilled. But if you take a step back and think about it. The eye didnt need to do any of the things it did at the ancient glade. It had our memories. We entangled with it. It couldve sparked the universe then. In fact , thats likely a message from ourselves. I even said everything we see here are our memories.
But guess what? The universe , while not built or created for the hatchling. And though they have no real control over daily lives. They single handedly gave meaning to the universe to come. Beauty and meaning are in the eye of the observer. Without us there are no observers in the next universe. No meaning.
*well , not single handedly. The video was also meant to convey how we are sort of one as a species. How we all effect and mold eachother.
7:41 actually, all the trees just have their textures changed to the texture of the quantum shards, and the ones you don't observe quickly enough tend to disappear. I captured some videos showing how the entire forest changes like that. Really cool detail that hardly gets noticed.
That's a great video you've got. Thank you for the footage, I had no idea you could notice visual evidence that it all is quantum material. Makes me curious if our second self can also be observed as quantum, or at least the tree they turn into...
And when the world needed him most, he was gone.
Not gone my friend. I’ll make my return with the prisoners mural explained. Then who knows?
💜
@@TheLoreExplorerglad to see you are well. the sudden disappearance had me worried, but i thought this video would be a poetic way to leave. looking forward to more content on outer wilds or any game you find yourself enjoying
@@TheLoreExplorer all the lore wasn't explored!!!!
@@LordZipThe3rd What do you mean?
This video picked up on details I didn't notice before, specifically how you are the wood that makes the campfire. For me, personally, the game is about overcoming anxiety. There was a moment in one of my early playthroughs, where I Iost control of the space ship while landing on the orbital probe. It span away into the darkness, and I realised it didn't matter. This is the essence of the game's 'message'. Anxiety makes you catastrophise, that disaster is always around the next corner. The Outer Wilds is about realising that you there are fears that you cannot prevent, and accepting that you cannot prevent them is the most important part of leading a meaningful life, made up of friendships, music, and whatever else is important.
Gabbro is a master, they are far above us, just as their hammock sits in the trees. But they are calm, the hammock itself contrasts with everything Gabbro has done, because they have seen it all. The fact that the are tied into the poem is due to their experience with the nature of the universe, and how they find interest in it: art. I also agree with your interpretation that our relationship with them is time, but that's not who they areas a Hearthian.
They/them?
@@228pf Hearthians are genderless
@@228pf every hearthian uses they/them
I desperately want to see the giant creature with the blue lantern in something other than a short after-credits cutscene. It would be so cool to see those guys walking around in a mod or something.
I always thought that game's message is that every life and every experience is important, it's what shapes us and the world around.
It would be amazing if he just starts with "Hello my conscious observers, I am the Lore Explorer, and this is the Outer Wilds"
This @theloreexplorer
18:33 In the files, the silhouettes are called "possibility particles". Some of them are quite interesting, and resemble creatures, shapes, and spaceships that don't appear in the game. One interesting symbol is an eye (not the Eye of the Universe symbol, just a regular eye).
great video! I interpreted gabbro's instrument similarly to what you said - over the course of the game, we the player know them first and foremost as the other person in the loop with us but they definitely have their own strong identity beyond that. we and the other hearthians know gabbro as the most laid back of the astronauts, not the most reliable worker but someone who is level headed, a lover of art, and to us, a sort of mentor figure with a very calming presence. I think this is what the hammock up high in the trees represents: gabbro might seem lazy and goofy, but they had a very real impact on us and we might not have made it to the eye without them
Thank you for the great video. I have the same feelings and thoughts about the ending.
Never thought a videogame could affect my outlook on life so strongly. But it helped me let go of many things I held on to for too long.
We only have one loop in this life, and as we collapse the possibilities before us through our decisions day by day we shape not only our own story, but the lives of those whose story we co-author. It is incredibly humbling and inspiring. Thank you.
