Obduction

Obduction is scant storywise and in contrast to The Witness failed to gradually teach me how to deal with its puzzles, instead forcing me to use the trial and error method. Myst fans, however, should enjoy it. [11/2016, p.46]

An otherwise excellent successor to the Myst series that is somewhat marred by the frequency of long loading times and some less stellar puzzle design, like the annoying rotating maze. [Oct 2016]

The gripping story and a thrilling atmosphere are combined in the adventure game, which is thrown from the top only because of a few illogicalities and its running-too-much. [Issue#267]

Evokes the spirit of Riven, but fails to recapture its soul. [Issue#256, p.60]

Obduction is a good-looking, mysterious, boring, annoying, sadistic adventure game that doesn't give a damn if you're having fun or not.

For anyone wanting a confusing yet ultimately rewarding adventure, Obduction delivers in spades.

Obduction is a gift for fans of Myst. Creators of the hit series from the past have created a well written and perfectly executed story that engages the player. Beware - it is a game for patient people that like to wander around in confusion while looking for a solution to another difficult puzzle. Despite some minor technical issues the entire experience was really satisfying.

Obduction is clearly not aimed at impatient gamers with older hardware. But Myst enthusiasts and exotic-world explorers will find a whole new stupendous universe to fall in love with, and fans of mind-bending challenges will find themselves in paradise… most of the time.

There’s only one person around, and he’s more interested in making requests than talking, so you’ll have to get your bearings on your own. Push a button, pull a lever, walk and observe, try this and that – to open a door to a new world, you may need to build a bridge in one dimension, use a laser in another and strike a tambourine in the third. [Issue#212, p.63]

An interesting explorative adventure from the creators of Myst offers both smart logical puzzles and dark mysterious atmosphere. But you can find better pieces among the similar games.

However weak the ending is, it was the journey that made the biggest impression on me. In that regard, the game is positively sublime.

With no hand holding whatsoever, Obduction can be a frustrating experience at times, but the desire to learn more about the game's world and events propels things forward.

Obduction is the spiritual successor to Myst, and it offers all the stuff beloved by fans of that game, but with a refresh for the modern era. Puzzles are ingenious but can be frustrating if you don’t quickly understand their logic. There are some heavy technical problems that partly ruin game experience. Players who never played a game like this may be find themselves lost, but if you were searching for a game like Myst or Riven, you will be greatly satisfied.

With Obduction, Cyan has created another game that’s an art of personal journaling. What you know, what you’ve gathered, will save you. The tools seem familiar but it is details that are your weapons. As the otherworldly overlaps the banal, you’re trapped in a labyrinth of places and things.

Obduction is a heartfelt tribute to the classics developed by Cyan in the past, like Myst and Riven. It drags the player in a mysterious, fascinating remote world, and despite the simple puzzles and a lot of linear exploration, you're in for a really captivating adventure.

Obduction is a masterpiece of its genre.

A true successor to Myst, with puzzles as ingenious as they are uncompromisingly obscure. Although the experience is hampered by serious technical problems.

Puzzle game with fantastic presentation and a very interesting story at first, but slowly runs out of steam.

Obduction is exactly what we wanted from Cyan. It's a new benchmark for the graphical adventures to come. The incredible variety in environments and puzzles stands out and surpass every other contender.

A beautiful, if simple, puzzle game that remains faithful to Myst without feeling dated.

Obduction can only be recommeneded for hardcore fans of challenging 3D adventure games, but they will find everything they were waiting for in Cyan World's game: hours of puzzles, fantastic world full of mysteries to discover, and beautiful graphics.

Obduction is fully aware of what fans want it to be – a tough-as-nails, spiritual successor to Myst – and fulfills this task superbly. Not a lot of modern-day-adventure-players will most likely appreciate this, as it can be quite unforgiving at times (most of the time, actually); but in that particular sub-genre that Obduction is part of, there hasn’t been a better game in quite some time.

Obduction feels like a game that belongs in the 1990s with a modern-day coat of paint. If you haven't played an adventure game since then, you might be pleasantly surprised, but I'd have rather spent my time replaying Firewatch, Oxenfree, or any number of other quality adventure titles instead of this buggy mess.

On one hand Obduction follows the adventure traditions of Myst, while on the other it adds modern storytelling layers that remind you of games like Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – just don’t expect a puzzle density like in The Witness.

Obduction’s gradually unfolding setting is compelling, and its narrative answers your big questions while leaving enough ambiguity to uphold a sense of mystery. A few exceptional puzzles reproduce the best of the genre’s glory days but the gameplay moments filling the space between them are too uneven and unrefined. Since it comes from the same creative talent, Obduction clearly takes some pages from Myst’s book, but these excerpts only result in flashes of greatness rather than a true successor.

Although you may feel at odds with Obduction's late-game complexity, it still feeds into an incredibly alluring world that earns intimate engagement. Its puzzles require keen observation and perseverance, and while player-made missteps can lead to mental fatigue, Obduction's commitment to keeping the onus of discovery on you means that deciphering the game’s intricate puzzles is often gratifying despite occasional frustrations along the way. Just make sure to take breaks and clear your head once in a while.

The world of Obduction is a pastiche of time and mood. So’s the gameplay. Yet in creating something moored only to the design strengths of the studio, Cyan has succeeded in making another adventure that feels truly timeless.

Myst's spiritual successor Obduction drags its heritage into the modern age with aplomb, though the puzzles aren't quite as fiendishly hard as Riven's.

It’s a special thing when a game gifts you a superior experience without traditional or prescribed story mechanics, and from that perspective Obduction prevails completely.