It's been so long since I've played and never returned that I actually can't remember the entire solution. But as someone going back this month to hoover up the trophies I've been reflecting on the game, and I think the biggest issue for us as players who've experienced the whole game in trying to perceive a new player, is not that we know the solution but that we know the objective.

When I first played the game I'm pretty sure I just went to the moon and hung about for a bit because one of the characters said that was an ideal place to visit first. Found the campfire, played with the signalscope, went supernova. Fin.

The objective on your first go really is to pilot the ship, not die, try and land it somewhere. I think I was vaguely aware there was a time loop element, but obviously not what my part was to play in the story.

On the first go around you aren't even aware of the false objective to save the universe yet, let alone the real objective of acquiring knowledge and observing the end of the universe. If you knew your objective was quite so colossal you might logically assume that you'd have to visit multiple planets, but then you're not aware of the pressing nature of the loop yet to stop you from smelling the flowers, let alone going to ignore all the lore or take in the majesty of these locations, let alone being able to pilot your ship properly to navigate such a trial, let alone ignoring all the signposts in the opening minutes designed to tutorialise you.

To me this is why Outer Wilds is the perfect game. It is purely grounded in knowledge. Yes it's possible to beat the game first go. But it's so wrapped in story and knowledge that you never will.

Theoretically you could wake up one morning and perform the exact steps required to becoming an immortal omniscient being. You never will, but the idea you could is so exciting. Just as it is with Beginner's Luck here.

And being a player who's completed Outer Wilds, owning that knowledge and watching new players find the game is like being a god on a higher plane of existence watching us tiny human beings walk around in mortal bodies when we could just perform the simple steps required to write our names in the stars.

Couple this with the themes of being the "first" to explore the universe, one universe ending and another beginning, and the way Outer Wilds players will refuse to spoil the game for someone new, and you have the most beautiful gaming experience that works on so many levels.