The Mask seen after every death
Death is inevitable in Outer Wilds. When the player dies, images of their last life flash before their eyes, from their death to the start of them waking up in the Village, where they then respawn.
The player is almost always bound to die at the latest 22 minutes after waking up, as the supernova explodes. The supernova may be outrun by flying far enough from the inner solar system, which technically allows the player to survive, but this will not prevent their memories from being sent back in time and thus the start of a new loop. Most of the time, the player will die before that, as the exploration of the solar system can result in many unplanned deaths through various means.
Dying less than 60 seconds after waking up grants an Achievement.
Ways to Die
- Death by supernova
- Death by suffocation, when the O2 bar reaches 0
- Death by suffocation, when the player is in space without a suit
- There exists an invisible oxygen meter even without the suit that depletes within seconds
- Drowning
- After suffocating, the player starts the next loop gasping for air
- Death during meditation
- If the player has taken a nap by talking to Gabbro or through the menu, they will die when hit by the supernova while they're sleeping
- Have the player's hit points reach 0, which can be achieved through the following means:
- Striking a surface with your body at high velocity
- Straying into Ghost Matter
- Walking on a campfire
- Touching thorns
- Electrocution
- Explosion of the ship reactor
- Staying under the sand column on Ember Twin
- Fried after falling into the Sun
- Being eaten by an anglerfish
- Getting crushed by the rising sand on the Hourglass Twins
- Getting crushed by the descending launch pad lift or a chain elevator in the Stranger
- Touching the lava on Hollow's Lantern
- Using the second prototype artifact in the Stranger which grants an achievement
- Getting crushed by the light-powered door mechanisms in the Stranger
- Getting crushed by the elevator at the launch tower
After a violent death the player starts the next loop with one short and shocked breath, if the death is considered peaceful (meditation or supernova), the first breath will be relaxed. If the death is due to suffocation, the first breath will be a desperate gasp for air.