It's kinda interesting how different people experience different emotions and vibes during the same scene. I didn't feel unsettled, terrified or small when i was at the Eye, i felt so calm, relieved, honored... waited. Like I fullfilled a lifetime purpose. And the Ancient Glade didn't scare me either, it made me cry the moment i saw Gabbro's poem (which seemed so unimportant) and realised that it led me here right from the start. It broke my heart. But also gave me peace cause some things you just can't change, only except.
The explosion at the end of the game is our big bang. It’s us being created. The name of the ending credit song is the giveaway: “14.3 billion years” is significant because it implies this. The energy release from the campfire is our big bang that created us 14.3 billion years ago. That explosion is the start of this (“our”) universe.
Buying the soundtrack before I bought the game, actually spoiled this for me. As I was playing, I knew everything I was doing was for this reason. After viewing the ending, it elevated the game for me into the realm of “spiritual experience” and I don’t say that lightly.
Sorry to burst your bubble 7 months later, but this is just wrong. For one, our universe was created 13.8 billion years ago, not 14.3. That was just an arbitrary number they chose. It also is DEFINITELY not our universe because it doesn't look like it. The planets are all wrong, and physics is clearly way different.
The player turning into a tree could be because of you sacrifice jumping into the eye to save the universe, as how you "sacrifice" a tree to do a campfire
I think its meant to convey how every life in the universe basically came from somethings destruction. Burning trees are commonly known to be fertile land to grow in. And so our destruction becomes this ask to fertilize the future.
@@TheLoreExplorer you did say the same thing with different words
I like this interpretation. What makes a campfire isn't the wood - that's a pile of wood - it's the destruction of the wood for the use of the fire. The wood supports the fire. And in that a community was formed. In the community, the love and fellowship The Hatchling was used to hatch the next iteration of existence. It's as if the Eye wanted The Hatchling to know that being the wood in it's fire (and quantum smoke) it would produce joy and love so that there would be trust to one last time "be the wood".
Its also interesting that the Eye used an auditory signal to attract lifeforms, and it was only musicians that were able to be represented (I would expect the kids to be present since they were so charming and playful).
Seems like music represents joy, community love... Just meandering. My apologies.
Great job Lore Explorer!
Great video! I never made the connection to the campfire being the hatchling. And the smoke from it creating the new universe being their memories and experiences. Love it.
Except at the end, on the stranger when you are the marshmallow xP.
I hope that the devs get enough love and support to create an outer wilds 2 within the new universe you created
You've missed the whole point of the game... the post-credits scene is meant to just be assurance that something come of it, not that there's going to be a sequel. If we can just continue to explore the same way after the end, even though it's meant to be *the* end, then that goes against the message of how the journey needs to end. Hatchling died to the new big bang, putting the player in the shoes of someone else makes it meaningless because that means there wasn't really a sacrifice on our behalf, we're still continuing without issue (which is what the inhabitants of the Stranger wanted and ended up as husks of themselves as a result).
The fact that the devs have stated that EotE was the final journey for OW shows that well and clear.
@@knowledgeacquirer2931 I understand. I’m just stating that I think it would be fun to fly around in the new universe and explore. That’s all .
@@iabproductionsofficial You said more than just that, but yeah, the closest we get to those inverse planets are those moments on BH where we're walking on the underside with the aid of grav crystals and the Stranger. We don't even know what would happen to things that 'fall' off. Where does that river lead to at the edge? Does the water drift off into space or does it continue flowing on the exterior? Many questions...
@@knowledgeacquirer2931 it’s so exciting to think about the possibilities!
Im pretty sure the devs have stated they are working on a new project. Everything Ive seen on the subject says outer wilds is finished. I have vague hopes of a spiritual successor in the future. But anything they make will likely be excellent.
Feeling sorta sad that it's been 3 months since your last video. I am guessing that even with a game as magnificent as Outer Wilds, there comes a time when finding more content in it becomes difficult. I am sure that in time, you will find other things in it to make videos about, but I am coming in here with with either an idea for a video, or just a selfish attempt at using your comment section for ideas.
Outer Wilds is a brilliant game, but because of its unique set-up, a lot of players end up dropping it within an hour or so into the game because they just end up feeling lost, or bored, or not buying in into some of the "mechanics" of the game just because they don't realize them.
