Observation

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 180 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 110 out of 180
  2. Mixed: 44 out of 180
  3. Negative: 26 out of 180

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  1. strangermoon
    May 23, 2023
    9
    one of best short space themed game. good graphics.more like moon movie game. modern 2001 syle ai story.
  2. Babutto
    Apr 27, 2022
    7
    Hard to write a review on it. It's sort of "rethinking" of Kubrick's "Space Odyssey" and Arthur's Clark "Space Odyssey." Here, they added some horror and mystery, the idea of transcendence. Also, I have noticed "Cloverfeld Paradox" ideas.

    Anyways, it's a nice game to play once. But it could be more at the end and more friendly with the controls. Curious what they are gonna show us next.
  3. joysilence
    May 1, 2021
    9
    I really liked the game. Atmospheric, deep, special. Like a good movie, but with you in it. Such games are rare.
  4. tonedef
    Apr 17, 2021
    10
    The game is about role playing. Its an atmospheric experience. Its enjoying a story rich environment. The puzzles are to keep you somewhat busy in your roleplaying experience. There is no death, no challenge or wrong doing in this game. I wish more developers would focus on this type of approach, it felt like an interactive movie. It was a great take on science fiction and a very immersiveThe game is about role playing. Its an atmospheric experience. Its enjoying a story rich environment. The puzzles are to keep you somewhat busy in your roleplaying experience. There is no death, no challenge or wrong doing in this game. I wish more developers would focus on this type of approach, it felt like an interactive movie. It was a great take on science fiction and a very immersive experience in space. Highly recommended and definitely a breath of fresh air from the same old experiences on the gaming market.… Expand
  5. BLUEKNIFE
    Dec 26, 2020
    10
    Terrific game and a breath of fresh air in a gaming world polluted with FPS, Battle Royale, etc. There is something unique and special here and I hope to see more from these developers. Top notch voice acting/writing/direction.
  6. ayk8
    Dec 7, 2020
    4
    Boring. The story may be great, but that's not the point.. To unravel it, you do lots of mundane tasks like switching and rotating cameras and solving grade school pattern puzzles to open hatches, turn switches and fetch things... it gets old pretty fast, and absolutely kills the pacing of the story. I got bored with the gameplay after several hours and quit.
  7. r-nck-51
    Oct 24, 2020
    9
    It's quite an immersive experience in realistically looking current era space station modules. As an advanced AI linked to various systems on the station, you're working your way with static gimballed cameras and floating around as a spherical drone to solve puzzles that get you through the sci-fi suspense and horror narrative. It is the aftermath of an unknown event causing theIt's quite an immersive experience in realistically looking current era space station modules. As an advanced AI linked to various systems on the station, you're working your way with static gimballed cameras and floating around as a spherical drone to solve puzzles that get you through the sci-fi suspense and horror narrative. It is the aftermath of an unknown event causing the disappearance of your international crew. The main human character is Emma whom you assist along the way. You accept quickly that you're both stuck on a malfunctioning station with little hope for imminent rescue but you quickly get to work. And that's one quality I first noticed with this game: the writing is solid and convincing.

    The game is very good, sometimes it gets a bit off track but combines very well the mystery and slight claustrophobic feeling as it builds up hours after hours. The visuals are just great but there are a few glitches happening mostly outside the station, otherwise it's full of very well modelled interiors with enough variation to learn your way around just from sight. The controls are OK, I found the spherical drone to be difficult to control with the mouse due to low sensitivity but the pitch/yaw movement increases with adding momentum. I bought this on 60% sale and I must say it was the right price for the story length and low replay value, though I wouldn't want the game to be longer or add more rinse repeat puzzles. I find the length of the experience adequate.    … Expand
  8. svonton
    Jul 23, 2020
    9
    highly recommended this game, wow you ask me why ? so i give you an answer. its great story about an incident that happen on space station. some time this story can be kinda creepy some time kinda mystically but all time while i played i was enjoyed and interest what will happen next. about game play, when i first saw this game i think this will similar with 5 nights at Freddy, but ithighly recommended this game, wow you ask me why ? so i give you an answer. its great story about an incident that happen on space station. some time this story can be kinda creepy some time kinda mystically but all time while i played i was enjoyed and interest what will happen next. about game play, when i first saw this game i think this will similar with 5 nights at Freddy, but it isn't (i mean yeah you still watch all events from camera but i cause you are an AI). as AI you can control any element on this space station but only when some one from crew ask you for help (don't worry cause the biggest part of the station was damaged so they will ask you all time). and that reason why this game filling like some kind of movie so on my mind its another plus of this game, because what can be better to spend your evening on? as for me the one minus of this product some time you don't get what exactly game want from you but may be its just for me so will say this again highly recommend this game for every space thriller fans =3… Expand
  9. gameking
    Jul 18, 2020
    8
    I like the story. This game very different gameplay ı think. It feels like movie. I didn't like searching from outside episodes.
  10. ErinpilZ
    Jul 13, 2020
    9
    A very unusual game is an interactive movie. The mechanics of the game in the form of puzzles look new because of the context. The plot is like a mysterious movie like about space, though the truth in the game itself does not agree, so there are a lot of questions. And the mine has one mine, face animations.
  11. DaveTheJackal
    Jun 8, 2020
    4
    Really tedious puzzles the most difficult part of which is working out the clunky controls, the solution often amounting to "oh, I didn't realise I could do that!".

