At first glance, the open-ended sci-fi title might not have that much in common with the Zelda series and its plot-driven high-fantasy adventures, but both encourage and reward players for going off the intended path and seeing what secrets there are to discover in the games’ worlds. This is especially the case for Outer Wilds, where much of the game’s progression is tied to what players learn about the solar system they get to explore.

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This aspect in particular took its inspiration from one of the more noteworthy Legend of Zelda titles, 2003’s The Wind Waker. In a documentary about Outer Wilds on YouTube channel Noclip, co-creative lead Alex Beachum explained how he was inspired by a photographer’s gallery players can come across in that game, wherein they can find various photos. “They’re all taken, they’re all actual photos taken from real locations in the game,” he explained. “It’s cool because you see a photo and you’re like, ‘wow, I wonder what this weird statue is,’ and he will, like, tell you where he took the photo. And so if you’re curious, you can go check it out, but the game isn’t telling you to do that.”

Beachum also cited another Zelda game as an influence on Outer Wilds, though for less flattering reasons. That game, 2011’s Skyward Sword, cut down on much of the series’ classic exploration to focus on a more linear progression for its story, combat, and puzzle-solving, a move Beachum decried as “emblematic of just all the things that… pain me to see the Zelda series doing.” As such, Outer Wilds was designed to some extent to be the exact opposite of that, a game where wandering around is pivotal and the pursuit of knowledge is the key goal, instead of simply defeating enemies.

The result is a game that should easily scratch the adventure itch for Zelda fans whose fondest gaming memories included sailing across The Wind Waker’s Great Sea and traversing Breath of the Wild’s open-world version of Hyrule. It’s a shame then that more people haven’t heard about Outer Wilds, though that could be because they confused it for the similarly-named action-RPG The Outer Worlds. Hopefully, with time people will start to realize the difference.

Outer Wilds is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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