Observation

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 80 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 80
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 80
  3. Negative: 19 out of 80

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  1. piec
    Jul 2, 2020
    2
    I can't even explain how cool the game idea is, and how poorly is made. I was searching for some small objects entire game wasting my time. Most of the mechanics are a joke, and there are there just to fill the hole in gameplay. Click here, go here, go there, see these numbers? Let's write to them. Most of the time I was guessing what game designer want me to do, and the ending of the gameI can't even explain how cool the game idea is, and how poorly is made. I was searching for some small objects entire game wasting my time. Most of the mechanics are a joke, and there are there just to fill the hole in gameplay. Click here, go here, go there, see these numbers? Let's write to them. Most of the time I was guessing what game designer want me to do, and the ending of the game is so bad...… Expand
  2. psylife
    May 29, 2019
    4
    You will be spending your time solving kindergarten level 'puzzles' served through an intentionally convoluted and obtuse interface as to create the illusion of challenge. That is if you consider challenging, the idea of bumping into every wall in search of some interactive pop-up. Tedious, boring, and repetitive, this is an experience that relies heavily on its audio-visual presentationYou will be spending your time solving kindergarten level 'puzzles' served through an intentionally convoluted and obtuse interface as to create the illusion of challenge. That is if you consider challenging, the idea of bumping into every wall in search of some interactive pop-up. Tedious, boring, and repetitive, this is an experience that relies heavily on its audio-visual presentation in order to entertain. Intriguing and immersive, the game is heavily inspired by classics such as 2001: A space odyssey and interstellar, while never succeeding in offering a respectable narrative pay off. Observation is a genuinely mediocre game and a concrete example of what happens when the artistic and directorial aspirations of a developer takes precedence over genuinely fun, clever, and engaging design and mechanics.… Expand
  3. inopinatus
    Jan 18, 2020
    2
    I was disappointed, especially given the positive critic reviews. I felt the director/writer's artistic demands overrode any attempt to build a game.

    In practice, Observation is a linearly told short story in the sci-fi horror genre. Your role is to occasionally push some buttons. There's no exploration or intellectual challenge here. You have no player agency, and there are no win/lose    I was disappointed, especially given the positive critic reviews. I felt the director/writer's artistic demands overrode any attempt to build a game.

    In practice, Observation is a linearly told short story in the sci-fi horror genre. Your role is to occasionally push some buttons. There's no exploration or intellectual challenge here. You have no player agency, and there are no win/lose states.

    The story itself borrows so much from Arthur C Clarke's 2001 that only great gameplay or execution could save the title. Unfortunately, the sole element I thought well executed was the interior of an ISS-style spacecraft, with the attending spatial disorientation and peculiar soundscape.

    The player's perspective of an unreliable onboard computer had tons of potential, but this novelty was diluted into insignificance by the inability to affect any outcome and the absolute linearity of progression.

    Gamers with even basic comprehension of orbital mechanics, structural engineering, crew psychology, electrical engineering, computing, or any of the other scientific or engineering elements of spaceflight, will likely be unable to suspend disbelief thanks to the repeated butchering of these fields at the expense of narrative. There needs to be some element that is really great to overcome such concerns, but no such element is present.

    It seems to me the kind of title that will primarily impress journalists and artists.

    I can't help but compare Observation unfavourably to the brilliant intersection of exploration, challenge, immersion, and narrative revelation, that I saw recently in The Witness or in Return of the Obra Dinn.

    A missed opportunity.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

100
#100 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019
87
#87 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 45
  3. Negative: 1 out of 45
  1. The Digital Fix
    Sep 4, 2019
    90
    Observation is an unnerving, beautiful, and captivating space station thriller that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
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  2. Washington Post
    Aug 7, 2019
    80
    Observation inserts players into the circuits of the onboard AI. And because it is difficult to overlook how unnatural it is for a human mind to mimic the smooth functionality of a machine, the game effects a gap between the player and the player’s avatar that is intriguingly disorienting.
    Read full review
  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jun 27, 2019
    60
    Great when it’s delivering gripping, cinematic moments. It’s just a shame that the bits when you’re controlling a slightly menacing AI aren’t the highlights. [Issue#164, p.91]
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