I didn't realize how much I missed the Myst games until I played this. But this reminds you of what Cyan does so well: the mysterious, empty, yet beautiful and compelling world; the many puzzles just placed there without explanation, tantalizing but stubbornly opaque until you unlock something else: obscure clues that give you a real feeling of victory when you finally connect them together. This is one of the most enjoyable games I've played in a while. There are only three points of criticism: 1) Seriously, no customizable controls? 2) By their nature, many puzzles involve going back and forth across level loads. I wish that had been optimized better. 2) You spend a lot of time walking back and forth across the game world, moving between puzzles, going around obstacles, etc. It gets a bit tedious when you're backtracking instead of exploring. Myst games were like that too of course, but Obduction doesn't have the lightning bolt to move you along more quickly. None of these criticisms were enough to lose it a star, however. Overall a really great game, and I hope Cyan is back in business and starts making more games.
This is a great game, but if you're buying it for the first time you should realize that the developer and fans kind of fetishize its difficulty. Lots of fans say the game doesn't get interesting until difficulty 7, which is the default setting. DON'T LISTEN! You may find this to be true eventually, but difficulty 7 is pretty hard, and if you start there the gap between the tutorial and the game will be way too wide. Start at difficulty 1 or 2, get a feel for the game, and work your way up.
Unlike other reviewers I don't think this is quite as good as the first LBA. That may just be because LBA1 was my "first love," but I think the 3D areas aren't as tightly constructed as the isometric environments in LBA1. But it's still head and shoulders above so many other games! Play LBA1 first, but then don't fail to play this charming sequel.
I've played a lot of games over the years, and forgotten and discarded the majority of them. But I still have the CD for this game (on which it is titled Relentless - I guess they felt it needed a tough name for the US release?). I've never let it go, because back when I was young, this was the first game that really captured me. I'd had fun with lots of games before LBA, but this was the first one that really made me fall in love with its world and characters and story. I'm buying it even though I own the CD (and a windows client is out there) just to show love for the game and signal that it still has fans! It's an action RPG built on 90's controls, so some aspects will probaby seem clunky today, but if you can look past that you'll get a great story revolving around quirky characters, unfolding on a world that is both whimiscal and darkly reminiscent of Earth history. The music is truly superb. Don't miss it!