On the other hand, Outer Wilds is a game that people struggle to recommend right, because it seems impossible to do so without dropping spoilers. And even the smallest spoilers can take away from the experience of the game.
This made me start thinking of what are the best spoiler-free tips one can give to a new/aspiring player of Outer Wilds to make them stick to it long enough? We all want to spread the love for the game, but it can be hard to figure out how to do that. And this is what I've come up so far:
1. Do not despair if you find yourself thinking that you're not making any progress even hours into the game. You ARE. You have just not learned how to quantify it yet.
2. While in most games, any text, dialogue and lore is usually mostly "side content", only giving flavor to the game, in Outer Wilds, the lore IS the game. Give yourself time to pay attention to it.
3. Beyond the first ~half hour of the game (which you should not rush through and instead, play close attention to), Outer Wilds will not give you any obvious directions. The directions are YOUR curiosity. Embrace it, and you'll learn to let it guide you to the best experience in your video-game-playing life.
I would love to have a definitive video of a "guide of how to introduce Outer Wilds to new players", but lacking that, I hope people will respond to this with their ideas of how to add to the list above 😊
Well, if he's up for a Kafkaesque challenge (scanner being called an Odradek should be a clue to this), he could always try to decipher Death Stranding. But as a line there goes (paraphrased): "...to make sense of it all, you need time, you need perspective" (breaking 4th wall, this is to the player not the character), this plays into the fact there are *THREE* - not two - mysteries in the game with reveals. And the last one, which contains clues to all through the game but nobody will notice them as clues, you're only given that tiny reveal post real credits instead of being given a proper and obvious mystery to solve like the two others. The final clues are stupid hard to obtain, as in involves playing past the ending and doing some very specific deliveries in order to get the full set of a certain set of interviews. Only then will you go "oh wait, there is more to this?" and being forced to play or watch the game - possibly several times over (I'm at 40+) - to connect the well hidden clues related to the last mystery. And still, even without the third one you still get a feeling of "I get it" and have a very rewarding ending and experience. Despite some rather cheesy lines in true Japanese fashion, that is some extremely clever writing to pull something like that off. To me, Outer Wilds and Death Stranding are the two most impactful games ever made. The slow pacing and utter weirdness in Death Stranding is likely to throw some people off, just as Kafka isn't exactly "easy reading" either.
This was what I understood when I finished it today, too! I am so glad I found someone else who shared this vision. People seem to go the bleak road more often than the inspiring one. Felt very validated by this essay, thank you for sharing your universe with us!
You see so much that I've never thought of, this is why I watch your videos! I've never even considered the significance of the appearance of ourselves at the end, or the fact that we turn into the campfire that produces the smoke that becomes the new universe. What a truly beautiful concept - you ARE the universe! Thanks for existing, Lore. Best video yet!
Love the new intro music! ;)
I guess all the lore has been explored...
Do you have any plans to upload anymore? Your videos were something I always looked forward to
Hey man, just wanna say don’t stop making videos. I know you pretty much did everything you could have with outer wilds but I very much enjoy your videos. Don’t give up. Not saying you are but all the same don’t :)
I got my brother to play the game recently, and he just finished the ending of the base game. Thank you for the convenient timing of the upload, I'm sure your analysis will come in handy in explaining some of his questions.
Video idea: The complete story of Outer Wilds (Base + DLC).
A long vídeo, with every minimum detail of the story. For example, nobody talks about Hollow's Lantern, and I discovered for myself that Nomai made experiments there. So, the idea is to do a Full Story with every minimum detail.
Its nice to see someone instilled with such passion in a video game such as you. I wish more games were made with such care as this one was.
dude just spend 4 years to understand the true meaning of a great game, thank you lore explorer, i just cant"t explain wich feelings i felt after the end of game with DLC, this game is the greatest masterpiece what ever created, and this meaning of the ending helping me now to fight the hard times...thank you mobious digital... and specially thanks to you lore explorer (hell i start to cry while i was texting that comment)
I guess all the lore was explored😟
Edit: All the lore wasn't explored😀
LORE EXPLORER WE NEED YOU!
nintendo said 2 years ago that we will get outer wilds on nintendo switch the same summer, hasnt happend yet. but some of us really want it, personaly i want my gf to play it! she dosnt know anything and i want her to experience it to. so i call out the the Legend yourself!
