Oh man flying to planets manually is TOUGH, the physics engine is just realistic enough that doing it manually takes more skill than I care to develop.

Just use the autopilot. Yes, you have to be careful about not starting it when there’s something else between you and your destination. But for real, use the autopilot.

Mind you, you are still going to die a lot because the universe is as amazing as it is unforgiving. You WILL die in that one specific way that will be your own damn fault because everyone does sooner or later. It’s okay, and it’s fun.

And it’s very, very worth it.

I bought the game during last year’s sale and dropped it because it doesn’t explain anything and the constant anxiety from unavoidable events was not fun in my opinion. I never got a refund for it but I don’t see myself picking it up again.

There’s an autopilot that will basically fly you right into orbit on a planet.

Once it’s boring.

Very specific kind of game, you have to settle into it and realize there are no stakes.

If the only problem is moving the shuttle, it’s probably worth watching a video and figuring that out, but if exploring is still boring for you, it might not be your brand of soda.

Watching a playthrough is a good idea too, it’s a good story and I think you’ll still appreciate it vicariously.

Use a controller instead of a keyboard if you can.

Use the practice missions in the starting town. Get those challenges done.

Take a few lives to just practice visiting different destinations as fast as possible.

Yeah, people tend to have that problem, especially if they’re treating it like driving a car. If you want to fly manual, never fly more than 400 m/s, because then you won’t have enough time to slow down.

My actual advice though is to just use autopilot. People seem to forget that you can cancel autopilot. If you start to see that there’s something getting in your way, cancel the autopilot and push the ship to the left or right (it’s easier to go around the planet than to slow down). Once you’re clear, resume autopilot.

Figuring out the navigation and flying the ship is definitely part of the experience. As others said, it’s much easier with a controller and the autopilot is really nice, but precision flying is a part of the game you’ll have to go through at some point (like small platforms landing and flying only with your momentum).

Are you playing with a controller or keyboard? It’s one of the few games I think really only works with controller.

Outer Wilds is one of my favorite games, but I can see a lot of ways it isn’t for everyone.

Try a controller if you can, like others have mentioned.

It took me a long time to get used to the space navigation/flying and towards the end of the game I still sometimes crashed horribly into things. I feel like it’s kind of just part of the experience and can make for some really funny moments. If you really want to experience it yourself, maybe spending some time just focusing on getting a good understanding of the ship controls without the pressure of trying to get any exploration done that round might be helpful. Autopilot isn’t the smartest, but it can be helpful.

Watching play throughs is something I love to do now, because it is the closest I’ll ever get to experiencing the game fully again. Watching a play through before playing it yourself will basically spoil the chance ever experiencing it firsthand yourself, but might be a good option if you really want to know the story and don’t find any joy in playing it.

Edit: few changes for clarity

I’m kind of in the same boat. I played this game expecting it to be the best game ever made, based on what people said. I played about 2 hours. The flying controls were annoying as absolute fuck, and I was just kinda bored. Maybe I need to give it another shot? Is it not for me?