I'm on Observation Duty (IOD) is the first of a trilogy of ghost-activity-ish locating and reporting, developed by Notovia. With gameplay reminiscent of the Five Nights at Freddy's- which of course, I've not played but come on, everyone is familiar with those demented mascots. That's because I tend to steer clear of those types of "no ending", hardcore repetition and survival modes.

Having said that, I was flabbergasted at the sheer amount enjoyment I had, how disturbing and "real" things got. It's kinda saddening that I almost missed out on this because of my preconceived notion of FNAF... As simple, short as IOD may have been, I think it breathed new life into this sub-genre! I'm proud to exclaim this was my first peer what found footage horror has to offer!! Alright, whenever you're ready just switch on the PC~


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2456541612

The Gist:
As part of an organization that documents the supernatural, you're tasked with spotting, logging and then correcting anything that seems out-of-place. The job description could not be any simpler- on paper anyway. But, watch very carefully and you just might witness... wait for it, your sanity crumbling!!!

! Well...? Observe!!



(a) The Paranormal at Work Again...
There's no employee manual but I trust you'll do miraculously! Just power up your trusty and minimalistic computer. Focus on every shred of detail to the T. It could be a item that just changed position, a completely new addition or disappearance altogether, camera malfunction, light & shadow tricks, intruders... whatever!! I wanted to beat this game more than anything and I had to really earn the horror content.

Just determine the location, specify the type of disturbance on a drop-down menu that you claimed to have happened and if you're right you'll get a distorted "no signal" like image! There are two houses to choose from, old house is the default difficulty (if you want labels) and the new house is the advanced bonus level. Which, between you and me... padding!!

Since I'm so generous, you get a couple of extra tips the ga- err your human boss was stingy enough to withhold:

1) Endure up to 6 minutes for the shift to "end"
2) Every in-game second equals 6/7 seconds real-time.
3) Some locations and categories will overlap, be careful!
4) Good rule of thumb is get up to 5-6 anomalies per minute to be safe~

(b) Did That Really Just Mo-
I loved the plain-looking interface, which really screams minimum wage job. There's a feeling of firsthand experience, where you're flipping through cameras, like a security guard would and you're scoffing at how laid back you have it. But you're in for some bonkers, creepy unexplained phenomena shi*! Sometimes the changes occur at that very second you caught it and other times, they're more subtle. A hefty mix~

What's absolutely beautiful and memorable are the iconic 5 rooms to study, just right! You'd think staring, squinting at the black-white grainy and low budget screen would make me any better at the game but nope just me eyes strained! I vaguely recall thinking something was totally off but it turns out it was just me and the voices in my head. The music is silly, but I was thankful for it as it cut through the tension a little with every daunting, ominous counting down of minutes.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2456547198

(c) Screen Protection.
Is there a story? I don't even know where the guy's paychecks are coming from. But this is one of those instances where compromises must be made!! It's no surprise that it took pointers from Paranormal Activity, which I didn't watch- shoot me, and in fact I could barely stand even though the 1st was heralded as a masterpiece. But IOD would have done that decaying franchise proud!

It also had quite a bit of Poltergeist (remember that!?) and Ghostbusters. Though it doesn't escalate into full-on apocalyptic set pieces. No disturbances occurred the same way twice in each playthrough, at least for me it didn't. It's just so spine-chilling and some things are better left a mystery~

(d) The ROOM For Interpretation?!
SCARY: 1st) I remember having a ghost detecting phase in my life. And IOD rekindled it once more, but I'm scared as to what I'll find if I do have a stakeout. I mean things are probably constantly being moved around you without you noticing, so that alone should keep you up at night!

2nd) Especially once you construct a story of your own as to what's behind everything. With the "demons" slowly reaching out to you. How do they know you're looking at them? What happens to the employee when all these anomalies overload and the cameras become down...? Is there a curse at work!!!!? Eat your heart out!

3rd) Skeptics of the paranormal would also be in for a treat. It could all be a prank- perhaps. But what about all those videos online?? Are they all doctored too...? Where do. You. Draw. The. Line.



(i) Ghosted Yet Again...
I do think the lack of a tutorial, practice session or even more guidelines would have made the game more accessible. You'd most likely die within the second minute, unless you're a natural that is! ARE YOU???