Wait, its possible to NOT burn the marshmallow?!?!?!? /
Always, even when I didn’t originally understand a concept. Outer Wilds would still give me chills and bring out emotions that will last with me till the heat death of the universe.
The eye of the universe has a very powerful signal, powerful enough to be detected across the entire universe. The Nomai detected the signal and attempted to reach the source, but Dark Bramble was reverberating the signal and increased its intensity in doing so. This confused the vessel, despite the DB signal having a slight distortion effect that conventionally constructed ears can't detect. Even with this slight distortion effect that the vessel could detect, it still couldn't tell which signal was what object. This resulted in the vessel assuming the more powerful, but distorted, signal was the eye, but was wrong and crashed into the bramble's deepest core in subwarp.
It's just a theory that randomly popped up in my head at some random point in unconventional time.
A few Nomai things actually exist in my imaginary world (which is set in my mechanical imagination).
This includes: Grav Crystals, escape pods with Nomai architecture, and Nomai vessels.
Gravity crystals are made by dumping 50grams of Gravitonium in a centrifuge and spinning it at 15x the speed of light (don't ask how that's possible).
Gabbro's section makes sense to me a representation of their disconnect from everyone else. They have a very "anything goes" attitude, and to find them we follow the one thing in the universe that works in any order, a constantly shifting poem that they made. People might not understand it, but it's what's there, and that's okay because it's all going somewhere.
The last video is about the hidden meaning in the end... maybe theres a meaning to it
Imagine if, instead of the final image with the aliens around the fire, it showed "13.7 billion years later" with a picture of Earth and humans around a fire. That would really drive home the message that we, the players, also have a role in this universe. Plus, it would add a cool twist, making Outer Wilds feel like it's part of "real life" canon. Also, great analysis!
This game's ending reminded me of "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe"... I do recommend reading all books in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".
7:22 they’re galaxies. We can see what the universe looks like during the campfire sequence and it’s a HUGE deal. The lights in the trees are the galaxies of this universe slowly dying.
I recently learned that the devs have said the same thing. They are indeed galaxies. And I usually have called them galaxies. But I think my point still kind of stands from an artistic sort of stand point though. The whole perspective thing.
We miss you LE!
Where you at man, we miss you 😔. Hope all is well with you 🙏🏿
Love your videos lore, definitely gives me more of an appreciative understanding of the game. This game to me was an accidental surprise. And it’s helped me a lot with my personal understanding of life and I love watching your vids on this game, thanks for the content!
this part really is spooky. the whole time until the campfire i was chanting solanum's "the universe is and we are" like a mantra to ward away the scary.
Oh my god, i just found your voice in the Outer Wilds voice acted mod, i got so giddy hearing it!!!
Nearly made me cry, i´ve been sitting here for 10 minutes but i cant put it into words.
And Lore, i hope when the community manages to get enough moderators, administration, this stuff you will be able to create a discord server again. I have amazing memories with this game, this community and you/your content. This was an amazing video as aways!
We miss you!
Hey the lore explorer, ive been watching your vids for awhile now, i remember finding your channel shortly after i finished outer wilds, anyway i had an interesting video idea. what if you did a video talking about your ideas of what wouldve happened if the nomai never died, like the interloper never arrived and even existed. i just thought of this today and im just curious what your thoughts are on what wouldve happened, would they have gone to the eye? would they have found out about the stranger and the owlks? anyway i think this would be a super cool video idea i thought id share with you. keep up the great work with the vids, cya!!!
