Return of the Obra Dinn

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 392 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 337 out of 392
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 392
  3. Negative: 27 out of 392

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  1. F1_is_WWE
    Dec 24, 2022
    5
    The best thing I can say about Return of the Obra Dinn is that it is unique. The premise is that a ship with a crew of 60 had gone missing and has now resurfaced. You are given a personnel manifest and your task is to put a name to each corpse. Your only tool is a magic device that allows you to view a flashback of the moment each corpse died. To make things easier on you, the game willThe best thing I can say about Return of the Obra Dinn is that it is unique. The premise is that a ship with a crew of 60 had gone missing and has now resurfaced. You are given a personnel manifest and your task is to put a name to each corpse. Your only tool is a magic device that allows you to view a flashback of the moment each corpse died. To make things easier on you, the game will let you know every 3 correct matches you make (makes it way too easy IMO - should have added difficulty levels).

    What is unique about the game is that you do not have any sort of inventory to manage, or witnesses to interview, or puzzles to solve for unlocking new areas. All you have is a ship filled with dead bodies and your little flashback device. But don't mistake this as the game being hardcore "bring your own notebook" type game. The game takes care of all the legwork you could want - it will record names to persons matches you made (so in a flashback you can tell who is who), it will order the flashbacks from first to last, and it will give you a map so you don't have to remember anything. Everything is taken care of for you besides your one task - matching the name to the body.

    You'll be able to do this through various hints in the scenes. For example, you'll hear someone referenced by name, or you'll hear him speak a different language, or you'll see he is dressed different, or sleeps in special quarters. Lots of little things, a few of which are a bit contrived. Basically it is through guesswork and process of elimination you'll be able to win. To give you an idea of how this works, as an example in one flashback you'll see 3 men playing cards and speaking Russian. You check the crew manifest and confirm there are only 3 Russians on board. You see a funny hat next to hammock #41, then in another flashback you see one of the 3 men wearing the hat. Now you know he is #41 on the manifest, you can cross him off. The other 2 russians have different job descriptions - one works as a sailor the other as a deckhand. In yet another flashback you see one of the 2 scrubbing the floor - now, out of the 10 deckhands on the manifest, you know this is the russian speaking one. Cross him out. The sailor you can guess by process of elimination. Done. This is a more or less simple example, but that's essentially what you'll be doing all game for all 60 crew members. It's not exciting, but it isn't terrible either. An average game that has been exalted only for being unique compared to the regurgitated AAA slop that most every studio produces these days.

    One thing other reviewers aren't mentioning is just how morbid the game is. I'm not very squeamish, I've played other fantasy horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, but this game is particularly depressing. You will literally spend 90% of your playtime watching people die, hearing them beg for their lives, and all set to a funeral soundtrack. Not very fun.    … Expand
  2. maurosso
    Oct 23, 2018
    7
    A graphical wonder. An art piece. Looking and walking around the world scenes, I felt as if i was walking around some type of art gallery. The feeling you get when you piece together a non trivial fact is also amazing. But enough praise...let me talk about the things I personally didn't like.

    I didn't buy the main gameplay loop. It felt dragged out. Unnecessarily slow and time wasting,    A graphical wonder. An art piece. Looking and walking around the world scenes, I felt as if i was walking around some type of art gallery. The feeling you get when you piece together a non trivial fact is also amazing. But enough praise...let me talk about the things I personally didn't like.

    I didn't buy the main gameplay loop. It felt dragged out. Unnecessarily slow and time wasting, especially nearing the end. You really don't have much to 'do' in the game, apart from walking and 'pressing e for a new chapter of the story'. The mechanics for finding out connections between different people and filling out your 'insurance notebook' was fun, but as I have said, revisiting some earlier scenes, walking around the ship, looking for that last body...It all felt like a chore and not like fun detective work.

    This might be considered a spoiler, as I will outline the main gameplay loop:
    1. Find body, press E.
    2. Travel in time, to see the moment of death of the body.
    3. Figure out some clues about the story. Your task is to name the person that died (based on logs, overheard conversions, place of death etc.) and how he died, but the latter usually is pretty obvious, as you can clearly see his moment of death.
    4. Find next body, repeat.

    As such, the first few times, this loop was jaw-dropping. Something completely new, fresh, meaty...but after the halfway point, I got really tired in the whole "slowly walk to the next body, and press E" business. And I mean really walking, as there is no sprint, fast walk or anything...So, if you want to revisit a memory (a death of one of the bodies), you have to each time walk up to it, and press E.

    And that very rapidly started to feel...unnecessarily slow. I loved the detective work, the assumptions, sometimes wild guesses that proved right, but it all felt a little bit buried under the monotonous gameplay.

