Book Review - Outer Wilds: Design Works
- The Artbook Collector
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
November 21st 2025
Very few games pull you into their world like a black hole in the same way that Outer Wilds from Mobius Digital Games does. It combines exploration, space travel, quantum mechanics, a solar system with unique planets, time loops, a mystery to solve, aliens, and oh yeah… an exploding sun. There is a big story to tell behind the creation of the game and fortunately Lost in Cult stepped in to make it a reality.
Now here as part of their ongoing series of gaming deep dives, Outer Wilds: Design Works has made its way into the hands of fans to share the secrets and artwork behind its development. A copy has landed in the collection here, so find out if this deserves its place in your shuttle, or should be left back at the campsite!
Build Quality
This is my second book in the series (following Sable: Design Works) and the second that is a paperback. I’m very vocal about how I dislike paperbacks for books like this, as historically they don’t open fully with more than 150 pages and often fall apart. However, I’m very happy to say that Lost in Cult have done it again and impressed me with this release. Rather than simply gluing the page signatures to the spine as seen elsewhere, the page block is attached to the cover by endpapers, just as you would see in a hardcover. This means that the pages open well, it’s not rigid, and I don’t fear the cover popping off at any given moment. A huge win for the book and an example of what should be the standard for paperbacks.
It comes with 252 pages and is 21cm x 28cm, making it a good-sized book and perfect for displaying the contents inside. It also includes a silver dustjacket (seen above), that has a some of the locations on it and the game title on the back, as well as a circular cutout revealing the black cover underneath. It’s simple, yet effective, and stands out on a shelf. Overall, a fantastic job from the team.
Content
The Design Works series are not simply artbooks, they are deep dives into the development of the games they are based on, along with design documents, early builds, art, and more. In the case of Outer Wilds: Design Works, a lot of early art is featured, which is what interested me personally as a fan of concepts and designs. This makes it an appealing to both those that like ‘Art of’ books, but also want to get lost in the text, discovering the stories behind Outer Wild’s creation.
To speak on that text, it’s fantastic. Author Chris Schilling had done such a great job not only sharing the details of Mobius Digital’s hard work on the game, but coming across like a true fan to make it an engaging read. Outer Wilds is a special game and those that saw it through to the end (which should be anyone that reads this spoiler heavy book) don’t just like they game, they love it, and each will feel that love when reading through the pages.
Chapters in the book cover earliest beginnings of the game as an idea, to working on the DLC, Echoes of the Eye. Each chapter highlights different aspects of the game, including the creation of Timber Hearth, the planet you wake up on, the soundtrack, the writing of the text left behind by the Nomai, quantum mechanics, and of course, the ending. A lot is covered and it feels like discovering the unique solar system all over again.
Interviews are included heavily too, with stories and fascinating insights shared by Creative Director Alex Beachum, narrative designer Kelsey Beachum, Creative Lead Loan Verneau, composer Andrew Prahlow, and more. These are also fun to read and read like a conversation rather than a straight Q&A, giving it a less serious tone despite the tough task they had, much like the game itself and the situation the player finds themselves in.
Fellow fans will get a lot out of this as I did, I liked learning about the origins of the texts you find, their challenges with computing restrictions, the ups and downs of building a solar system, the text adventure prototype, as well as so many other things. It’s nice to know they planned the anglerfish early on to freak me and many others out, those evil things were horrifying when I first encountered them!
Before I waffle on about the text to much and turn this review into a book itself, it’s worth highlighting that reading this through to the final chapters brought back the feelings you experience when you had the Warp Core in hand and were finishing the game. Players know that very few games can invoke that kind of emotion, so for this book to bring me back to that through interviews and its writing is hugely impressive. Chris Schilling speaks in the epilogue about the daunting task of writing this book, not knowing that not only did he nail it, but a reviewer with little writing experience would be inspired to improve his own work too.
The artwork and 3D models are a joy to take in and showcase a wide selection of elements from the base game and the DLC. Early suit designs, environment art, ship sketches, icon and text graphics, plant concepts, and much more are featured and displayed with a high print quality. There is a lot here to pore over, each piece carrying the same charming appeal seen in the final result, even at various stages of production. These mixed in with the screenshots and graphic design aids the text in bringing your mind back into game world, like entering another loop without the risk of an explosion.
Highlights for me include the concept art for the suits and shuttle, the two most valuable tools the ‘Hatchling’ needs to complete their adventure. I’m a sucker for early designs, and there are some great pages here for those. I’m also very fond of the pieces for various locations too, especially the early chapter with a look at the art for Timber Hearth, as well as a striking piece for Brittle Hollow also standing out. Those after art for the game won’t be disappointed with Outer Wilds: Design Works.
From a content perspective then, if you hadn’t guessed already, I’m very happy with this book. There’s more to point out too, such as the inserts about player community members, but before this part of the review extends beyond 22 minutes, I’ll say that fans will enjoy this a lot.
Credits
No credits are featured in the book for the artwork unfortunately, the only downside for me personally. Not every book includes them as collectors will know, but I always like to see them myself. It doesn’t affect the quality of the book itself, but it’s always nice to have a list if they’re not on the page.
Use of Space
Outer Wilds: Design Works is excellent in this regard, balancing the spreads with clean and easily readable page design. You can see in the previews that the art gets space to breathe and that the backgrounds are kept clear to have the text and art speak for itself, which I often prefer. There are pulled quotes highlighted in large font that I like, and the swirling text for each chapter heading is effective too. A great job from the team at Lost in Cult for the book.
Value
The book is sold on the publisher’s website and retails at £49.99, around $65 in the US, which for the quality of the book from a smaller publisher feels about right. Typically, it’s conventional ‘Art of’ books that join the collection here, and although this isn’t the same type of book, it now shares a similar RRP as releases from bigger publishers at the higher end. I cannot speak to the delivery charges outside of the UK though, so bear this in mind if you are shipping it elsewhere. For the quality and care put into the book, I think this is a solid price point.
Verdict
Outer Wilds: Design Works is an excellent deep dive into one of the most unique titles in gaming. It’s brilliantly written, filled with interesting stories and details, and delivers a wealth of artwork that any fan will appreciate. This superb look at Outer Wilds is like discovering another planet filled with new secrets to get lost in, leaving you wanting to wake up at the campfire to start a new loop when you finish the last page.
You may not be able start the game for the first time again, but you can put on the game’s unforgettable soundtrack and discover this book for the first time, which I can happily recommend doing.
If you would like to add this book to your own collection, you can order the book below and discover more from Lost in Cult, including many more Design Works books, here.
