I finished the entire game on Linux with an Xbox 360 wireless controller

I had lower expectations because Layers of Fear didn't impress me when I was playing it a year ago but Observer is different. They got everything right! Observer is a brilliant horror game with very interesting story. I really enjoyed this game. It started simply and slowly but soon was getting more interesting, complicated and creepy every minute. I love it.

The game is set in the year 2084, everything is controlled by a single company called Chiron. The player plays as Daniel Lazarski, a police investigator called an observer. In a world where augmentations are a common part of everyday life and where everyone has microchips in their heads, observers are able to connect to the chip and see what's inside of the head of any person. Are you a victim? Observers are able to see who killed you. Are you a killer? Observers can use even your memories as an evidence. Connecting to someone's head is not as simple as it looks. Everything is incomplete, weird and creepy.

It all starts with a mysterious call from Daniel's lost son, Adam. Daniel decides to go after him and ends up being stuck in an apartment block under lockdown. With no chance to contact the world outside, he starts to investigate and interrogate everything and everyone. The story starts getting more and more complicated and honestly this is one of the most story-rich games I ever played. All the time I had no idea what is going on and my head was full of theories about who's is the real enemy, who's the killer and if everything I see is real or no because Daniel's memories started mixing with memories of the persons I interrogated. And until the very end I had no idea about what was really going on.

Excellent music as well. Daniel's voice acting (Rutger Hauer) is just perfect.

The horror side of the game is very good. It's balanced with story and exploration, focused on atmosphere rather than poor jumpscares. Let me describe the type of horror with spoiler tag for those who prefer playing "blind first feel" like I did:

Common horror types:
A) Psychological horror with no real threat (Layers of Fear...)
B) Survival horror / hide or die / no weapons (Penumbra, Amnesia...)
C) Survival horror / kill or die / weapons (Dead Space...)

Which one is Observer?
Observer is B. It's not focused on running away from enemies but unlike in Layers of Fear there are real enemies, there are threats and you will have to hide from time to time to avoid being killed. It's a bit similar to SOMA.
I've played both Amnesia games, all three Penumbra games, SOMA and the first Outlast. Observer is definitely one of my top favourite horror games along with Amnesia TDD and SOMA. It's not as scary as Amnesia but the atmosphere is totaly comparable and the story is even better.

The engine is Unreal Engine 4 and I really like the graphics and visual style, it looks awesome even on medium settings.
Linux version is very good, at least now. I had some issues with crashing and mouse freezing back when it was release but these issues are gone now, they probably fixed it. I had FPS drops to 25 in some parts of the game but it was caused by huge maps and lack of power.

I totally recommend this game to anyone who:
- likes story-rich games
- enjoyes adventures and horror games
- enjoyes putting together the entire story from little pieces like a puzzle
- is looking for something really atmospheric
- didn't like Layers of Fear and wants to give Bloober Team another chance

Default FOV was awful but I managed to change it. If you also want to do it, add this:

[/script/engine.localplayer]
AspectRatioAxisConstraint=75

to "~/.config/Epic/TheObserver/Saved/Config/LinuxNoEditor/Engine.ini"

[i]I finished the entire game on Linux with an Xbox 360 wireless controller[/i] I had lower expectations because Layers of Fear didn't impress me when I was playing it a year ago but Observer is different. They got everything right! Observer is a brilliant horror game with very interesting story. I really enjoyed this game. It started simply and slowly but soon was getting more interesting, complicated and creepy every minute. I love it. The game is set in the year 2084, everything is controlled by a single company called Chiron. The player plays as Daniel Lazarski, a police investigator called an observer. In a world where augmentations are a common part of everyday life and where everyone has microchips in their heads, observers are able to connect to the chip and see what's inside of the head of any person. Are you a victim? Observers are able to see who killed you. Are you a killer? Observers can use even your memories as an evidence. Connecting to someone's head is not as simple as it looks. Everything is incomplete, weird and creepy. It all starts with a mysterious call from Daniel's lost son, Adam. Daniel decides to go after him and ends up being stuck in an apartment block under lockdown. With no chance to contact the world outside, he starts to investigate and interrogate everything and everyone. The story starts getting more and more complicated and honestly this is one of the most story-rich games I ever played. All the time I had no idea what is going on and my head was full of theories about who's is the real enemy, who's the killer and if everything I see is real or no because Daniel's memories started mixing with memories of the persons I interrogated. And until the very end I had no idea about what was really going on. Excellent music as well. Daniel's voice acting (Rutger Hauer) is just perfect. The horror side of the game is very good. It's balanced with story and exploration, focused on atmosphere rather than poor jumpscares. Let me describe the type of horror with spoiler tag for those who prefer playing "blind first feel" like I did: Common horror types: A) Psychological horror with no real threat (Layers of Fear...) B) Survival horror / hide or die / no weapons (Penumbra, Amnesia...) C) Survival horror / kill or die / weapons (Dead Space...) [b]Which one is Observer?[/b] [spoiler]Observer is B. It's not focused on running away from enemies but unlike in Layers of Fear there are real enemies, there are threats and you will have to hide from time to time to avoid being killed. It's a bit similar to SOMA.[/spoiler] I've played both Amnesia games, all three Penumbra games, SOMA and the first Outlast. Observer is definitely one of my top favourite horror games along with Amnesia TDD and SOMA. It's not as scary as Amnesia but the atmosphere is totaly comparable and the story is even better. The engine is Unreal Engine 4 and I really like the graphics and visual style, it looks awesome even on medium settings. Linux version is very good, at least now. I had some issues with crashing and mouse freezing back when it was release but these issues are gone now, they probably fixed it. I had FPS drops to 25 in some parts of the game but it was caused by huge maps and lack of power. I totally recommend this game to anyone who: - likes story-rich games - enjoyes adventures and horror games - enjoyes putting together the entire story from little pieces like a puzzle - is looking for something really atmospheric - didn't like Layers of Fear and wants to give Bloober Team another chance Default FOV was awful but I managed to change it. If you also want to do it, add this: [/script/engine.localplayer] AspectRatioAxisConstraint=75 to "~/.config/Epic/TheObserver/Saved/Config/LinuxNoEditor/Engine.ini" [h1]System info & performance report[/h1] [table] [tr] [td]Operating system[/td] [td]Arch Linux x64 | Gnome Shell 3.28[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]API[/td] [td]OpenGL[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]CPU/GPU/RAM[/td] [td]i5 7300HQ / GTX 1050 Ti [396.24] / 12 GB[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Settings[/td] [td]1080p, everything medium, FXAA on, lens flares on[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]FPS[/td] [td]30-60 (drops to 25 in some parts of the game, fortunately it was rare)[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Is it possible to save the game anytime?[/td] [td]no, checkpoint system + autosave[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Multiplayer[/td] [td]no[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Config location[/td] [td] ✓ Good | ~/.config/Epic/TheObserver[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Linux version rating[/td] [td]4/5 very good[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Controller support[/td] [td]yes (tested with X360 wireless controller, xpad default kernel module) but controller has to be turned on before launching the game, doesn't recognize it after turning it off and turning it back on. Wired controllers may behave different.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]Ported by[/td] [td]Aspyr Media[/td] [/tr] [/table]