The thing about Outer Wilds for me is that it's a game about exploration, but most attempts at exploration are punished (limited time frame, sands suffocating you, "ghost matter" kills...). They stuck with a "hard scifi" control scheme where you control your character in 6dof with inertia, which makes some things unnecessarily hard and did not (IMO) add anything to the game itself. The things you interact with in the world are also annoying to use, like the machines where you need to slide a ball around by locking it with your sight... Just let me press a button already!

Did you play with a controller by chance? Asking because I prefer first person view games on PC

Yes, the game told me it was the preferred way and I followed the advice

fair enough!

I did not play with a controller, which made Dark Bramble effectively impossible to finish because the keyboard is all-or-nothing thrust. Had to cheat to get past it. They should have said that using a controller was mandatory, not recommended.

It's not mandatory, there's 1 part in Dark Bramble where you can go a little faster if you use a very small amount of thrust. You can just use the momentum you came in on though, there's still plenty of time

I think there were two separate puzzles where I had identified the correct solution, but the mechanics were so clunky that my attempt failed. Making me waste time exploring elsewhere. Had to consult a guide just to see that I had unknowingly botched the physics. Which is an awful experience for a puzzle game. Especially when the clock is working against you and some of the set pieces require very specific timing to interact with them (where doors are only open for a certain few minutes in a run).

The game is definitely a unique experience, but some of the design elements hamper the experience.

I don't play 3D games; I bought Outer Wilds for the experience, was unable to understand the controls. I tried really hard, but had to quit.

I don't recall having any problems with the controls. As long as I can invert the y axis, I'm a happy camper.

First person games: yes, quite a lot. Flight sims with wonky physics? No, not really at all.

Some of the controls were fine, but I found the ship piloting experience to be barely usable and definitely not enjoyable.