All Reaching the Sixth Location in Outer Wilds

Learn how to get started in Outer Wilds! This guide covers exploring your home planet, interacting with locals, and preparing for your first space journey.

Alright, so you've just booted up Outer Wilds and you're standing on your home planet, ready to explore. Before you blast off into the unknown, there's a bit of introductory stuff you should absolutely do right here on your home planet. Think of it as your tutorial, showing you the ropes of how things work in this solar system.

Exploring Home

Before you even think about leaving, take some time to wander around your home planet and chat with the folks you live with. They're all blissfully unaware of the impending doom that's about to hit, which is kind of a bummer, but also part of the game's charm. Talking to them and checking out the sights around the Outer Wilds Ventures crater is basically your first mission, teaching you the basics.

Speak with the locals

First up, let's meet some of the locals. Gneiss is going to introduce you to your Signalscope. This is super important – it's how you'll tune into all sorts of mysterious signals across the solar system. You can even use it to track down Galena and Tephra in a game of Hide-and-Seek. Don't worry, they're just kids, so they won't be hiding too far!

Next, Arkose will explain the deal with ghost matter. It's this invisible, deadly gas that'll zap you instantly. The trick here is to use your Scout Launcher; sending out a scout can help you detect where the ghost matter is lurking.

Mica has been busy building a miniature spaceship model. She'll let you take it for a spin down to some landing pads. It's perfect practice for flying your actual ship later!

Over at the entrance to the "Zero-G" cave, you'll find Gossan. They'll tell you about a satellite needing repairs deep inside. This is your introduction to moving around in zero gravity. You'll need to grab a space suit from the bottom of the cave elevator to breathe and navigate the cave.

See the sights

After you've chatted with everyone, head over to the Observatory. You'll bump into a few more locals there who can drop some interesting lore about the world. The ground floor has a museum filled with artifacts from around the solar system. Take your time reading the descriptions and checking out the exhibits. A lot of it might not make sense yet, but you can always come back later once you've explored more.

You'll find a gray stone slab with cool spiral patterns – that's the Nomai writing! Your translator will help you understand it. You'll see these patterns scattered all over the solar system.

The Signalscope is useful here too, especially for listening to a strange blue "museum shard" in its own room. You'll also see cool game mechanics demonstrated, like the purple-blue glowing gravity crystal. Don't miss the top floor – there's a working map of the entire solar system up there!

Finally, grab the Launch Codes from Hornfels. He's standing with Hal, looking at a cool Nomai statue head. Once you have the codes, the statue's eyes will light up, and you'll see a cutscene with flashes of your recent "memories."

Now, head back down the hill to where Slate was roasting marshmallows. Use the launch codes to enter the small lift, and it'll take you up to your ship. Take a moment to check out your ship – it's small, but it's got essentials. There's a space suit on the wall that gives you turbo boosters, an oxygen tank (refillable on the ship or at living trees), and fuel for those boosters (refillable on the ship or at traveler camps). If you get hurt, you can use the medical kit on your ship or roast some marshmallows for health.

Finding Those Off World

Remember Gneiss mentioning explorers being off-world? Well, some of them are already out there, and one might even be missing. Your Signalscope isn't just for mysterious sounds; it can also help you locate these astronauts by the unique instrument each one plays constantly. You can also spot their camps by the smoke rising from their fires.

All explorer camps, current and past, are good spots to refill your oxygen, find spare fuel tanks, and grab marshmallows.