Outer Wildsis coming toNintendo Switchfour years after launch, packaged alongside the DLC expansion Echoes of the Eye. Outer Wilds: Archaeologist Edition will be available on December 7, with a physical release coming sometime in 2024.
The reveal also gives us our first look at Outer Wilds running on the Nintendo Switch. While it’s certainly looking quite downgraded visually, it’s not clear if this was just the limitations of the stream, and will perform better come December 7. The framerate doesn’t appear to be dipping in any case, hopefully securing smooth space travel for Switch users.
We don’t have a specific release date for physical copies just yet, but they’re aiming for an early 2024 launch. Outer Wilds doesn’t typically get physical runs, so this will be a rare chance to get an actual copy of the game in your hands.
Outer Wilds launched on PC, Xbox One and PS4 back in 2019. Very helpfully, this was the same year asThe Outer Worlds, so there was a fair bit of confusion. That aside, Outer Wilds quickly built up a passionate playerbase due to its unique gameplay, pulling off a time loop narrativebefore all the cool kids were doing it.
Outer Wilds was nominated in three categories at The Game Awards 2019, and six at the Golden Joystick Awards. At the latter, it even bagged a nomination for Ultimate Game of the Year.
It’s remained a fan favourite as it’s been ported over to new systems and services,getting a current-gen upgrade in 2022. This made Outer Wilds playable in up to 4K resolution on consoles and with 60FPS. It gave the game a facelift almost everywhere you looked, improving the appearance of the planets even at a far distance. Which is handy, when these visual clues are all you have when you first take to the skies.
Still, despite all of these releases, including its 2021 DLC, this will be the first time that it’s available to play on Nintendo Switch. It’s not clear why it skipped the console for so long, as its controls should lend themselves well to Switch hardware, but at least this will soon be rectified. In just three weeks we’ll see if it works well on the platform, and if this port has been worth the wait. You’ll have to wait quite a bit longer if you want it on a cartridge, though.
