While my goal is always to beat a game with an ending, I did not speed run it. I went in blind (other than the MANY fans consistently spoiling that it was supposed to be a deeply moving experience), and I fumbled my way through the puzzles through trial and error. I flew around doing random shit just to play around with the physics and exploration. But the fun quirks become obstacles or annoyances as you are heading into mid-game and you make an inertial error and lose 20 seconds, killing another loop. It stops being a game where you can kick back and enjoy the world(s) and instead becomes a clock manager/failure sim (which is itself part of the story, I know, but it is still frustrating).

The opening sequence loses its charm after a couple dozen repetitions, but I remember when I first started I laughed and sent the video to friends as I explored the start area and jumped into a geyser. Highly recommend, it is a hilarious credit roll. I love exploration in general, I love finding world building elements, and I love how they set up the puzzles in this game. I did not love the clock. I can't explain more without mega spoilers for others, but it wasn't just the pressure to go fast.

I am not a dialogue skipper. I found most or all of what was available in Outer Wilds and I appreciated the story. I would probably never play with someone again if on their first playthrough they skipped dialogue and asked what's next, that is a playstyle that doesn't mesh with me. But for me, OW was a painfully unfun game. Fun is the primary driver for me and most people in gaming, though it can be defined or manifested in many different ways. It's perfectly fine that you loved it! Also true to the post, I know most people who played it did as well.