Obduction Reviews

Obduction is ranked in the 51st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Aug 31, 2016

Cyan seem to be stuck in the past as it continuously tries to make Myst a thing again, but the adventure genre has advanced far past that now with games like The Talos Principle and The Witness putting this game to shame. Obduction feels like a game that belongs in the 1990s with a modern-day coat of paint. If you haven't played an adventure game since then, you might be pleasantly surprised, but I'd have rather spent my time replaying Firewatch, Oxenfree, or any number of other quality adventure titles instead of this buggy mess.

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3.2 / 10.0
Oct 3, 2017

Other than those couple of points, I'm really struggling to say anything positive.

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5 / 10.0
Sep 7, 2017

Obduction is a oldschool adventure game with high difficulty level, but along with puzzles, we have to fight with the optimization.

Review in Polish | Read full review

6 / 10.0
Sep 2, 2017

They say you can't go home again, but that is just what Cyan Worlds attempted with Obduction, a modern day version of its iconic title Myst. It looks beautiful, and the puzzles are challenging and meaningful, but the technical bugs and lack of innovation hold it back.

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6 / 10.0
Aug 31, 2017

An entertaining puzzler that harkens back to the storied heritage of its developer, Obduction isn't quite on the level of its peers, but will satisfy armchair masterminds looking for their next brain-tickling fix all the same.

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6.5 / 10.0
Sep 1, 2017

Obduction houses not one, but many vibrant, lush, and mysterious worlds in a package that seems to be made for old Myst fans like myself. The balance of symbiotic nature of environment, narrative, and puzzle design means that Obduction constantly feels riveting and natural. It's a delight to experience a modern game with that classic Cyan design, but the technical issues detract from the experience far too much, even going as far as artificially increasing the time it takes to complete some puzzles. I managed to really enjoy the experience that was crafted, but it wasn't without a fair amount of annoyance at little optimization problems that make Obduction far from perfect.

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6.9 / 10.0
Oct 6, 2017

The game also offers three endings to the game which makes it replayable. But unless you are a fan of puzzles then you might not want to get back into this game. Obduction is a great exploration game but I don't think it's a game that's for everyone. It requires a lot of patience and perseverance and the knack to just turn every stone unturned. If you like a good puzzle game, then this game is definitely for you.

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Lee Mehr
Top Critic
7 / 10
Apr 19, 2020

Cyan’s latest is another confident puzzle adventure you can't help but appreciate—even if there's some Myst potential.

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7 / 10.0
Apr 10, 2020

All in all, I really did enjoy my time with Obduction, even if there were a few issues that hampered the experience. It’s beautiful, fascinating, and creative. Although, the second half definitely slows down a lot due to huge backtracking sections and long loading times.

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Aug 29, 2016

Cyan effortlessly weaves creativity the way other developers can only dream of, and I’m excited to see where they can go from here.

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3.5 / 5.0
Sep 14, 2018

Has all the beauty and grandeur of Myst, with all the same flaws. An excellent experience though it’s only able to really be played through once, and can be frustrating, it still is a classic puzzler.

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7 / 10
Sep 8, 2016

Obduction might not be for everyone, but it's a strangely enjoyable experience, either for fans of Cyan's classic series, or for those first giving the genre a chance. The world is beautiful and complex, and the seemingly mundane environment is actually a carefully crafted world with intricate detail. There's definitely some frustrations to be had with some of the more obtuse puzzles and occasional technical stutters, but Obduction is definitely a journey worth remembering.

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Cubed3
Top Critic
7 / 10
Sep 24, 2017

Obduction is a niche title, and not everyone will enjoy it. It's beautiful, the story is engaging, and the voice-acting is absolutely top notch, but the puzzles are often pedantic and may push some players, and even adventure fans, away. However, if you can enjoy the puzzle structure, and get past the annoying load times that sometimes crop up, this is tremendously fun and well worth the price of admission.

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Edmond Tran
Top Critic
7 / 10
Aug 30, 2016

Obduction is a beautiful, unrelenting adventure game whose complex puzzles can be both satisfying and frustrating.

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Metro GameCentral
Top Critic
7 / 10
Sep 6, 2016

A true successor to Myst, with puzzles as ingenious as they are uncompromisingly obscure. Although the experience is hampered by serious technical problems.

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7.3 / 10.0
Aug 30, 2016

Obduction is brilliant in its best moments, but those are rare and have various frustrations between them

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7.5 / 10.0
Oct 3, 2016

If the game asks you to wander around in a confused haze for hours at a time, it rewards you with breathtaking vistas and new wrinkles to your understanding of its world that constantly goes deeper and stranger than you think.

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76 / 100
Oct 7, 2016

Players seeking an adventure through fantastical worlds, with a slew of mechanical and spatial puzzles, will discover that Obduction is a gold mine.

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Tom Marks
Top Critic
76 / 100
Sep 1, 2016

A beautiful, if simple, puzzle game that remains faithful to Myst without feeling dated.

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77 / 100
Dec 17, 2017

Obduction is a great first person puzzle game, developed by the makers of Myst, thus being a spiritual successor to this game. The player will find clever and challenging puzzles within a mysterious world that gradually reveals a dense and intriguing story, all of this followed by a great art direction, creating stunning and complex environments. Unfortunately, performance issues and lack of optimization bring constant stuttering and a long loading time, being a source of anger and frustration after some time. The delay in fixing these problems and bringing an expected update to the PSVR overshadows the many qualities of the game.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review