    Have Papers Please as an example: Throughout the game, the loop is always the same: You either stamp ENTRY or DENY. But every day on the job is a little bit different. The rules constantly change a little bit.
    In Return of The Obra Dinn, the rules don't change. They are the same from the start, all the way to the finish. And I believe that there is a missed opportunity here, for an epic masterpiece.

    As a side criticism...I didn't like to the story in the end. I would really love it, if it was grounded in realism, with a hint of fantasy. But it was the other way around.

    Pros:
    +Presentation: Unique graphics, music sound, voice overs, atmosphere 10/10
    +Cool detective work with the notebook

    Cons:
    -Unnecessarily slow gameplay, especialy near the endgame (no sprint, no 'fast travel to memories' etc.)
    -No gameplay progression. The first 10min of the game are the same as the last 10min, when it comes to mechanics.
    -Story. For me, to much fantasy, not enough pirates / swashbucklery.

    Summary: Worth a buy for the spectacle and visuals. Not the gameplay.    … Expand
  3. kezzyhko
    Aug 6, 2020
    6
    It is confusing, has no tutorial and little to no explanation of controls. This visual style is pretty interesting, but it only adds to the overall confusion. No indicator of progress, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I just dropped the game because of it. If you are into puzzles, it's defenetly worth trying!
  4. kaliohara
    Oct 20, 2018
    7
    You may think the art style is artistic, but the truth is, the art style is bad. You won't see much and get lost in a plain sight.
    The game is good, the story, the puzzles everything is worth playing. However, this game cost too much. It should cost 5$ instead. It really hurts because my expectations were high (after paper please) and this game is only good. I can't give it more than 7    You may think the art style is artistic, but the truth is, the art style is bad. You won't see much and get lost in a plain sight.
    The game is good, the story, the puzzles everything is worth playing. However, this game cost too much. It should cost 5$ instead. It really hurts because my expectations were high (after paper please) and this game is only good. I can't give it more than 7 because it lacks something. I feel like I have paid too much for experience lacking something essential.    … Expand
  5. Nowakowski
    Oct 25, 2018
    5
    I cant recommend it to anyone. Unless you like bad games, then feel free to buy it.
  6. mugsy
    May 10, 2020
    5
    Too hard and confusing for me. Interesting art style but that's really it. Uninstalled quickly.
  7. savvym
    Apr 7, 2020
    7
    Original, violent, mysterious story with great voices and atmosphere. It's weird looking and empty at start. We get a book from a doctor to solve what happened to the crew. Then we spend a huge amount of time running around scenes and looking for details, hidden clues, guessing and deducting by selecting names and fates from a list of options.

    It can be frustrating and annoying if we    Original, violent, mysterious story with great voices and atmosphere. It's weird looking and empty at start. We get a book from a doctor to solve what happened to the crew. Then we spend a huge amount of time running around scenes and looking for details, hidden clues, guessing and deducting by selecting names and fates from a list of options.

    It can be frustrating and annoying if we don't see any clues, hopefully there are various details that matter and help.    … Expand
  8. Javichuck
    Dec 12, 2018
    7
    Juego de investigación con un estilo que emula a los ordenadores antiguos. Trata de resolver las muertes que ocurrieron en el barco Obra Dinn, tenemos un cuaderno y deberemos rellenar los destinos de todos los tripulantes. La estética es bastante original aunque personalmente no se si le aporta algo al juego más allá de llamar la atención por ser diferente. Tiene una gran jugabilidad y laJuego de investigación con un estilo que emula a los ordenadores antiguos. Trata de resolver las muertes que ocurrieron en el barco Obra Dinn, tenemos un cuaderno y deberemos rellenar los destinos de todos los tripulantes. La estética es bastante original aunque personalmente no se si le aporta algo al juego más allá de llamar la atención por ser diferente. Tiene una gran jugabilidad y la historia nos mantiene atentos cada vez con más interés a medida que vamos descubriendo los acontecimientos. Arte 7, Jugabilidad 8, Historia 7.… Expand
  9. ChesterField
    May 12, 2020
    7
    I mean, this sherlock holmes style game is good and all that but, Im the only one that dont enjoy this artistic and visual part?. Still, recommended.

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best PC Game of 2018
44
#44 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018
38
#38 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
89

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 14, 2019
    90
    Lucas Pope is a genius and Return of the Obra Dinn is something truly exceptional. It’s a bit like sudoku – the only thing it needs from a player is logical thinking, therefore it can be recommended to anyone. [13/2018, p.50]
  2. DualShockers
    Jan 15, 2019
    85
    Sound design, music, and an inspired graphical style makes Return of the Obra Dinn an unsettling but satisfying exercise in deduction.
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  3. Washington Post
    Jan 4, 2019
    90
    The Return of the Obra Dinn is a stunning work of craftsmanship. Pope, who handled every aspect of its production himself, has created a work that celebrates scrutinizing details.
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