This... is a tough review to write.

The game has hundreds of points of exceeding brilliance.

The game is frequently a battle with the level layout and the UI, trying to figure what's desired of the player next. (especially in the "dream" bits)

The game explores topics in ways that haven't been adequately covered in years. (think: puree Ghost in the Shell, Blade Runner, and William Gibson books; add salt and rat poison to taste)

The game has an autosave system, and at least one point-of-no-return w/o a clear warning of the same.

If you're looking to feel like you've mainlined Noir and cyberpunk-based drain cleaner. If you're looking to feel confused and bewildered most of the time. If you want to wade neck-deep in poverty, despair, and black humor. Then get it. (on sale, natch)

Otherwise, just wait for some poor b@stard to make a Let's Play, and laugh as they proceed to lose their minds.

TL;DR: I have no way to reduce this one to a number which will do my feelings justice. I really liked it, but I'm still not sure if I hate it too.

In honor of the great Rutger Hauer, I will explain why you need to buy Observer.

Absolutely stunning, and dripping with an uneasy terror for what is essentially a future flooded by the digital manifestation of our deepest fears made flesh. The story grips you as soon as it begins. You are tasked with a mission to find Daniel Lazarski's son. Adam. But soon develops into a murder mystery, corporate conspiracy, and a creature feature all happening at the same time.

A thriller filled experience, enticing the player to keep going to learn what exactly was going on. Everything takes place in a small, confined location, which, in my opinion, offers the player the chance to accommodate and familiarize themselves with the world they are in, and manages to create a fully-realized picture of this society from simply exploring each apartment complex.

It feels that every piece of the environment you see in Observer feels carefully designed and implemented. As the story progresses you learn about influence of technology on society and our bodies, and the use of drugs as a tool to control the populace. How people in this society operate due to their body modifications and drugged-up manners, it makes a lot more sense.

The voice acting in Observer is great, most notably Rutger Hauer, who delivers an excellent performance as the gruff detective trying to solve the case. The game really shines when you essentially plug into someone and become that person and relive their memories. Wow, talk about taking a psychedelic turn! The use of video animations, effects and camera motion during these scenes is oddly satisfying while being unique.

The one complain from me is the lack of using visual indicators or cues to help show you where you need to go. It can become quite frustrating at times to wonder around for long periods of time, until finally finding your way to the next clue. It can really make the gameplay feel repetitive, but often times these types of games will throw other gameplay elements in to keep things fresh and interesting. A shame the pacing has to suffer. While the compelling narrative excels, the gameplay feels less polished.

If you are a fan of cyberpunk themed stories, most obviously Blade Runner, and want to experience the same style of symphonic atmosphere then look no further than Observer.

In case you're wondering what all the negative reviews are for, I'll give you the quick summary. The developers released an updated version of this game, removed the old version from steam, and require the new version to be purchased all over again. You can still install the original version if you already bought it already, so that's good. Personally, I think making the discount time limited was distasteful. I get that the new version is basically DLC, so charge something for it. That makes sense to me. Charging me full price for not realizing that the new version was out does not.

Play as an augmented cyber detective who gets a distressing call from a long lost son. The building you investigate goes under lockdown and there are at least two dead. Striking visual art and claustrophobic architecture deliver a truly oppressive and dystopic experience.

A murder in a bad part of town, the family tragedy somehow connected; intriguing story but feeling disjointed. A little more muscle in the writing department would have helped. A good portion of the game plays out knocking on tenants doors asking questions, a little slow and then balanced out with frequent psychedelic action sequences and well designed puzzles. Thumbs up. The ending of the game is really too long.

Happily Rutger Hauer’s voice is gentle, soothing and welcome, a counterweight to the moody and intriguing audioscape continuously edging itself into your consciousness.

As much as I enjoyed Observer I do not feel the need to replay it; neither to open the few rooms I missed, nor to get the collectable cards, nor to have alternative endings, nor to play all the minigames hiding in some computer terminals. I will not be achievo hunting this game either.


July 2018

There is something unsettling about plugging in your computer, loading up Rutger Hauer’s character and playing a game where he plugs into dead people’s brains to get a look at their memories. It makes noir cyberpunk feel a little too close to home in 2020. RIP Rutger, gone but not forgotten. Off-genre stealth scenes mar this otherwise great experience, worth picking up if you are into cyberpunk, detective mysteries and/or horror games. (Please note that you can no longer buy the original game and must purchase the Redux version)

+ visual rollercoaster. This game is not for people that can’t handle first person experiences, virtual reality goggles, strobe light effects and acid flashbacks. This is the closest you will come to a VR experience without actually wearing a headset. The game is astoundingly disorienting at times, in a good way, and it is supposed to be. There are some intense visuals in this game.

+ story. I will admit that we are reaching our limit of original takes on detective narratives that allow you to see the story in scrapbook cuttings of memories from the victim’s point of view. Observer isn’t completely new but it definitely threw a couple of curveballs at me and did its best with the genre. It also has an Inception feel of going layers deep so I’m sure there is room for fan theories.

