Funny / Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds has some good moments of dry wit.

Beware, spoilers are unmarked!

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Main Game

• Some of the many, many ways you can die in this game.
  • Getting so excited about exploring a new area that you jump out of your spaceship without putting on your spacesuit.
  • Getting so excited about exploring a new area that you plummet off the side of the launch platform on Timber Hearth, just seconds into a run.
  • Accidentally activating the autopilot when the sun is in front of your target, and then having the autopilot fly directly into said sun. There's even a dialogue option to complain to Slate if this happens.
• It's made clear very quickly that Slate, the Hearthian space program's engineer, is definitely not OSHA-compliant.
  Hatchling: You're sure you fixed the retro rockets?
  Slate: That was only a problem one time. And then maybe a few times after that, but hey, no reason to dwell on the past, right?
  
  Slate: Hey, you might get a kick out of this - I've repurposed the spare oxygen tank to be used as an extra combustion chamber!
  Hatchling: Is that... safe?
  Slate: Probably!
  
  Slate: The excitement of a launch is fun and all, but I can't wait to get back to working on the new ship. We're working on fixing the autopilot's avoidance system for this one!...Uh, sorry.
  
  Slate: It's a brilliant feature, if I say so myself. Dead useful. And the risk it poses of shorting out the fuel regulator and causing the ship to explode is so minimal that only Gossan would worry about it.
  Hatchling: How minimal are we talking?
  Slate: Minimal! Stars above, you worry too much. If anything's going to kill you, it’s the autopilot.
• Apparently, the first Hearthian spaceflight did not go very well.
  Museum Plaque: This pilot seat, used by pioneering astronaut Feldspar, is all that remains of our inaugural flight into space. Although it's been argued such a distinction requires a breathtakingly liberal definition of flight, that day will nevertheless always be remembered as a landmark achievement in Hearthian history.
• An entry in the museum states that Feldspar was the first Hearthian to be intentionally launched into space. The implications in that sentence are never elaborated upon.
• Marl keeps trying to find excuses to cut down the big tree in the village. Moraine stays in said tree specifically to prevent them from doing so, Esker sometimes checks with their scout that Marl isn't doing anything stupid, and Rutile simply sighs "I suppose it's my duty as mayor to stop them. Again."
  Hatchling: Nice try. We all know you have it out for that tree.
  Marl: What? No, I just think it's in the way and someone ought to chop it down, you know? Specifically, me... Haha, you think this has to do with the time I fell out of it and broke my arm? That was when we were hatchlings! Who would hold a grudge for that long?
  • Alternatively, since Marl justifies their offer by mentioning that there must be a "less-flammable" tree to use as a launch pad...
    Hatchling: The launch pad is FLAMMABLE?!
    Marl: Ha! You didn't realize that? Don't worry, it's held up for all the launches so far. It'll definitely be fine for yours. Probably.
• Porphy states they like to begin aging sap wine on the day of a significant occasion.
  Porphy: That's why there are so many bottles labeled "structural collapse" and "house fire".
• If you tell Tektite you can hear harmonica music from the bramble seed:
  Tektite: Listen here, don't go telling Gneiss about the harmonica music, okay? They'll never let me get rid of this darn seed if they suspect it has any musical talent.
• If you haven't installed the DLC, the radio tower on Timber Hearth is stated to be closed due to fire damage caused by "unsanctioned flight testing of an extremely powerful model rocket."
  "Sincerest apologies, except to Slate and Mica."
• Hornfels was apparently so impatient waiting for the images from the deep space satellite to print, that they had to ask Gabbro to teach them how to relax and doze off.
  Hornfels: If Gabbro knew I'd taken notes, they'd probably think I'd finally cracked, but I refuse to accept sass from an astronaut who deliberately burns their marshmallows.
• "Day 51: Listened to Chert play for a while today. Unrelated, someone should tell Porphy and Gossan their flirting is not subtle from an aerial perspective."
• Gabbro always casually playing on their flute even when their island gets thrown into the atmosphere by a cyclone. Or maybe we should just say, Gabbro in general.
  "When I'm done exploring, I want to make some more quantum art. Maybe some kind of creature sculpture that just, like, shows up and scares the daylights out of you."
  (When asked "Where's your ship?") "That's a good question. It's definitely on this planet somewhere. I mean, unless a cyclone came by and tossed it into space, I guess. Heh, that would be pretty nuts. I hope it's not lonely."
  "You know, I kind of wish I'd built a hammock here before we ended up in this time loop."
  "Seriously, I tried everything I could think of to get past that current, and neither idea worked."
  "It's a nice beach for that kind of thing. I give it a solid 7 out of 10 on the Gabbro Relaxation Scale."
  "I'm just gonna sit here and ponder the intricacies of time and space. Maybe take a nap, too, if I feel like it."
• Chert sums up the attitude of their colleagues.
  Chert: Please don't tell the others I said this, but sometimes I think I'm the only traveler out here interested in doing any science at all... Er, maybe don't tell Hornfels, either. I think they're pretty deep in denial.
• Feldspar is not apparently very fond of keeping track of their log entries.
  Trip 4, entry # whatever
  Crashes: 2
  Boring crashes: 0 (remember to see Slate when I get back)
  
