Observer Reviews
Observer is a love letter to cyberpunk and Blade Runner in particular, but if you look past that it's also a really great game in its own right. We are taken on a graphic and dark journey, in a bleak but believable world, meeting all manner of interesting and isolated characters as Dan searches for his son. Dripping with atmosphere, blood and chrome, this game is a slow, dark deliberate journey through the dark heart of a hellish future and the nightmares within. Observer is available from the Nintendo e-shop for £26.99
With Observer, Bloober Team have crafted an interesting, and often clever, sci-fi horror game. There's a few tiny technical hitches, some detective work that feels a little too obscure, and a lead character voiced in an inconsistent manner, yet the strength of the game's world-building, and execution of its memorable literal head trips, softens the blow considerably.
Despite threatening to fizzle under the weight of its reverence for Blade Runner, Observer manages to craft an impressive and affecting horror experience on Switch that doesn't outstay its welcome. It's arguably at its best when you surrender to the barrage of imagery and sounds rather than scanning pools of blood with detective vision. This port walks a technical tightrope and falters a little in docked mode, but fares much better as a handheld experience – its ambition and rich world-building are admirable enough to make up for any technical shortcomings. If Bloober Team doubles-down on the horror genre and keeps producing work of this quality, we'll gladly play whatever's next in the pipeline.
Ultimately, Observer excels at world building and gameplay variety, keeping the player busy with a list of things to do.
Observer is something unique on the Nintendo Switch catalogue, a game that brings two very different gameplay styles together and which creates a haunting and disturbing experience, in the background of a marvelous cyberpunk dystopian atmosphere and with a plot that allows for several different endings. This is a game everyone should try at least once.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Observer is incredibly solid. It's steeped in narrative and features dark and beautiful environments. It captures the dystopian feel of an uncertain and technologically filled future. And there's certainly enough to spook you or keep you on your toes. No mind interrogation is easy or makes much sense, but you can never fully understand the mind either. Aside from the creepy, intense leaps into other's minds or completing a forensic investigation into a crime scene, much of the story is told through slow exposition. The world is seemingly devoid, and aside from a few places, I never felt pressured or frightened. It was more of a "I'll just keep going this way until something changes." The lack of interactions in the world makes me question a lot of what Lazarski experiences, making it seem like reality is suspect in itself.
Observer is a brilliant commingling of cyberpunk and horror. It demostrates how interesting the game concept is and how much Bloober Team has grown.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Despite the fact that there are some technical and acting issues, Observer absolutely excels.
Observer features remarkable trips through fictional minds that unsettle and terrify without relying on excessive jump scares. The nightmares contrast wonderfully with an atmospheric and detailed cyberpunk world that is always fascinating to explore.
As it turns out, the future is not bright in this neo-noir detective game with a horror twist.
Despite some flaws, Observer is a great example of sci-fi horror adventure with superb sound design, brilliant technical and artistic visuals, amazing narrative, and engaging atmosphere. If you are a fan of the genre, you should try it.
Review in Persian | Read full review
It’s not perfect by any means but it is like no other game on the Nintendo Switch and it’s worth your time and money.
The game, despite the graphics not being as fantastic as on the other platforms, was absolutely fantastic and very well put together with many chances to find new side objectives to continue with your story. I would play through Observer again ensuring I found every last bit of detail, although I feel, as stated, it isn’t a very scary game for a horror! I did have some issues with the game crashing a few times, mainly at the ending. I guess the Switch didn’t want to end it as much as I didn’t !!
The Switch may not have the power for a game as expansive as Observer, but even with its technical faults and the occasional gameplay misstep, it’s still an incredible experience. Whether it’s the morbid story, the disturbing atmosphere or the deeply involving detective gameplay, this is a genuinely brilliant horror-thriller that works its way under your skin and lingers long after you put the controller down.
Bloober Team has taken what they learned with Layers of Fear and delivered a more immersive world, and a equally as creepy story, even if the gameplay does get in the way of itself from time to time.
Observer is light on action/gameplay but offers an extremely deep story with interesting cyberpunk world-building and some bizarrely creepy dream images to keep you up at night. The voice acting is shaky more often than not, but the story is worth the price of admission.
A brilliantly unique experience later soddened with unusual game design decisions.
Observer is a very interesting first person adventure game featuring a well-crafted setting and characters as well as the team's signature transitions, which manage to carry everything forward in spite of the gameplay which gets slightly repetitive over time. While the single elements may not be particularly original, the sum of the parts more than makes up for it, making Observers a worthy purchase for fans of psychological horror and dystopian settings.
>observer_ is a wonderful futuristic Cyberpunk adventure game with plenty of detective work that adds the occasional scary thrill. The story is well written and the interrogation scenes are a wild, fun, vivid psychedelic ride.
Observer has excellent graphics, interesting gameplay and horror which plays with the gamer's fear and psychological through the memories found along the game. Although there are framerate issues in some moments of the game, it doesn't make Observer a game not to be played by the ones who love horror games and the cyberpunk universe.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review