    Clichéd but stylish story with lazy ending. Confusing references in the finalé which presumably copies both 2001 and Bioshock Infinite [no, not homages, it's called lazy copying, especially when you rely on the previous    Really tedious puzzles the most difficult part of which is working out the clunky controls, the solution often amounting to "oh, I didn't realise I could do that!".

    Clichéd but stylish story with lazy ending. Confusing references in the finalé which presumably copies both 2001 and Bioshock Infinite [no, not homages, it's called lazy copying, especially when you rely on the previous works to do the world building for you]

    Not a patch on Stories Untold.    … Expand
  12. dr_yev
    May 30, 2020
    3
    Boring, slow, uninspired story punctuated by completely unrealistic and unnecessary "puzzles" that involve slowly panning the camera around and having to remember patterns. Given that the protagonist is a an AI from a few years into the future, the slowdowns are silly and just serve to elongate the process. I probably got about half-way through and I do not know that I will be able toBoring, slow, uninspired story punctuated by completely unrealistic and unnecessary "puzzles" that involve slowly panning the camera around and having to remember patterns. Given that the protagonist is a an AI from a few years into the future, the slowdowns are silly and just serve to elongate the process. I probably got about half-way through and I do not know that I will be able to force myself to return.… Expand
  13. a_wild_dandan
    May 15, 2020
    3
    Captivating story, stunning atmosphere, and aggressively awful gameplay & controls...

    Let's start with praise: the story's mystery sinks its claws in and holds you until the (admittedly disappointing) ending. It's reminiscent of the first few episodes of Lost. The characters are engaging and charismatic. The world is superbly crafted and oozes eeriness and atmosphere (sometimes    Captivating story, stunning atmosphere, and aggressively awful gameplay & controls...

    Let's start with praise: the story's mystery sinks its claws in and holds you until the (admittedly disappointing) ending. It's reminiscent of the first few episodes of Lost. The characters are engaging and charismatic. The world is superbly crafted and oozes eeriness and atmosphere (sometimes literally). It reminds one of *Alien: Isolation*.

    Unfortunately, the most important aspect of a game -- the gameplay -- is stunningly bad. Here's the game loop: you are tasked with traveling to a particular room in the space station; you must scrupulously hunt pixels in this room to find a puzzle device that progresses the story (usually a laptop or switch); you must fiddle with said device in some insultingly tedious, time consuming way ("press your W key for awhile", "look at these symbols and regurgitate them back"); you thus trigger a progression cutscene; you do it all over again. It is the worst gaming experience I've had in recent memory.

    A game consisting solely of tedious busywork would perhaps be bearable if not for the astonishingly terrible controls. They're so convoluted and bizarrely unintuitive that it borders on parody. To avoid a scathing diatribe of nearly every aspect of this senseless, clearly-ported-from-a-console control system, I will simply say this: It feels as if someone who has never used a computer before was told to design the game's controls, they did, and Observation was shipped with this system with nary a playtest for usability. From using WASD instead of a mouse to control excruciatingly slow cameras, to hacky junk like holding `RMB` & `W` to change drone elevation, Observation's controls are a special hell that can only be truly appreciated by playing it.

    Worse, various cutscenes and collisions needlessly cause your viewport to jolt/flicker nauseatingly. I had to put the game down twice to avoid being sick. That has never happened to me in any other game, ever. Kudos for that achievement. I simply refuse to believe that any playtester gritted their teeth through this kludge and said "yeah, this is fine."

    But worst of all? This game had so much potential. The story and art direction are world class. The game mechanics are there. As an omnipresent AI, you could've had a quest in which you must dance from room to room helping the protagonist escape an enemy. There could've been genuinely rewarding and clever puzzles instead of a string of inane "fiddle with MacGuffin #2 in Room #11" missions.

    As a 20 minute short film, Observation would've been enjoyable. As a game? A game needs serviceable gameplay. 3/10.    … Expand
  14. Ryuail
    Feb 1, 2020
    10
    This is one of those games that is tailored for a very specific taste. And I love it!

