The best games like Outer Wilds depend on what you want to carry into your next game: a time-loop mystery, open-ended exploration, or the pleasure of solving a story from clues. These five recommendations are spoiler-free and are grouped by the part of Outer Wilds they share—not ranked as if they offered the same experience.
What makes a game feel like Outer Wilds?
Annapurna Interactive describes Outer Wilds as “an open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop.” (Annapurna Interactive) But similarity can mean several different things: learning through exploration, piecing together a mystery, or repeating events with new knowledge. The recommendations below identify both the match and the important difference, so you can choose the experience you actually want.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Outer Wilds: Archaeologist Edition - PS5 | $49.97 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Outer Wilds: Archaeologist Edition - Compatible for PS5 - UK PAL | $44.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Unbound Worlds Apart (PS5) | $24.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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iam8bit Outer Wilds: Archaeologist Edition - PS5 | $54.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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iam8bit Outer Wilds: Archaeologist Edition - PS5 | $59.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Games like Outer Wilds to try
The Forgotten City: for a knowledge-driven time-loop mystery
Choose The Forgotten City if the loop and the way accumulated knowledge changes your understanding are what you want most. A DiGRA conference paper characterizes it as a time-loop game in which acquired knowledge helps solve a mystery. Its setting and structure differ from Outer Wilds’s open solar system, but it is the closest fit here for a mystery that advances through what you learn.
Return of the Obra Dinn: for observation and deduction
Return of the Obra Dinn is the pick for carefully examining evidence and inferring what happened. It is a stronger match for Outer Wilds’s investigative satisfaction than for its free-roaming exploration: the comparison source describes it as centered on deductive logic, not traversal or a time loop. Go in for the act of connecting clues, rather than expecting a spacecraft or a repeating cycle.
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#1 Best Overall
- Welcome to the Space Program! You’re the newest recruit of Outer Wilds Ventures, a fledgling space program searching for answers in a strange, constantly evolving solar system.
- Mysteries of the Solar System... What lurks in the heart of the ominous Dark Bramble? Who built the alien ruins on the Moon? Can the endless time loop be stopped? Answers await you in the most dangerous reaches of space.
- A World That Changes Over Time: The planets of Outer Wilds are packed with hidden locations that change with the passage of time. Visit an underground city before it’s swallowed by sand or explore the surface of a planet as it crumbles beneath your feet. Every secret is guarded by hazardous environments and natural catastrophes.
- Grab Your Intergalactic Hiking Gear! Strap on your hiking boots, check your oxygen levels, and get ready to venture into space. Use a variety of unique gadgets to probe your surroundings, track down mysterious signals, decipher ancient alien writing, and roast the perfect marshmallow.
- Echoes of the Eye: The Hearthian space program has detected an anomaly that can’t be attributed to any known location in the solar system. Grab your flashlight and prepare to illuminate the darkest secrets of the Outer Wilds...
Subnautica: for exploratory discovery with survival systems
If you want a world to explore and uncover, Subnautica is a candidate—but it adds survival gameplay. That difference matters: resource management and danger are part of the experience, unlike a recommendation based solely on uncovering an environmental mystery. Pick it if exploration remains appealing when it is paired with survival pressures.
Tunic: for learning a world’s rules
Tunic is a looser match, suited to players who enjoy discovering how a game works and finding hidden rules. It does not mirror Outer Wilds in setting or structure, and its action gameplay is a significant difference. Consider it for discovery and secrets, not as a substitute for a spacefaring time-loop mystery.
Rank #2
- UK PSN account may be required for any online features
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes: another mystery-led option
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is another mystery-oriented possibility. The available comparison source names it alongside The Forgotten City and Return of the Obra Dinn, but does not establish enough detail here to characterize its mechanics or how closely it matches Outer Wilds. Look into its current official listing and description before choosing it for a particular gameplay feature.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which one should you play?
- Want a time-loop mystery? Start with The Forgotten City.
- Want to reason from clues? Try Return of the Obra Dinn.
- Want exploration plus survival? Consider Subnautica.
- Want to uncover hidden rules? Try Tunic.
- Want another mystery to investigate? Look into Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, checking its official listing for the specifics that matter to you.
The list is a set of distinct matches, not a definitive ranking: no single recommendation combines every element of Outer Wilds.
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Quick Recap
Best Value
- Physical edition contains: Planetary Map Folding Poster by Ian Jacobson, Concept Artist at Mobius Digital, Echoes of the Eye expansion on software card included/disc included.
- Welcome to the space program! You are the latest recruit of Outer Wilds Ventures, a space program in its infancy that searches for answers in a strange, ever-evolving solar system.
- Secrets of the Solar System... What lurks in the heart of the ominous Dark Bramble? Who built the alien ruins on the moon? Can the endless time loop be stopped? Answers await you in the most dangerous expanses of space.
- A world that changes over time: the planets of Outer Wilds are full of hidden places that change over time. Visit an underground city before it goes down in the sand, or explore the surface of a planet as it crumbles beneath your feet. Every secret is protected by dangerous environments and natural disasters.
- Grab your intergalactic hiking gear! Jump into your hiking boots, check your oxygen supply and get ready to penetrate into space. Use a variety of unique equipment to explore your surroundings, track down mysterious signals, decipher ancient alien writings and roast the perfect marshmallow.
Rank #4
- The physical edition includes: A Foldout Planetary Chart Poster by Mobius Digital Concept Artist Ian Jacobson, The Echoes of the Eye Expansion included on cartridge/disc.
- Welcome to the Space Program! You’re the newest recruit of Outer Wilds Ventures, a fledgling space program searching for answers in a strange, constantly evolving solar system.
- Mysteries of the Solar System... What lurks in the heart of the ominous Dark Bramble? Who built the alien ruins on the Moon? Can the endless time loop be stopped? Answers await you in the most dangerous reaches of space.
- A World That Changes Over Time: The planets of Outer Wilds are packed with hidden locations that change with the passage of time. Visit an underground city before it’s swallowed by sand or explore the surface of a planet as it crumbles beneath your feet. Every secret is guarded by hazardous environments and natural catastrophes.
- Grab Your Intergalactic Hiking Gear! your hiking boots, check your oxygen levels, and get ready to venture into space. Use a variety of unique gadgets to probe your surroundings, track down mysterious signals, decipher ancient alien writing, and roast the perfect marshmallow.
Rank #3
- 10 different portals with unique mechanics
- Vibrant and detailed hand-drawn artwork
- Twitch platforming with new skills to unlock
- Challenging puzzles, traps, monsters and bosses
- A rich narrative, world lore and cast of NPCs
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
