Outer Wilds Motion Sickness: Why It Happens & What Helps
Outer Wilds hands you a ship with six degrees of freedom and a solar system where nothing holds still. Pitch, yaw and roll all move freely, planets spin fast enough to swing the sky overhead, and the only comfort setting in the game is a field-of-view slider. Players who are fine in most first-person games commonly report this one gets to them.
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PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch ยท first-person ยท Partial settings ยท Player-reported motion-sickness risk: one of the most commonly reported triggers in gaming.
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
Risk levels summarise what passengers and riders commonly report, not measured testing.
Key facts
- Outer Wilds runs on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch.
- The camera is first-person.
- Player reports place it in the high band for motion sickness.
- The game ships some comfort settings, but not a full set.
- It sits at number 5 in our ranking of the 20 games players report most for motion sickness.
Why Outer Wilds can trigger motion sickness
Flying the ship or the jetpack means rotating on three axes with no persistent horizon, which removes the reference your visual system uses to know which way is up. Standing on a fast-rotating planet adds a second problem: the ground is solid under your feet while the stars wheel past, so your eyes report a spin your inner ear does not feel. Zero-gravity sections do the same thing with nothing to stand on at all. There is no head-bob toggle, no camera-shake slider and no comfort menu, so the FOV setting in Options > Graphics is the only official lever, and the game warns that changing it can affect some puzzle sightlines.
- Six-degrees-of-freedom flight with no fixed horizon
- Fast-rotating planets that swing the whole sky past you
- Zero-gravity sections with no ground plane at all
- No head-bob or camera-motion settings to turn down
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Comfort settings in Outer Wilds
Outer Wilds ships some comfort settings, but not a full set.
Outer Wilds ships one comfort lever, the FOV slider in Options > Graphics, and nothing for head bob, camera shake or the rotation itself. The game also warns that changing FOV can affect some puzzle sightlines, so raise it in steps. Beyond that setting there is nothing in the menus to turn down.
| Setting | Where | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Field of view | Options > Graphics | Raise it from the default 70. The slider is on console too |
| Comfort toggles | None in the game | There is no head-bob, camera-shake or motion-blur option. FOV is the whole comfort menu |
| Look sensitivity | In-game settings | Lower it so the ship and your head turn more slowly |
| Session pacing | Not a game setting | The game runs on a short repeating loop, which hands you a natural stopping point. Take it |
How do I change the field of view in Outer Wilds?
In Outer Wilds, the Field of view setting is in Options > Graphics. Raise it from the default 70.
Where is the look sensitivity setting in Outer Wilds?
In Outer Wilds, the Look sensitivity setting is under In-game settings. Lower it so the ship and your head turn more slowly.
One guide explains these settings for every game: how field of view, motion blur, head bob and camera shake trigger motion sickness.
Know someone who gets motion sick?
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What helps beyond the settings
- Fly with a planet or the sun held steady in view so your eyes keep one reference
- Get out of zero-g and stand on something solid at the first queasy signal
- End a loop early rather than pushing on to see one more thing
- A drug-free sound-therapy app like Dizzout works through the headphones you are already wearing and is designed to help once symptoms start
The fixes people reach for once they step away from the screen are covered separately, with the trials attached: the remedy verdicts.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Outer Wilds make me motion sick?
Six-degrees-of-freedom flight leaves your eyes with no fixed horizon, and the planets rotate fast enough to swing the sky past while you stand still on solid ground. Both feed your eyes motion your inner ear cannot confirm. Reports vary a lot between players, but people who handle most first-person games commonly report trouble here.
Does Outer Wilds have a motion sickness setting?
Only a field-of-view slider, in Options > Graphics, on PC and console. There is no head-bob toggle, no camera-shake slider and no comfort menu. The game warns that changing FOV can affect some puzzle sightlines, so raise it in steps and check that you can still read the environment.
Can I still finish Outer Wilds if it makes me queasy?
Many players do, by managing exposure rather than settings. Raise the FOV, keep one large object steady in view while flying, get back on solid ground when queasiness starts, and end a loop early instead of pushing on. The loop structure gives you frequent natural stopping points.
Other game motion-sickness guides
Sources & further reading
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Based on publicly reported player experiences and each game's documented settings, as of July 2026. Settings menus change with updates, so check your version. Game names are trademarks of their respective owners; Dizzout is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Motion-sickness sensitivity varies by person, so this is informational, not a game review or a substitute for a doctor's advice.