Observer

Genre: First-Person Graphic Adventure / Horror Game

Players: 1

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Review:

Observer is “Walking Simulator” that follows in the footsteps of developer Bloober Team’s former game Layers of Fear, but where that game was pulling a page out of the book of the legendary P.T. demo, this one strikes out on its own as an engrossing cyberpunk murder mystery.

Unlike their last game for the Switch, Observer is actually graphically pretty impressive, with detailed environments and some interesting tricks with the visuals in multiple ways. And while I don’t doubt that the Switch version’s visuals aren’t quite up to par with the others, given what the game is, that hardly matters.

Here’s the thing – in the story, you play as an aging police detective trying to get to the bottom of a series of murders your delinquent son seems to have somehow gotten wrapped up in. However, this being a cyberpunk future, everything is infused with technology that only sorta’ works, including you. Environments flicker with computer-generated analysis and highlighting because your character’s eyes are bionically modified. And because the technology is deteriorating, you’ll regularly encounter visual glitches junking up your view, eventually getting so bad you’ll need to administer drugs (or nanites?) to counter the effects. It’s a really cool visual effect, and a great way to bring players into the world of the game.

What’s not quite as immersive? The overwhelming majority of conversations you have during the course of your investigation in the game are your character talking through a door to someone. Futuristic doorbell/peepholes will show a few cycling frames of vague shapes of people behind the door that you’re talking to, but for the most part you’ll just be listening to conversations for much of the game with nothing else to do or look at while they play out.

It’s good, then, that the story here is really engrossing, and the main character is voiced by none other than the late, great Rutger Hauer of Blade Runner fame. We’re not just talking a few lines, either – Hauer’s commentary runs throughout the game and the folks at Bloober Team got good use out of the actor, who sounds appropriately haggard and weary.

There is one other element to discuss, which is your character’s ability to “hack” into the brains of others, even the recently deceased, to collect information. This is where some of the trippiest parts of the game are, and it can make for a really cool experience. Unfortunately, because logic doesn’t work so well in these brain invasion sequences, it’s not always clear what you’re supposed to do, and at some point you find yourself facing stealth sequences where getting caught means an automatic death and requirement to restart. Add to this a walk speed that’s too slow, a run speed that’s too fast to just use in place of walking, and this game is burdened by a fair share of frustrations throughout.

However, even with that being the case, there’s a lot to love in Observer. It tells a fascinating cyberpunk story with some really inventive techniques and a legendary actor voicing the lead, and for all its faults, the game does a fantastic job sucking you into its world. If you’re looking for an immersive mind-trip of a science fiction story and don’t mind putting up with some frustrations along the way, Observer is well worth looking into.

tl;dr – Observer is a “Walking Simulator” where you play a police detective investigating a series of murders in a cyberpunk future. The game’s great visuals and voice performance by Rutger Hauer do a great job of pulling you into the game’s strong story, although numerous frustrations mar the experience. On the whole, it’s a unique experience well worth trying out.

Grade: B-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2019 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Graphic Adventure Game

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