    The strength of studio no_Code, and of Observation by extension is the ability to tell abstract stories through complex puzzles. That with the oppressive, thriller-esque pacing of the narrative makes for the tensest 6 hours you may ever experience!
  15. geesloper
    Jan 26, 2020
    7
    Quite a neat little sci-fi puzzle thriller, with an unusual premise. Slightly let down by the fact that occasionally you hit 'puzzles' that are more rapid-fire dexterity tests (where there's no guidance as to what you need to do). The ending also doesn't make a lick of sense, but it's fun getting there.
  16. dandalis
    Dec 20, 2019
    6
    Observation pulls you in with its mysterious plot, clearly inspired by some of the greatest sci fi space movies. The station is really well designed, with a lot of attention to detail, that makes it feel believable. When things kick off, the game is pretty good at building suspense and atmosphere. The voice acting is really good all around. The story, for me personally, made me care aboutObservation pulls you in with its mysterious plot, clearly inspired by some of the greatest sci fi space movies. The station is really well designed, with a lot of attention to detail, that makes it feel believable. When things kick off, the game is pretty good at building suspense and atmosphere. The voice acting is really good all around. The story, for me personally, made me care about Emma and constantly made me question my actions as i played as the AI, indicating that the writers did a solid job on their part.

    However, its the gameplay where i had issues with the game. On paper, playing as the station's AI is a neat idea, sadly in practice it is quite underwhelming, as movement can be clunky and sluggish once in sphere mode, im not counting the disorientation as a con as it made sense given the game's setting, its just the controls aspect, it lacks refinement. The camera movement, which is 2nd core gameplay aspect, is needlessly slow aswell, it may be realistic, but for an enjoyable video gaming experience's sake, a compromise could've been made to make it less sluggishly slow. Much of what you do in the game is busy work, and game often is really poor at explaining what you have to do and at hinting at your objectives.

    By the end, the game leaves you scratching your head and asking questions, but in a good way, i like it when not everything is served to me with a spoon. Despite cumbersome gameplay aspects, the game is worth playing for the story alone and is a pretty decent experience if youre a fan of movies like 2001 A Space Oddysey, Interstellar and such.    … Expand
  17. Sixth
    Dec 15, 2019
    9
    Observation was a fantastic experience with great sound design and an immersive environment that is only held back by some occasionally wonky controls and unclear objectives that slowed/broke the story and immersion a bit hear and there.
  18. Crimert
    Oct 31, 2019
    8
    The dubbing was really successful. The atmosphere and the environment design were great. Puzzles were moderate. Finished the story mode in 9 hrs on record.

    It made me remind of the movie named "Arrival". So if you are a fan of this genre, you would really like this game for sure.
  19. Mandulum
    Jun 20, 2019
    8
    Favorite Thing: Space? Horror? *drool*
    Least Favorite Thing: Searching aimlessly for things. Especially when outside the station, it's about as fun as looking for a needle in a haystack.

