Obduction ®

Graphics, design, atmosphere: 10/10. Puzzles: 9/10. Story & implementation: 8/10. A masterpiece, really.

"Obduction" is a challenging, exotic, first-person adventure game about people on Earth who were abducted to an alien planet and plan to return to Earth by enlisting help from you, the latest abductee. Throughout the game you find alien devices that "swap" one area with another. They enable you to travel from one place to another, during which you essentially swap places with what is at the other end. This brilliant design results in a memorable environment that makes exploration rewarding and exciting. Myst games are mainly about exploration, and Obduction is no exception. A lot of the challenges are about finding ways to get around: by walking and running (no jumping puzzles in this game), and using those teleportation devices to travel. The most enjoyable challenges are the one involving using the swapping ability to clear obstacles and manipulate the environment. There are some relatively conventional puzzles as well. There is a mining cart on a rail that you have to move around so it faces the right way. There are the usual code-breaking type of puzzles involving lock combinations and such. There are a few puzzles where you have to learn an alien numbering system (sort of like learning the D'ni language in past Myst games). The game was made by Cyan, the original creator of the 1993 classic adventure game "Myst," with a one-million dollar Kickstarter funding. It was released this past August to critical acclaim. Currently available for Windows only, the game has been planned for other platforms, although no release dates are available for them yet. The game's Windows system requirements are fairly steep, requiring a fast video card, lots of RAM (16GB recommended), and an SSD hard drive with 20GB free in order to have smooth gameplay and short load times. I got occasional video stutters, although the game was pretty much bug-free in my 20 hours of play.

Wow, so gorgeous and impressive! The puzzles are classic Cyan difficulty and the story to match! Wowsers! Such a great game! The worlds are superb, wonderful and large! You will NOT be disappointed. The game is so much cheaper than other crappier games like the witness etc. You will get your money's worth from this game for sure! Thank you Cyan, make more games like this pleeease! :)

I originally bought Obduction months ago but never got to the end. I hit a puzzle, not sure which and simple gave up. I came back with the determination to finish it this time. Some vague spoilers! A few of the puzzles, like finding the code to the tower elevator and the circle maze seemed exceedingly difficult and I’m not sure why. I had to get the internet’s help to solve the tower code. The game looks nice but load times when swapping worlds is painful, even with my SSD, that’s just for games. The ending was a god damn let down and I feel robbed. I read a lot of the in game material, trying to get a handle on the politics of the world/s. I’m still not sure why it played out like it did. Why did it suddenly go this way and what was the point in doing what the Mofang did. I really wish there was a developer explanation. All that work solving puzzles and you get the endings offered. Blah.

I have to say, I do prefer games that require less... thinking. Don't get me wrong, it's got really good puzzles that include aspects of the game world by retracing a lot of your steps... meaning that you get to revisit a lot of places and learn new things about them. I found the optimisation could be a little better... I think my gaming laptop defaulted to high-end settings though, so that may be my own fault. However the deatil is amazing, even down to the handwritten notes you find in each location. All in all, it's a good solid and short game with intricate lore and a unique tone. But it was an even shorter game for me. I had just unlocked the door in the third world, and went back to the Temple... only tog et stuck in a wall. Yes. Stuck. I somehow walked along a very narrow ledge, which lowers as you go along it. This game has no jump mechanic, and no gravity for the player so I couldn't drop down, I couldn't jump off, I couldn't walk back the way I came either. I could not move at all. I reloaded my save... and it put me back on the ledge. Unfortunately this prompted me to uninstall and not try again. This IS a great game, and please give it a chance... but just be more careful than myself (a gamer whose aesthetic is being able to do a cool flip to get out of a sticky glitch!)