Outer Wilds spoiler-free tips for content creators
So you want to play Outer Wilds on stream or video, and you heard it should be played completely blind, but you're still worried about providing the best content for your viewers? Fear not! Huge Outer Wilds enthusiast here, I've watched countless people play it (including two couples as of this writing — couple streamers are my new obsession!), and I know a bit about content creation. I prepared a spoiler-free list of tips to help you out: practical content things, tips to maximize your enjoyment (and your audience's), and a couple of borderline-spoilers to prevent missing content. Keep those in mind, and enjoy the game!
It is not a puzzle game.
That's maybe my main takeaway. Outer Wilds is an archeology game, if you're unfamiliar with the subgenre, think of it as an exploration/story game. It can be played as a puzzle game, but it's a pretty mediocre one (except for one explicit puzzle section, you'll know when you're there), while it's one of the best archeology games out there. I've seen a few creators approach it as a puzzle game and walk out disappointed.
Content creator things.
The best place for your camera or avatar (or, really, the only good place) is the middle of the right-hand side. Only the DLC ever puts anything important there, and even that is easy for the audience to deduce by context, so nothing will be missed.
Try to end every video or stream in the campfire (where the game starts). It's the best way to make sure nothing important happens when you're not recording/streaming.
If you like recaps, a good way to start a stream/episode is reviewing the log.
There's a discord called The Interloper, created specifically for viewers to chat with each other while watching Outer Wilds streamers, without fear of spoilers. If you're okay with that sort of recommendation, I'd suggest pointing your viewers there.
The Outer Wilds viewer community has a fun convention. The emoji ::) basically means, “oh boy I wish I could tell you something but I'm holding back spoilers”.
Tutorials.
If you're the type to rush the start, two non-spoiler tips on the village:
Every child in the village is a tutorial. There's one tutorial that isn't a child, but it's also the longest and most skippable. Absolutely stop to talk to all children you meet, their tutorials are hugely helpful.
Do read everything in the observatory: both in the beginning and the end of the game.
Progress.
Don't rush. If you feel stuck, stop and have a careful look around. If you feel you're done with an area, stop and have a careful look around.
On the other hand, don't frustrate yourself either. If you have looked around carefully and tried everything, maybe you're just not ready for this area yet. Make a note of it and come back later.
On that note: when viewing things with multiple pages (especially in the DLC), make sure you paged all the way to the end.
Come back to all travellers again and again as you learn more things. They're not one-shot.
There is no “correct” order. The game is designed so you can do it your way and everything will still come together.
The log is your best friend. Lavish it with attention.
There are optional, hidden easter eggs, so feel free to play creatively, your way.
The DLC is best played after finishing the main content.
There is no section 5.
There's so much more I'd like to say, but it's better to discover it yourself. Enjoy! And make sure to smell the pine trees along the way.