+ creepshow. Observer does have a few jumpscares but it doesn’t rely on them for cheap thrills. The story, the visuals, the body horror, the tense quiet and dark moments paired with a stunning soundboard will keep you on tenterhooks.

- stealthmode. Observer is a walking sim/adventure game where you analyse crime scenes and slowly move through an apartment complex talking to residents and opening drawers and doors…you know….Walking Sim standard fare. What the development team thought when they decided to add 4 separate stealth situations where you are insta-killed and sent back to the beginning if you get caught, I have absolutely no idea. In SOMA the community made a mod to skip the stealth and just allow players to enjoy the story. The devs of SOMA liked it so much and understood the community that they even made it official and added it to their game. Observer could have taken a page out of that book. I’m not saying the must make the game easier for everyone, just that people like me have the option.

- voicework and characters. Rutger Hauer is fine in the game. Some people have said he sounds tired and old. Well he was pretty old. I think he did fine. Some of the voice actors are pretty subpar though and I didn’t like that we only get to see 1 character in the flesh (well, whats left of his flesh). That one character was the apartment caretaker and the rest of the people you interact with are in their apartments communicating through the door intercom.

- other ending. Playing the entire game again to just choose 1 of 2 final choices, none of which are influenced by how you play the bulk of the game, is ridiculous. One of the endings is pretty lackluster and the other doesn’t even really make sense. Do yourself a favour. Choose one and then just watch the other on YouTube. I know there is a way to manipulate your save file so you can just jump back in and see both endings quickly but I don’t want to have to do something like that.

Observer has a lot of things going for it. It’s a visually impressive game that drew me in and told a lot of story through action rather than exposition. You really get a feel for this gritty cyberpunk future through the apartment complex and its warren of basement tenants living in filth and squalor. At the same time though the stealth aspect is tedious and Bloober kind of misjudged their audience in my opinion. But if you can push through the stealth sections the game is worth it overall.

Ps. If you had problems with a black screen and the game not loading for you then try this bizarre fix which is the only reason I am able to play and review the game today….if you own Layers of Fear, install that and then run Observer. I had tried everything and nothing worked until this.

Rip Rutger Hauer. He was great in this game.

Basically a horror walking sim with some puzzle (find all the clues), sneak and flight sequences. Thankfully only a few of the latter two.

Time to lesuirely stroll through: ~10-12 hours.

Graphics, sound, music and voice are all top-notch. Visually it's a retro-futuristic game, with imagery from the '80s overlaid with futuristic augmented reality.

Controls are acceptable-ish, but I hate the way the doors must be opened with mouse+keyboard. Some of them have to be opened in weird angles that are contradictory or not logical at first glance.

Story, lore and characters are also great, with even the one-off supporting characters being fleshed-out, at least to what extent they could be in a game that's only a dozen or less hours long.

While the game does have its share of jump-scares, much of the dread is implied, added by reading messages on terminals and the art direction itself.

tl;dr: if you like reading and looking around in a wonderfully made environment, buy it. If you dislike not having a gun against real or imagined monsters, or want a more visceral experience instead of intellectual, go with FEAR 1-2 or Dead Space 1-2.

I... don't even know what I don't know.

I just got finished beating the game in ~9 hours in one sitting. To be fair, I could have finished it faster but I explored and attempted to do side missions and achievement based things.

That being said... WTF did I just play? I finished the game feeling immensely satisfied, but left with more questions than I could even possibly think of answers for. My mind has never felt so royally scrambled after playing a game before. The story itself gives you just enough to follow along and piece together the complexity of it if you REALLY take the time to focus and decipher the situation and all the subtle twists. On the surface it's easy to follow, but each area has SO much more to it. Even without understanding the nuanced undertones to the journey, the story itself leaves you feeling breathless.

This is one of those games that I feel MUST be played a second time to even remotely begin to understand all the details that are easily missed or not understood the first time around. And the great thing about this game... I'm left feeling as though I actually *want* to play through it again. This was a HUGE win for Bloober Team.

____

Overall, 9/10 rating!

Graphics are incredible and gorgeous throughout.

Story is... out of this world. As someone who does research in Psychology, this was...wow.

Game Engine was very smooth and didn't have any issues with controls or functionality.

ONLY reason the game isn't 10/10 is because there were a few areas that didn't seem wholly optimized. Experienced a couple spots where framerate went from 60's to mid-high 20's. I feel, given this is such a newly released game, that this will probably be addressed in future patches. If that's the case, I'll amend my review as necessary.


But again, I cannot recommend this game more! I still am just left with an utter sense of astonishment and "Wow!"

If I had the time, I'd start a second playthrough right now.

👻　Best played at night with the lights turned off!



Tested with:

Settings: Low, Normal, High
1080p; 60Hz; cloned screen

Windows 10 Home, 64-Bit
i7-7700K, 4 x 4.2 GHz
GTX 1080 (8GB DDR5)
16GB DDR4 RAM; SSD
PS4 + Xbox 1 Controller


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Was not updated about the System Redux discount until it was too late. Now i have to pay full price to an update for a game i already own. Really scummy having it time limited and then not notifying owners. Make the 80% discount permanent for people who already own it.