  Trip 4(?), entry #... I’m gonna say "not 1."
  Crashes: 3
  Boring crashes: 0 (a personal best!)
  • If you tell Feldspar you can't believe they destroyed their ship, they grumble about how your ship probably has all kinds of fancy upgrades, like "working retro boosters" and "non-flammable construction materials". (Given your ship is largely made of wood, it's doubtful they're correct about that second one).
  • "Note to Feldspar: DO NOT EAT THIS EVEN IF YOU ARE DYING. It would be too sad if this were the last thing you ever ate in this life."
• Riebeck decided to explore Brittle Hollow, the planet with a black hole at its core, due to their love for archeology and Nomai history. Only problem: they're scared of space. Apparently, they ended up at their current camp site after they tripped over a gravity crystal and fell. Fortunately, they found a source of oxygen, since they used up a lot of their supply screaming during the trip down.
  • Most of the "I found something!" dialogue options are perfectly casual. If you decide to tell Riebeck about meeting Solanum, though...
    Hatchling: I TALKED TO A LIVING NOMAI!
  • Riebeck gets very excited upon hearing there's a sort-of-living Nomai on the quantum moon, and immediately starts planning a visit there. They'll just have to go back into space, fly to the Quantum Moon with zero visibility, find a spooky ruin, and travel through a few different types of dangerous terrain to get there...
    Riebeck: Okay, yeah, that's... that's not so bad. That's probably doable...
• One of the Nomai conversations has Yarrow worry that Avens might blow up the Orbital Probe Cannon by accident: "Would it help to remind Avens that Mallow (his love) will be one of the Nomai aboard the cannon, or is Mallow part of the problem?" (Answer: Mallow is very much part of the problem).
• One of the Nomai constructed a massive model of the Giant's Deep cyclones at the Observatory.
  Cassava: My gratitude, Spire. Conoy is showing me your handiwork, and I'm intrigued by this secondary type of cyclone. But was it really necessary to build a model to tell me that?
  Spire: The model will be useful as we continue monitoring Giant's Deep.
  Spire: Also, I very much wanted to make a model.
• Another message board records a budding relationship.
  Yarrow: I confess, I'm deeply curious about what you and Poke found on the White Hole Station that started this project. Could I visit sometime to learn more?
  Clary: I recommend you do! The White Hole Station is the model for the towers being built for the Ash Twin Project, so a visit to the station would be doubly useful.
  Yarrow: I suppose, more precisely, I would like to visit the White Hole Station with you, Clary.
  Clary: I'd be happy to explain our findings!
  Poke: Yarrow, stop using this scroll wall to flirt with my sister (in romantic matters, her density rivals a neutron star's) and go meet her on the White Hole Station.
• A message at the Nomai's construction yard has Daz suggesting they give Avens and Mallow a slightly lower maximum power setting than the absolute maximum, because otherwise they're probably going to fire the cannon with so much power it'll break. Elsewhere, you can find a discussion between Avens and Mallow, where they are informed about a power setting they are under no circumstances to go over. They immediately decide to go above said "maximum" power setting, because they accurately predict the others have accounted for their nature.
• Pye and Idaea arguing on the topic of the Sun Station:
  Pye: Mission: Science compels us to explode the sun!
  Idaea: Can't we change this? I don't enjoy working in view of such a morbid mission statement. Here's a better one. Mission: Determine if it's possible to prompt the sun to explode.
  Pye: You lack a sense of humor.
  Idaea: At least I don't lack a sense of ethics!
  Pye: Kindly refrain from going supernova on me before the sun does, Idaea.
• The tail end of the conversation in the High Energy Lab about building warp towers to various locations, where there's an obvious implication that the Nomai scientists got annoying about correcting Yarrow:
  Yarrow: My gratitude to those who noted my imprecise language! Yes, the sun is not a planet. I believe this has been sufficiently clarified (kindly stop reminding me)!
• If you mess around with the High Energy Lab, you can completely shatter the fabric of reality, which nets you an unique game over. While the fact that the Hatchling just destroyed the universe by accident can be funny on its own, the fact that you get to watch the credits with a rendition of the main theme played on a kazoo is icing on the cake.
• The "Self ending" has you creating a copy of yourself through time travel shenanigans. Lots of amusing dialogue ensues.
  • "Are you being sassy? You can't sass me! You are me! Does kind of prove we're the same person, though."
  • You can say this is the greatest day of your life:
    Self: Sure, two of us is great and all, but is it the greatest? What about the day we, you know... what about that one?
    Hatchling: Are you talking about the day I...?
    Self: What? No! No, I'm talking about the other one.
    Hatchling: OH. Yep, that makes way more sense.
    Self: Yeah, now you've got it. That was an incredible day. But today is probably the next greatest day of our life after that one.
  • If you wonder whether it's okay that there's two of you now:
    Self: Well, we're talking to each other and nothing's exploded yet.
    Hatchling: Gossan always says that means the date's going well.
    Self: Yeah, but it's Slate's definition of a boring date. Makes sense Gossan and Slate never dated.
  • You can just start screaming. Your duplicate does the same thing, and it's possible to continue this for quite a while.
• There's something oddly hilarious that, in the Ancient Glade at the end of the universe, you can still sit down and roast marshmallows in this Place Beyond Time.