Without much guides or walkthroughs online (maybe, too lazy to check), I tried to "cheat" my way out and even resulted to taking reference photos with my outdated Huawei phone to compare them. But then who's to say there aren't any anomalies the moment the timer starts ticking?

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2456544355

(ii) Give Us A Sign!
The challenge becomes like staring into an abyss when you factor in the game having no clear categories; because some disturbances for instance a presence could classify as a "ghost", "intruder", "extra object". You have no choice but to try them all and waste precious time!! I saw the dev responding to reviewers with just hints and shift the blame (mad respect). But I still think this shouldn't be. That's why I'm subtracting 1 point (ooh I'm shaking) from that perfect 10~

BUGS:
Not sure if it was that way to begin with or related to the "secret" IOD spoke highly about... But there's a blinking light phenomenon in the living room that occurs periodically. BOO!!

NITPICK:
How about a memory feature where the drop-down menu remembers my last selected option? Toggle on/off in the options, idk!!!



IOD's content may be barebones, but it hides countless hours of gameplay and shocks with every new session. The horrors lie in wait, staring right back at you. You just haven't realized them yet~ The live feed and computer screen interface is like you're actually there. Clueless, in over your head and a skeptic at heart. But the longer you're glued onto the at-first banal footage, you start to nitpick everything on there. It can drive you mad! It's a test of memory, luck and also how long before you implode!!

What held it back was its steep learning curve as I would have appreciated some start-up faux sessions to ease players in. But no, thus IOD only manages to keep those whose hornet nests have not been poked by the time they've "grasped" the flow and still shaky foundation. I may have lost all interest in IOD for the time being due to there not being any plot to give it that added oomph, but it’s seriously something I see myself returning to kill time. For 2 bucks, it definitely had me warm up to the rest of the franchise~


Trilogy or no...? That's easy, probably not- but ;)