    Date Completed: 2019-05-31
    Playtime: 5h
    Enjoyment: 8/10
    Recommendation: If space and/or horror is your thing then yes!
  20. cfreedisco
    Jun 19, 2019
    10
    GREAT game!
    It´s different from everything i had played before.
    It maintains the engagement through a great story, great interactions and beautiful graphics.
  21. Ap0stl367
    Jun 16, 2019
    8
    An atmospheric, creepy thriller that had me hooked from the get-go. I hate jump scares, so I was pleasantly surprised that this game doesn't rely on them at all; all the atmosphere is built around the sound and excellent use of the Unity enngine for lighting etc. The story is best experienced first hand, so I'll not say anything about that, other than it's quite short, but very rewarding.An atmospheric, creepy thriller that had me hooked from the get-go. I hate jump scares, so I was pleasantly surprised that this game doesn't rely on them at all; all the atmosphere is built around the sound and excellent use of the Unity enngine for lighting etc. The story is best experienced first hand, so I'll not say anything about that, other than it's quite short, but very rewarding.
    It's not for everyone, and the controls on PC are a wee bit off, but it doesn't take too long to get the hang of it. The gameplay is mainly puzzle based, but the majority are quite easy. The UI can be a bit difficult to navigate at times, but again, you get used to it.
    If you're a fan of psychological thrillers as opposed to classic horror and jump scares, give this a go!    … Expand
  22. mist1014
    Jun 15, 2019
    9
    Great game. Definitely inspired by Arthur C. Clarke and probably Stephen King. Deep and philosophic story.
  23. Voodoo123
    Jun 14, 2019
    8
    If you ever had the thought 'I wish I could play a videogame as HAL' then stop reading and buy this game. Observation presents the player with an remarkably realised NASA inspired space station setting. This suitably isolated atmosphere is further bolstered by its great voice cast, and the plot develops moving along with excellent pacing. Warning, for at times the many 'puzzles' canIf you ever had the thought 'I wish I could play a videogame as HAL' then stop reading and buy this game. Observation presents the player with an remarkably realised NASA inspired space station setting. This suitably isolated atmosphere is further bolstered by its great voice cast, and the plot develops moving along with excellent pacing. Warning, for at times the many 'puzzles' can become frustrating for us mere humans as the game was clearly designed for a superior HAL intellect. A few negative points would be the speed at which cameras move is sooooo slow. Also the facial animation is pretty vacant seeming at times which is a bit of a shame given the quality of the vocal performances here. I would love to see more games adopt this setting.… Expand
  24. MastaDyemon
    Jun 13, 2019
    7
    ИИ это и есть станция, игрок играя за ИИ не знает что от него хотят, игрок не станция. У сферы маленький угол обзора, было бы лучше с "рыбьим глазом". Пропустил одну записку на стене или точку на карте изволь катать до посинения пока не найдешь. Нельзя отключить музыку, типа атмосферно. Сюжет и дизайн уровней отличные! Игра напомнила Чужой изоляция.ИИ это и есть станция, игрок играя за ИИ не знает что от него хотят, игрок не станция. У сферы маленький угол обзора, было бы лучше с "рыбьим глазом". Пропустил одну записку на стене или точку на карте изволь катать до посинения пока не найдешь. Нельзя отключить музыку, типа атмосферно. Сюжет и дизайн уровней отличные! Игра напомнила Чужой изоляция.
  25. YeOldePa
    Jun 10, 2019
    5
    Having played "Untold stories" just before, I was hoping for enjoying a great story once more, but sadly, this time you are not surprised with twists or great revelations that stay in your mind for long. The fun in the beginning often turns into tedious work, and navigating the station modules is a pain for its own. The controls and the game UI are quite weak, the game pace is always slow.Having played "Untold stories" just before, I was hoping for enjoying a great story once more, but sadly, this time you are not surprised with twists or great revelations that stay in your mind for long. The fun in the beginning often turns into tedious work, and navigating the station modules is a pain for its own. The controls and the game UI are quite weak, the game pace is always slow. The suspense is good though and reminds of the classical scifi master piece "2001", it's the thing that helped me keep playing it through. Don't hesitate to use a walkthrough help.… Expand
  26. NBMTX
    Jun 5, 2019
    9
    I enjoyed Observation quite a bit, as a sci-fi walking sim. A lot of people will find it boring, and/or maybe frustrating. If you're looking for gameplay, this isn't really it. If you're already intrigued by it's premise and just want an interactive 2001 x Interstellar experience, then check this out (...when it's on sale).
  27. coloradomike
    Jun 5, 2019
    10
    Amazing game. Absolutely one of my favorites of all times. Story is fantastic and checked off most of my sci-fi needs.
  28. OGNIOMAN
    Jun 3, 2019
    10
    Really interesting concept of being an A.I. of the ship. a total reversal of roles in typical science-fiction games, where we have at our disposal our artificial intelligence. Here we are A.I. and we listen to commands. A brilliant sound setting, graphics (the feeling of being a software) dialogues, storyline ... everything is perfectly interconnected creating one of the mostReally interesting concept of being an A.I. of the ship. a total reversal of roles in typical science-fiction games, where we have at our disposal our artificial intelligence. Here we are A.I. and we listen to commands. A brilliant sound setting, graphics (the feeling of being a software) dialogues, storyline ... everything is perfectly interconnected creating one of the most interesting science-fiction games for a long time. Only one minus. it is definitely too short and the ending leaves more questions than answers.… Expand
  29. carrysh1ft
    Jun 3, 2019
    10
    Absolutely fantastic game with cool story. U must watching Interstellar or 2001: A Space Odyssey before playing this game
  30. TomSkywalker
    Jun 2, 2019
    10
    The environment, story, puzzles and overall interaction put together into such a great atmosphere I just can't score it any lower. I've been waiting for something like this since Prey. It might not be for for everyone, but if you like sci-fi...GO AND GRAB IT!
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Awards & Rankings

94
#94 Best PC Game of 2019
74
#74 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019
41
#41 Most Shared PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. Adventure Gamers
    Jun 28, 2019
    80
    Once you have mastered the interface and navigation challenges, Observation will sweep you up in a compelling story of human and machine interaction that offers a refreshing spin on a familiar sci-fi formula.
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  2. GameCritics
    Jun 17, 2019
    85
    While there have been a lot of games like it recently, Observation’s interesting player perspective, stellar production values, and exceptional level of detail might just make it the best of them.
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  3. The Overpowered Noobs
    Jun 17, 2019
    60
    Challenging puzzles and a thrilling story makes Observation truly fantastic — but launch prices paired with the brevity of the experience and its lack of replay value make it hard to recommend.
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