OBSERVER Review for PlayStation 4

Intro:

Come and lead experienced Detective Lazarski’s wild and adventurous investigation to find his long-lost son, that’s being held captive! Based in the year 2084, Observer by developer Bloober Team and publisher Aspyr Media, provides a in-depth futuristic narrative surrounded by digital warfare, holographic visuals, and a dangerous “nanophage,” a digital plague that’s currently sweeping the nation and causing many casualties. Also, worth mentioning is Chiron corporation. It’s a corporation currently profiting from the war and providing much of the technological advance war gadgets.

Gameplay:

It all starts with Detective Lazarski fast asleep in his car and then getting a call from his boss to go check out the scene of an explosion. Then, out of nowhere, his call is interrupted from his son that he hasn’t heard from in ages and then their call is abruptly ended before you can discover his whereabouts. Then the hunt is on. The user must use clues, detective skills, and nearby surroundings to solve the current task at hand and to get closer to reaching your goal. One thing leads to the next in this all-out goose hunt to find your son! This game is shot in 1^st person view point mainly in a hotel and with a futuristic technique called “neural interrogation” Detective Lazarski can dive into someone’s memory and live out different experiences they been through. Your able to do this with a few other characters and it relives you from just being Lazarski for the whole game. But being shot in 1^st person I hoped for more character movements, the whole time playing I felt as though my character was very grounded and wasn’t very mobile due to his inability to sprint at certain times and only other action being to crouch. It was very frustrating when I realized my character couldn’t even jump and drove me crazy when my only option at times was to walk.

Due to the nature of this game, being based on detective lead, mystery, and suspense, I fully understand why some tasks didn’t have a clear objective or directions at all. Although, this made the game very difficult for me at some points, it really does bring out the best detective in us. Even the use of subtle directions during the game such as “follow the light”, letting the black snake guide you, and trying to track down the white deer, were all very effective strategies in really creating that mysterious and somewhat creepy theme.

Suspense Usage:

I also think the developers did a really good job of creating of suspense throughout the gameplay. The usage of doors, lighting, and music, I feel are the techniques used in creating so much suspense. The overall theme of doors throughout the game are vital because of how there presented. The user has an option to go through which ever one they want, although some may be unable to access, at certain stages it really created a feel of “I wonder what lies behind this door”? I remember the scene when I walked in unit #007 to investigate a crime a scene and arrived at an individual with his head chopped off, definitely not what I was expecting. The lighting was also huge factor I noticed while playing. There was some scenes where it added beautiful sci-fi effects to the graphics and really illuminated my whole TV. On the other hand, there was moments like when I had to tip toe in the office around furious giant cyborgs the grey scale lighting plus the light blue lighting the cyborgs where emitting really created that “almost heart-attack” feel every time I was discovered by them. The last suspense additive I’m aware of is the music. A very simple but effective technique use loud dramatic effects to amplify an also loud and dramatic scene. Simply put this game had me on the edge of my seat.

World Building:

I think this futuristic world is very well put together. The technology specifically was a notable piece with instruments such as data storage units, identity mixers, compass implant clouds, there really is no end to this fantasy world. But the way it’s depicted is what really take the cake. The visuals and graphics in this game is just out of this world. Also, the addition of forensic, bio, and night vision gives you 3 different outlook options to analyze this world. Another aspect subtler aspect I noticed was the art. Some of the art work and posters are so highly romanticize they should belong in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. However, one of the big drawbacks of the picture was certain scenes couldn’t hold that same level of clarity of others and some scenes tend to look more pixelated than others.

Controller Function:

Being a free motion game, I love the ability to roam and interact with the world. I enjoy the optional dialogue provided, I feel it gives me more of a chance to “go off script” and that’s a freedom I believe most gamers enjoy. This free range can also be complex at time due to requirement of such precise animation. Really, some of these animations are so precise I must line up the tiny cursor dot on the screen and carefully line it up to fulfil the action that I want, and it can get quite annoying throughout the game. However, game developers combated this precise requirement with even more precise graphics. I remember being so blown away from just opening a cabinet, because from the intensity I flicked my controller I could either slam it shut, barley open it, or even do an action in between. I think such a small animation like that really dictates the course of the game and sort of makes this precise controlling method worth it.

Verdict:

As a gamer I believe one of the most impressing overall feats of the game was the storyline in general. It provided much thrill to the overall experience and was so much blown away to how much the story was depicted as a movie. I would be very interested in watching if it was made into a movie. But even with, more settings need to be included. I felt trapped inside that hotel for the whole game and I can’t even begin to tell you how relieved I felt when there was finally a change of setting to an office or the woods. I also believe providing a difficulty level option would be very useful, there were a few scenes when I just wanted to switch to lower difficulty and continue rather than be stuck for on one task for centuries. And even though being a game solely consisting of only one game mode, I think this story mode it solid enough to stand alone. If someone like myself with no interest in detective or sci-fi games, still found this game very enjoyable. It may be worth the couple hours you’ll spend until you beat the game. But maybe adding one or two quick game play modes wouldn’t hurt either?

Pros: Plot, Storytelling, Great Graphics & Visuals, Future Gadgets, Long story mode (not a quick win),  Optional dialogue, Easy controls, Forensic & Bio Vision, Thrilling, Artistic vibe

Cons: Limited motions, Limited settings, Have to be very precise with animations, Unclear objective at times, Only one difficulty level, No quick game play, Many abstract transitions

Check Out the OBSERVER Trailer:

Observer is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam.