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And the longer one them goes, the more aggravating it becomes, especially when you’re trying to decipher vague objectives while stuck sitting around for the enemy to make its rounds again. These sections are thankfully few and far between, but each one stretches on for way too long and completely kills the vibe. Being caught results in an automatic game over, which is jarring when the bulk of Observer doesn’t have a fail state. For story-related reasons I won’t go into, you’ll find yourself being stalked by a menacing creature at a few different points, and you’ll have to hide and sneak around it to progress. That’s why it’s such a shame that developer Bloober Team felt the need to include a handful of stealth sequences that completely broke my immersion in its otherwise tense world.

Horror is subjective, of course, but as someone who both enjoys the genre and is easily frightened, I found myself muttering “Nope, nope, nope” while exploring a darkened basement and yelped out loud more than once during the 10-hour campaign. It doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares, instead creating a building sense of dread through the environments, ambient music, and sound effects. Observer is proof that you don’t always need the threat of a sword-dragging physical manifestation of guilt or a nine-foot-tall vampire lady to make a game scary (although those clearly work too). Most of the gameplay focuses on exploration and contextual interactions with the world around you, much like Gone Home or What Remains of Edith Finch. Unlike many games in the survival horror genre, Observer: System Redux doesn’t use violent combat or “run and hide” mechanics (for the most part) to create a creepy atmosphere. Observer never holds your hand or answers every question, and your choices will have a very real effect on how you see the world around you and even how it all ends.

For example, you have the option to make Dan take his medication whenever his vitals are in the red, but you’re never told why – or what happens if you don’t.

There’s a lot left up to interpretation, which can be said for much of the larger story as well. They’re not an exact replication of the victims’ memories, but more of a trippy reenactment that mashes together different environments and art styles. These “dream eater” sequences keep the derelict apartment setting from ever feeling too claustrophobic. Oh, and you can plug into a chip in dead people’s brains to explore their memories, like you do. You’ll use these abilities to track down whoever’s murdering the building’s tenants, sometimes following a literal trail of blood in your quest to stop the killer and find Dan’s son.

Despite the familiar themes, Observer never feels derivative it’s more of a love letter to the works that came before than an imitation.īeing a cybernetically enhanced Observer, Dan Lazarski has a few extra tools at his disposal: he can use EM Vision to analyze electronic equipment, Bio Vision to identify biological materials like blood, and Night Vision to make dark spaces like the building’s creepy basement easier to navigate. There are multiple references to the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four as well, including finding physical copies of the book throughout the apartment building, and stumbling upon Easter eggs like this is always a delight. Lazarski is voiced by the now late Rutger Hauer, whose “tears in the rain” monologue from Blade Runner deserves a spot in the dystopian fiction hall of fame. Observer: System Redux doesn’t shy away from its sci-fi, cyberpunk, and horror influences.