I thought it was because reibeck was the one who despite everything despite his fears and doubts, went to ine of the scariest planets and did in fact venture into the unknown. Even so he is inside a old crumbling house fearful of open space
I miss you
“We’ve had 10 marshmallows already and nothing is happening”
Pure comedy
What a great video ! Thanks so much ! I notice the fact that you're thinking about the ending of Outer Wilds even after finishing the game 3 years earlier. That's mean a lot about this game.
That's an amazing analysis about the end and I didn't see it like that. It makes this game more beautifull than ever.
About Gabbro, I just think that as he wrote the quantum poem on our planet, the game gives us its true read direction (because remember "it's worth 24 poems !"), and also with the hammock, that's he doesn't give a f*** about what is going on. He's totally peaceful about it. But I really love your theory he was the precedent observer of the eye.
(And also the poem looks like the final place we're sitting with our friends)
Great video - I love your explanation. Reminds me of this fantastic quote from To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Paolini:
"Have you ever considered the fact that everything we are originates from the remnants of stars that once exploded?... Vita ex pulvis... We are made from the dust of dead stars... We are aware. We are conscious. And we are made from the same stuff as the heavens... We are the mind of the universe itself.... We are the universe watching itself, watching and learning."
Hornfell's notes aren't saying that every star you see is actually a galaxy. Those are indeed stars exploding in game. That is a reference to the hubble deep field image, where we focused on a tiny dark patch of sky with the Hubble telescope and realized it was actually full of galaxies. The image we seen in the museum is likely the result of a similar telescope experiment. Those galaxies are not visible to the naked eye (thus we never see them in game)
Youre probably right. I knew it was a reference to the deep field. So they probably are reffering to objects not seen by the naked eye. And the stars we see are probably just stars in our own galaxy. But scale in outer wilds is all wonky and relativity is a key factor. I still think its a valid(yet wrong) thought to have had. And still an interesting one to ponder. Scale wise the game zooms out over and over. Just sort of questioning when to stop I suppose.
Outer Wilds is a game about endings. We see so many of them, in so many contexts, and the game's ending is both a masterpiece of an ending narratively, and the epitome of "endings", and new beginnings, scientifically.
Honestly, the way I interpreted the ending is more along the vague lines of "everything has to come to an end eventually, and that's okay."
I binged all your outer wilds videos over the last few days. I really love your content, passion and enthusiasm for science and for the beauty of this game.
Underrated content for sure! Subscribed :D
Keep up the good work Mr. Lore Explorer !
I'm slowly convincing my wife to play this for the first time, I cannot wait !
Unrelated note. Did anybody notice the eye’s appearance in the distance changes if you shoot the scout through the black hole first? Is this maybe because it is a cloud of uncertainty until the scout goes through and makes everything certain?
It's really beautiful that the Prisoner's end sequence involves blowing candles out for the Nomai, Hearthians, Owlks, and then yourself. The Owlks used red fire to mark things they want to remember (like in memorials, and the fireplace in their gathering hall), and green fire to forget / ignore things (the dream flame, and their flamethrowers they used on the films). The prisoner could have blown out their own artifact's flame at any time. But they kept the faith for hundreds of milennia that one day the signal they released would reach someone who could tell them it was worth it, and once they saw that it really did, they finally put out that flame to let the Eye do its work, not hanging on to their own "life" for a second longer. Calling them to the campfire takes showing the courage to let go and move on that they wished their people had - the selfless bravery that defines the Hearthians and particularly the player character.
^ Especially with the Hearthians having their own symbolism for red flames - their campfires, their rockets, and their sun. All representing their calm and carefree approach to the wildness of the universe and their place in it. You let go of those too when you blow out the candles, accepting that the adventure is over. Also, the Owlks will blow out your Artifact flame to kick you out of their shared dream, only resorting to actual violence if you show up in Matrix mode to them, forcing them to remember that it's not real. They take your flame away because its purpose is to let them forget, and you are doing the opposite so it doesn't belong with you.
The Prisoner's whole story serves as an antithesis to the interpretation that cosmic scale should make you feel insignificant. One tribe of people was able to shut out the voice of a God to the rest of the cosmos, and one single person was able to stand up and resist them long enough to get the message to those who needed to hear it. Just in case the original ending wasn't clear enough in that regard.
