Return of the Obra Dinn

The unfortunate thing with Lucas Pope's games is that they tend to occupy a genre of 1. I say unfortunate because this game left me heartbroken that there are not 100 like it. For my tastes, this is about as perfect as a game can get. Very tight, very well designed mystery/deduction game with a good mix of "so obvious you'd have to be sleeping to miss it" clues and "expert deducers only" clues. I think the art direction is stunningly cool, the sounds are incredible, and in general I found the whole experience deeply immersive. There's not much else to say, really. Maybe if I'm nitpicking, the meta story that ties everything together could have been a bit stronger? It seemed like it was going somewhere more... significant, I guess? It's not bad by any means, I'm really being picky here. For bonus fun, get a friend/spouse/SO to play through it separately and simultaneously, and then come together at the end to discuss. My wife and I did this and it was really cool how much we both got into it. A great shared activity even though we didn't directly solve it together. I suppose you could also do it couch-"co-op" style but I have a hard time doing puzzle games with other people and it worked really well as a "book club"-style game. Last thing I'll say is, don't listen to the people who claim the game gets grindy and there's no way to figure out some of the later characters. It's not true. Every single answer can be deduced without any guess work at all. Now, some of them are fiendishly difficult, and I don't think there's any shame in making a few educated guesses at the end, but the ability to use your brain cells to solve it the right way is there if you want it. (And the fan wiki is there at the end to show you all the obvious-in-hindsight things you missed.)

An excellent backstory which you will learn as you need to discover the fates of all the passangers and crew on the Obra Dinn. The aesthetic is unusual, but I found it suited the game perfectly and means it can run on a potato. The first person view sucks you right in, allows you to wander around as needed. The clues are all there to work out who is who, and what happened to them. There is no twitchiness required you can take your time and look at everything you need to. It is self contained, has a definate end. A uniquie experience and one I enjoyed thoroughly. If a second game out, or even one in the same vein it would be an instabuy.

This is one of the best detective stories I've ever been a part of. I urge you not to look up answers; a lot of the community has been good about providing hints instead of outright solutions. It's best if you go into the game blind, but one thing I wish I had known/realized is that you really have to use every detail to your advantage. The first time I realized this, it was pretty neat. To solve the last dozen or so fates, though, I didn't realize that there were even more details that I wasn't paying attention to. The UI is so grainy and colorless, but that's to help focus your attention on what you -can- see. There are tiny little details around every bit that offer you clues to help you solve the puzzle, including things that are missing, or things from earlier scenes. Easily worth $20. I spent about ten to twelve hours on the game over the course of three years, and am very, very happy with it.

The feeling of reaching milestones in this game brings a smile to my face like no other game. This game will make you think and will make you feel smart. The visuals and soundtrack are brilliant. I can say no bad thing about this game.

This game takes investigating and deductive thinking to a new level! This is a short and exciting, and except for some "cutscenes" it really respect your time. Keep your eyes peeled for the in-game details!