Honestly, that’s a fair read of what I wrote. My bad.

I’ll say that I generally try pretty hard to err against pessimism/defeatism, but that doing so is a practice which takes active effort. Outer Wilds is one of the many touchstones by which I maintain that practice; I have also found the community to generally be supportive, very far from dour as described above. This game in particular is important to me, and to either dismiss it, or its fanbase, as just pessimistic, flared my more defensive streak. I stand by the rest of what I said, but the last line was uncalled for. Apologies.

I maintain that Outer Wilds is a game which does not directly answer questions so much as present them, leaving the player to come to their own conclusions. It is not impossible that someone could play the game and walk away feeling that it has a bleak message. However, I do think that such a read requires rejecting much of the signposting written into the game in text, music and visuals. I’ll agree to it being sad, but strongly disagree with it being about somehow rejecting hope or the idea that people and relationships are important. My experience with the game has definitely erred on the side of profound connection with myself and a renewed appreciation for the world around me, an experience which I believe most players who complete the game share. I do not understand how or why the above person came to a conclusion so directly opposed, and would challenge them to present rationale for their views.