Gabbro being an echo of the last universe's final observer makes sense. The idea that those who were present at the eye become reflected in the next universe is strongly suggested by the campfire in the end screen, and the lantern holder showing up if you let the Prisoner join the song. Also, a lot of people miss that the scene of the next universe doesn't take place at its own end times - 14.7 billion years is about how old the universe is in real life - they're EARLY to the party; current projections put this universe's heat death at about the year 25 TRILLION.
I hadn't thought about the prisoner blowing out their own candle before. That's incredible mental fortitude, to remain alive for hundreds of thousands of years and not take the easy way out.
My first time experiencing the ancient glade probably sent more chills down my spine than anything else ever had.
Of course, I did everything as usual. I explored all of the observatory, observed the galaxy/universe, and watched it burn out. But not all that much registered for me. And so I jumped around the ancient glade, destroying galaxies with just the force of my body. I saw glimpses of blue, but nothing registered for me until I watched a galaxy go supernova. I thought, “Hey, that must be my galaxy! That was the one that was going supernova”, until I looked around me. And I realize that EVERYTHING was meeting the same fate. Something about that really resonated with me, and I’m not sure why. But it sent chills down my spine like no other.
Your content still makes me happy
When you explained how you were yourself, and then a tree, and then a campfire, and that campfire birthed the new universe, I cried. I actually physically cried. I didnt make that connection and it increases the impact of the game so much. Thank you for this video. Its as much a work of art as the game itself
I think this may be the nicest comment Ive ever received. Thank you so much for sharing that with me because it means a lot! Keep exploring friend!
@@TheLoreExplorer I'm glad I can brighten your day even if just a smidge.
I am one of those phone photographers for 8-9;years. The last months I have missed photography It feels like there's nothing to shoot anymore here. I don't know what to do.
Hey! I’ve recently been obsessing over outer wilds and love watching your videos! I don’t know if you already seen this but did you know that when you’re observing the owlk while the damn breaks you can actually watch them die in the simulation world? That is if you’re in one of the worlds where their fire gets submerged. It’s a pretty wicked sight!
Also could you do a video where you show what the hearthians look like after the supernova???
I believe that Gabbro's hammock being so high in the tree is meant to symbolize that Gabbro has been here for so long, his height represents time. He tied his hammock to those trees when they were young and they have since grown, giving him a perspective uniquely different from the rest.
As a quantum physicist, I could tell the developpers really loved really advanced science
my understanding is that all the univers we see in the wood are multiverse, as predicted by Everett theory of multiverse that superpositions create multiverse
The eye represents something physicists are trying to solve for decades: quantum gravity, when both quantum physics and gravity are important
To make sure I’m understanding correctly. You think the tiny systems we see are each a universe? That is one of my theories that commonly gets laughed at. I’d love to hear if it’s backed by actual quantum physics theories in more details if you’re willing!
Yes exactly! The many world theory is quite popular among physicists. It's an interpretation of quantum physics in the sense it has not been proven but it's serious science (personaly that's what I believe). You can check Many World Interpretation wikipedia
For me it makes sense because when you enter the eyes, that's precisely what you do, you destroy the multiverses by observing it and make it collapse into one universe.
Another funny thing is the role of the observer in quantum superposition. It was indeed theorized in the 1930's that it was conscious mind that made superpositions collapse. And Schrödinger made the thought experiment of the cat precisely to disprove this vision. I think they did it for gameplay purpose because it works really well, but today no one believes anymore in the role of a conscious observer to make superpositions disappear.
i think gabbro being tied to the quantum poem could be trying to show their connection to the protagonist before the events of the game. gabbro seems to be the only hearthian (before the protagonist goes on their adventure) that has a grasp on what quantum mechanics are (look at the plaque for the museum quantum shard). plus theres the fact that the protagonist automatically knew the quantum poem was written by gabbro, when in-game there isnt anything to signify they wrote it as far as i know, besides the dialogue option to tell them about it. the protagonist is using their previous knowledge of gabbro, knowing that theyre the person that knows about quantum things and makes art and philosphizes on things. i think thats why gabbro is tied to the poem in the end sequence. gabbro was a unique person before the events of the game, existing outside of their connection to the time loop, and so was the protagonist.
well that's not fair. I'm crying now
I always saw it as the I was the most quantum object in the universe and by going to it and looking at you collapsing it down thus collapsing the universe
I love your channel man, hope you come back soon
12:20 "to say stafe" lol.