Thanks Reviewers Paradise, for the copy! I see all your hard work~

[code]Curator page here-->[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD #83 [/url]<-- [i]New review every Weekend[/i][/code] [b] I'm on Observation Duty (IOD)[/b] is the first of a trilogy of ghost-activity-ish locating and reporting, developed by [b]Notovia[/b]. With gameplay reminiscent of the [b]Five Nights at Freddy's[/b]- which of course, I've not played but come on, everyone is familiar with those demented mascots. That's because I tend to steer clear of those types of "no ending", hardcore repetition and survival modes. Having said that, I was flabbergasted at the sheer amount enjoyment I had, how disturbing and "real" things got. It's kinda saddening that I almost missed out on this because of my preconceived notion of FNAF... As simple, short as IOD may have been, I think it breathed new life into this sub-genre! I'm proud to exclaim this was my first peer what found footage horror has to offer!! Alright, whenever you're ready just switch on the PC~ [h1]"Just When You Thought You've Se-"[/h1] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2456541612 [u]The Gist:[/u] As part of an organization that documents the supernatural, you're tasked with spotting, logging and then correcting anything that seems out-of-place. The job description could not be any simpler- on paper anyway. But, watch very carefully and you just might witness... wait for it, your sanity crumbling!!! [spoiler] ! Well...? Observe!! [/spoiler] [h1][+] PROS;[/h1] [b](a) The Paranormal at Work Again...[/b] There's no employee manual but I trust you'll do miraculously! Just power up your trusty and minimalistic computer. Focus on every shred of detail to the T. It could be a item that just changed position, a completely new addition or disappearance altogether, camera malfunction, light & shadow tricks, intruders... whatever!! I wanted to beat this game more than anything and I had to really earn the horror content. Just determine the location, specify the type of disturbance on a drop-down menu that you claimed to have happened and if you're right you'll get a distorted "no signal" like image! There are two houses to choose from, old house is the default difficulty (if you want labels) and the new house is the advanced bonus level. Which, between you and me... padding!! Since I'm so generous, you get a couple of extra tips the ga- err your human boss was stingy enough to withhold: 1) Endure up to [spoiler]6 minutes[/spoiler] for the shift to "end" 2) Every in-game second equals 6/7 seconds real-time. 3) Some locations and categories will overlap, be careful! 4) Good rule of thumb is get up to 5-6 anomalies per minute to be safe~ [b](b) Did That Really Just Mo- [/b] I loved the plain-looking interface, which really screams minimum wage job. There's a feeling of firsthand experience, where you're flipping through cameras, like a security guard would and you're scoffing at how laid back you have it. But you're in for some bonkers, creepy unexplained phenomena shi*! Sometimes the changes occur at that very second you caught it and other times, they're more subtle. A hefty mix~ What's absolutely beautiful and memorable are the iconic 5 rooms to study, just right! You'd think staring, squinting at the black-white grainy and low budget screen would make me any better at the game but nope just me eyes strained! I vaguely recall thinking something was totally off but it turns out it was just me and the voices in my head. The music is silly, but I was thankful for it as it cut through the tension a little with every daunting, ominous counting down of minutes. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2456547198 [b](c) Screen Protection.[/b] Is there a story? I don't even know where the guy's paychecks are coming from. But this is one of those instances where compromises must be made!! It's no surprise that it took pointers from [b]Paranormal Activity[/b], which I didn't watch- shoot me, and in fact I could barely stand even though the 1st was heralded as a masterpiece. But IOD would have done that decaying franchise proud! It also had quite a bit of [b]Poltergeist[/b] (remember that!?) and [b]Ghostbusters[/b]. Though it doesn't escalate into full-on apocalyptic set pieces. No disturbances occurred the same way twice in each playthrough, at least for me it didn't. It's just so spine-chilling and some things are better left a mystery~ [b](d) The [i]ROOM[/i] For Interpretation?![/b] SCARY: 1st) I remember having a ghost detecting phase in my life. And IOD rekindled it once more, but I'm scared as to what I'll find if I do have a stakeout. I mean things are probably constantly being moved around you without you noticing, so that alone should keep you up at night! 2nd) Especially once you construct a story of your own as to what's behind everything. With the "demons" slowly reaching out to you. How do they know you're looking at them? What happens to the employee when all these anomalies overload and the cameras become down...? Is there a curse at work!!!!? Eat your heart out! 3rd) Skeptics of the paranormal would also be in for a treat. It could all be a prank- perhaps. But what about all those videos online?? Are they all doctored too...? Where do. You. Draw. The. Line. [h1][-] CONS;[/h1] [b](i) Ghosted Yet Again...[/b] I do think the lack of a tutorial, practice session or even more guidelines would have made the game more accessible. You'd most likely die within the second minute, unless you're a natural that is! ARE YOU??? Without much guides or walkthroughs online (maybe, too lazy to check), I tried to "cheat" my way out and even resulted to taking reference photos with my outdated Huawei phone to compare them. But then who's to say there aren't any anomalies the moment the timer starts ticking? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2456544355 [b](ii) Give Us A Sign![/b] The challenge becomes like staring into an abyss when you factor in the game having no clear categories; because some disturbances for instance a presence could classify as a "ghost", "intruder", "extra object". You have no choice but to try them all and waste precious time!! I saw the dev responding to reviewers with just hints and shift the blame (mad respect). But I still think this shouldn't be. That's why I'm subtracting 1 point (ooh I'm shaking) from that perfect 10~ BUGS: Not sure if it was that way to begin with or related to the "secret" IOD spoke highly about... But there's a blinking light phenomenon in the living room that occurs periodically. BOO!! NITPICK: How about a memory feature where the drop-down menu remembers my last selected option? Toggle on/off in the options, idk!!! [h1]"Well, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet~"[/h1] IOD's content may be barebones, but it hides countless hours of gameplay and shocks with every new session. The horrors lie in wait, staring right back at you. You just haven't realized them yet~ The live feed and computer screen interface is like you're actually there. Clueless, in over your head and a skeptic at heart. But the longer you're glued onto the at-first banal footage, you start to nitpick everything on there. It can drive you mad! It's a test of memory, luck and also how long before you implode!! What held it back was its steep learning curve as I would have appreciated some start-up faux sessions to ease players in. But no, thus IOD only manages to keep those whose hornet nests have not been poked by the time they've "grasped" the flow and still shaky foundation. I may have lost all interest in IOD for the time being due to there not being any plot to give it that added oomph, but it’s seriously something I see myself returning to kill time. For 2 bucks, it definitely had me warm up to the rest of the franchise~ [h1]9/10[/h1] [b] Trilogy or no...? That's easy, probably not- but ;) [/b] [i] Thanks [b]Reviewers Paradise,[/b] for the copy! I see all your hard work~[/i]