An Indie Backlog curated overview. We round up the best indie games on PS5 and how professional critics and players received each one — the scores below are theirs, linked to the source.
A time-looping space mystery that hides its entire game inside a single solar system — and is, for many, the best game ever made.
At a Glance
| Developer | Mobius Digital |
| Release year | 2019 |
| Platforms | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch |
| Subgenre | Exploration mystery |
| Length | ~15 hours (main story) |
| Metacritic | 85 / 100 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (~96%, 100,000+ reviews) |
| Steam Deck | Verified |
| Languages | 13 |
About the Game
Outer Wilds, from Mobius Digital (published by Annapurna), is an open-world space exploration game built around one extraordinary idea: you’re trapped in a 22-minute time loop that ends when the sun goes supernova, then resets. There’s no leveling, no combat, no upgrades — the only thing that carries between loops is your own knowledge.
You fly a charming, ramshackle wooden spaceship between handcrafted planets — a world flooding with sand, a pair of bodies trading matter back and forth, a moon hiding a quantum secret — piecing together what happened to an ancient alien civilization and why the loop exists. Every discovery is a “knowledge upgrade” that opens a new path forward.
It’s almost impossible to recommend without spoiling, because the entire game IS the discovery — once you know its secrets, you can’t un-know them. That’s why fans are so protective of it. For players who love mystery and exploration, it’s a singular, unforgettable masterpiece.
Screenshots
Screenshots: official Steam media for Outer Wilds.
Why It Made the List
Outer Wilds earns its place as one of the most acclaimed games of its generation — an adventure made entirely of curiosity and revelation. It’s the rare game people beg you to play knowing absolutely nothing. On PS5 it’s a must-experience.
What the Critics Say
Outer Wilds holds a Metacritic score of 85, though its reputation outstrips even that — it routinely appears on “best games of all time” lists. Critics praised its design, mystery, and sense of wonder; the rare caveat is that its open-ended structure can leave some players stuck.
What Players Say
On Steam it’s rated Overwhelmingly Positive across more than 100,000 reviews — about 96% positive. Players frequently describe it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience they wish they could play again fresh.
Praise & Criticism
Praise
- A genuinely unique, unforgettable mystery
- A brilliant, handcrafted solar system
- A profound sense of wonder
- Pure discovery — no busywork
Criticism
- Can leave you stuck without direction
- Time-loop pressure stresses some
- Best played blind, which is hard to sell
Games Like This
- Cocoon — elegant, wordless puzzle-discovery
- Tunic — an adventure built on figuring things out
- Disco Elysium — a singular, unforgettable world
Where to Buy
Plain store links for now — swap in your affiliate-tagged URLs once you’ve joined Amazon Associates and the eBay Partner Network. (Steam and the PlayStation Store have no consumer affiliate program; those links are for convenience.)
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