7:00 this part absolutely broke me. I interpreted the Eye of the Universe as some sort of inherent consciousness of the universe, and this part felt like the Eye conveying a tragic position where it can either neutrally observe these systems or try to interact with them and destroy them in the process. That hit me really hard for some reason
Gabbro said he aspired to make a quantum sculpture when you mention the poem to him. I just always thought this was that sculpture in wireframe by the devs. Just a thought. Still a little bit incomplete as a concept. I guess it might be reaching but his hammock is spread across old bark in a truly ancient glade. The fact that it’s always dark there sounds depressing but it also means he can get the best view of the night stars, peacefully gliding over the ancient glade.
Don't crucify me guys, but I don't think Outer Wilds is a perfect game. I DO think however, that it is a perfect story.
As a quick example I found the 22 minute loop concept to be tedious at best and frustrating at worst from a gameplay perspective. But narratively? It's perfect and reflects the themes of the game expertly.
This ending absolutely floored me. I have never had a game make me feel so scared but comforted, so curious yet confused. It's just pure awe. Bravo Outer Wilds.
The amount of peace and dread this game fills me with simultaneously isn't ok. Beautiful video that made me reappreciate this wonderful game❤
YOU create new universe... GOD I know OuterWilds from begining and know every little thing and YET, I cry again
I had no idea you could just walk away from the tree/campfire and it will progress to the next state. I thought it was specifically a quantum puzzle that you need to turn around/toggle your flashlight for to progress.
That's because walking away effectively does the same thing, it's not that deep
But the quantum puzzle is really that, how the object is affected when observed
The eye is giving us something that we are familiar with, something that would sooth our broken heart, the heart that was broken with the fact that our universe is dead
We were the campfire we made along the way
5:42 i just realize that the eye has the exact form that how the nomai represented him
I didn't get that experience of running around the tree. I didn't feel so lost when I remembered the lessons of quantum observation and entanglement. I would avert my eyes to move time. It's interesting; for me, I felt like things were moving too fast for my comprehension. I wasn't lost moving about in space, but I was lost in time. Being neurodivergent, I often have to read things more than once, and it's hard to go by something and not being able to replay it, re-read it, etc. Even when I stopped at each step, no matter how much time I stayed to observe, I needed to replay it to understand the whole. Eventually I do, but in the moment it always feels like I don't have enough time.
After having the luxury of the time loop to think of everything, pulling out the core also removes that freedom. Every move is certain. But, there's something funny about breaking from the loop. There still is a loop in the way of replaying the game. Although the hatchling ends and begins a new universe, you can always replay the game from the start of the loop. Which kind reflects that notion you make with the recursion of galaxies to the universe. Even when we break the loop, we can always replay the game to understand more. Or, to simply experience it all again.
Thanks for this video.
Has anyone else gotten hit with the symbolism of the campfire marshmallows? You light it, consume it and then replace it.
We needed this
Any other games with mystery and investigation solving like this?
Not entirely the same, but i would recommend "Return of the Orbra Dinn". Great puzzle game with shocking realizations tho it does get quite nonsensical in its difficulty sometimes.
I loved the ow ending and i loved this video too. Good job Lore, i enjoy a lot your content.
Sorry, didn't mean to hit you while you were talking 😔
@@azukar8 lol
Technically, Eye show us what we remember, dream or imagine. So, when we saw the dark end of the Universe, we were upset and we start to think, that always dark is in the ancient glade. And Eye show us it. So no, Gabro didn't know what is it in theEye, but his poem was meaningfull to us.
