izigame.me

the Echoes of the Eye DLC is such a surprise for me, in many ways, not all super positive, but is such a unique and distinct new direction for Outer Wilds that I loved it almost as much as I loved the base game. I think I would not recommend this DLC to all like I did the original, but to pretty much anybody that can handle some mild spooks.
I don't often review DLC, but considering that I gave Outer Wilds higher praise than any game I've ever reviewed, and I treasure this game so much, I decided to do this. I played the DLC just over a month ago, only once, but I spent quite a few hours trying to complete it, and I've taken this time to digest before giving my thoughts.
Echoes of the Eye is a DLC really in only two ways, 1) in a meta way, as in, you can't play this without first owning the original game, and 2) It doesn't have its own game ending, per say.. Number 1 is obviously not a negative, but for me, personally, number 2 is. Echoes of the Eye takes place almost entirely on another location you've never been or have to go to for the base game. The lore and story actually ties in incredibly well with the base game. In fact, I think it is a stunning addition to the Outer Wilds universe/story. I couldn't tell you how many times I leaned back after learning something new or solving a puzzle and just leaning back and going "wow". However, none of it is needed to beat the game and, in this way, it would have felt better to me if the DLC had its own ending with its own credits, even though I think this would conflict with a somewhat core part of what the original game is about. In the base game, everything you do is building your knowledge to learn how to beat the game. In Echoes of the Eye, nothing you learn in the new place does that, so I feel awkward re: my #2 point.
The story though, the characters, the locations, the artwork, the puzzle design (save for one), and the platforming are all glorious though. I think the slideshows were some of my favorite moments in Outer Wilds (DLC or not) period. They are incredible. One thing I think is absolutely marvelous is how well the soundtrack ties in to what you're viewing. Lots of games have adaptive soundtracks so when certain actions are taken or things happen songs transition. I really love this in games, and I think a number of games do it well, like Albion Online and even the beautiful Firewatch, but I think I've never heard such smooth and powerful transitions as I have when playing this DLC.
it's hard to say much more, since, as many have mentioned already, the DLC, much like the base game, is best gone in with as little known as possible. I felt it was necessary to make my spoiler tagged comments since I think it's almost unavoidable to my judgement on the DLC, and I didn't want to be more vague, as I think it may come across as pretentious to criticize without good detail or support.
If you have any questions or comments or want me to elaborate more, I am happy to discuss more in the comments and not worry about spoilers.
For the time being though, please play this if you can handle mild spooks. This DLC is almost as magisterial as the original game. It's a once in a generation type of DLC experience. There's still no other game, save for maybe Return of the Obra Dinn, that uses knowledge as the only roadblock to beating the game like Outer Wilds. It's glorious.
9.5/10