There are two, rather fundamentally distinct categories of games that we call "puzzle" games. There's the ones that are simply a series of puzzles based on a similar set of mechanics (Baba is You, Bombe, anything Zachtronics every did), and then there's games where the entire world is a puzzle, where you explore to find clues to solve puzzles that unlock more world and more puzzles, like Myst. Outer Wilds is solidly in the latter category.