Personally I'm not so sure if the large "crater" at the north pole of the Eye of the Universe "planet" was caused by the gravitational forces of the Eye. The biggest reason being that the crater is almost perfectly spherical, it looks more like something big just up and vanished from that spot. I believe that something to be the quantum moon; it was originally just a part of the Eye's planet but at some point, be it at the moment the Eye first formed (if it hasn't always existed) or at some point later. While it is still possible the Eye has pulled the remains of the crater upwards, to me it seems like the ground formation in that area was like that when the moon-portion left; the "crater" hasn't been stretched along with the ground by the Eye.
Not sure if the "Quantum Moon was once part of the Eye's planet" -theory is actually a common one and my idea is not as unique as I think but I haven't seen anyone ever mention it. Also note that the maelstrom found on both the Quantum Moon and the Eye are both at the south pole.
It's funny. How people wish they could replay the game like new. I suspect people think that about life in general when they're much older.
DUDE! you gotta specify spoilers for echoes of the eye! i still hadn't played it and got spoiled atleast partially, but in a big way 😭
Hope this gets seen. However, you should know that EotE is an expansion to OW, not a separate piece of content. So any theorising or discussion without any mention of EotE is very unlikely due to number of the comparisons that can be made alone, as well as lore implications. So keep that in mind, you should play EotE as soon as possible as well.
@@knowledgeacquirer2931 ik i should but poor basically, the original ending from 2019 i assumed would be separate and safe from spoiler
@@Amphibian42 Do you play on steam?
@@knowledgeacquirer2931 i played on xbox game pass for free originally, i could afford just the dlc on steam but not the game plus dlc
Sorry triodum. Truthfully. But knowledge is right. "This video will contain spoilers for outer wilds" also means echoes. Hope you get to play it soon!
Also, if all those other stars are galaxies it would make sense for those (likely larger than hearthian system) objects to experience heat death first, as smaller objects can tolerate higher heats from a chemistry standpoint! That’s just a small theory though
Hey fun fact everyone: This applies to the real world too. You and I are quite literally the same thing. We are both simply patterns on the same quantum field.
Who could have thought that contents of outer wilds could be exhausted
Will you come back? I loved watching your videos i do hope you come back
Indeed I will! Shouldnt be long now! Thanks for the kind sentiment!
and it can even have relationship with true science as conceptualized in the idea of the participatory universe of john wheeler
Will you still be making videos?
I just finished the game and tried to stay as spoiler free as possible. I have EotE but haven't progressed any major lore paths with that really.
The ending so far gave me vibes of two pieces of contemporary media, one of which is concluded and the other is ongoing. These are Lost (spoliers ahead) and Elden Ring:
By the final season of Lost, the characters have shared so much emotion, life, and death. During that season, they experience vivid 'memories' of things that haven't happened. They don't know each other but they're drawn to each other. They suddenly get their epiphanies due to recognising their connection, and arrive elsewhere, all of them together. They're dead, but live on because of each other. Writing it down it doesn't make much sense, so I'd urge a watch if you've not already.
In Elden Ring, there is the theme of splitting and rejoining. It's not well recognised in the community, but to me it's the underlying theme. It's like the Eye, containing all matter and energy, gushing it forth, only for it to have/want to re-amalgamate and be reborn once again. So the QBH is older than the 'universe' (I'm not convinced it's actually that), because it birthed the universe. Actually it's beginning to remind me of Dark Souls 3 now, with the painting. Destroy the old world to recreate a new one. In DS3 it's 'rotten' but in Outer Wilds i just think it will die out as per the Heat Death end Nomai writing. Either the QBH doesn't 'want' this and sets in motion the reversal and rebirth that we and the Nomai engineer, or it's just a coincidence. Maybe it's one of many universes like Higurashi or Bioshock Infinite and we just happen to have succeeded in this one. Others who didn't get the ending won't save the QBH. It's a poignant thought. Like going hollow when you give up on Dark Souls.
I should make a video about it hahaha
I got softlocked in the Eye my first time