Echoes of the Eye

• Your Nomai translator doesn't work on the new language in the DLC, so you can go and ask Hal if they could add the language to the translator. They're immediately excited and state they can definitely do that... before that idea hits a little snag.
  Hal: Just give me... let's call it a hundred samples, some form of epigraphical codex, and six months, and I should have the vague gist of the sort of graphemes this new language is working with! Gosh, I can't wait to get started!
• When you start the DLC content, Slate reminds you about the navigation marker system on your ship.
  Slate: "Wow, Slate! How do you come up with these incredible ideas?" Oh, I do the best I can with what I've got. Really, you're too kind.
  Hatchling: Slate, you are a technological marvel.
  Slate: ...Whoa, say that again! Please? That sounds so good when it's not sarcastic.
• If you talk to Gabbro about the deep space satellite, they mention that it's responsible for generating your real-time solar system map. One of your response options?
  Hatchling: I have a map?!
  Gabbro: Yeah, um, the one that's standard with all our spacesuits? The one you have with you at all times that opens with the press of a button? ...That map? You didn't get conked on the head by a rock or a meteorite or something on your way here, did you? No shame in that. Happens to me all the time!
• For some morbid humor, going down to the hidden rooms where the mummified alien bodies are strapped upright, facing an eerie green fire... and using it to roast marshmallows.

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