Observation Reviews
2001 is hardly the most obvious movie to use as inspiration for a video game and perhaps predictably the end result suffers from slow-pacing and a lack of meaningful interaction.
Observation delivers an interesting thriller story sets in space, through the eyes of SAM, the AI of a lost station. Fascinating until the very end, the story will appreciates itself only if you accept to endure cryptic puzzles and ever changing rules, in a labyrinth that can really drive you crazy.
Review in French | Read full review
Making the player the mainframe in this 2001-inspired sci-fi aboard a space station gone wrong is inspired
Observation is truly a thinking person's game... and it's a rare gem for that.
Observation has his flaws (mainly in the technical side), but is a great example of how videogames can come up with new ways of telling stories.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Observation promises an eerie space thriller, and it delivers. Almost. There's a great game there but its flaws too often make it feel like it's trying to hide from you.
It's not that Observation brings revolutionary mechanics to its gameplay or narrative, but what makes this a special project is the incredible execution and use of the interactive nature of video games to tell an intriguing Sci-fi thriller. It may sound cliché, but the in-game situations are so well implemented and contextualized that you really feel as an important and operative part of this story.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Observation isn’t so bad it’s fun to hate, its just mundane enough to make me want to forget it ever even happened. At least games as bad as The Quiet Man give me something to joke about, this title only took hours off my lifespan.
A statement that although might be a disservice to the advances we've seen in recent years when it comes to interactive story-driven titles, solidifies Observation as a great work of sci-fi fiction.
Despite the control and movement issues in Observation, I would definitely recommend playing it, as it is an experience few other games are likely to offer you. Just be careful, as you may have an existential crisis after the game’s crazy story wraps up.
Observation will undoubtedly make a lot of best of 2019 lists. Its unique design and mesh of a thrilling space station story that’s bound to get the heart racing and well-implemented puzzles make it a standout.
Observation is a smart, atmospheric and creepy sci-fi thriller that subverts the AI-gone-rogue trope by making you think about what it means to be the AI.
Observation is one of 2019's most unique and interesting games both with its gameplay and overall execution. It delivers a unique sense of horror we typically don't see in games, compelling puzzles, and it has a profound impact on you when the credits roll. While it can sometimes be a tad unpleasant to play with annoying, unsmooth controls and being disorienting, Observation is still a fantastic sci-fi experience.
Having a high-concept idea is all well and good, but it doesn't matter what kind of story you tell, or the world you create, if the act of playing the game is so unpleasant. While occasionally putting the pieces together, often Observation left me bored and frustrated.
Observation is a game that is dripping with potential, and starts brilliantly, but the further you go through the game the more your desire to keep playing drains, a bit like a leaky space suit with oxygen depleting issues. It is worth a play through to soak up the brilliant atmosphere and gasp at the visuals. But only the most hardened walking-sim gamer will find much game in this.
[Observation] tells a captivating, sci-fi story that kept me playing from start to finish in one sitting. Getting to experience it from the view of a space station AI was different from what many other games out there offer and it avoids letting it’s exploratory gameplay grow stale by mixing in interesting and fun puzzle gameplay.
"Does this unit have a soul?" Fans will recognize the quote to belong to Legion from the Mass Effect series, an AI who ultimately, leaves it up to the player on whether artificial intelligence can have a soul or not. With SAM, that question is arguably already answered due to you being in control of the AI in the first place, but it is still a fascinating concept to consider and I deeply enjoyed the intrigue behind it.
Observation is undeniably beautiful, but it is also vapid and shallow. An interesting premise is let down by simple puzzles and awkward controls. While the game does have some interesting ideas, the execution fails to stick the landing.
It’s written extremely well, but I’m sure some players will be frustrated when the game doesn’t answer some of the questions that it raises.
Observation is one of the best pieces of science fiction in recent memory, and touchy controls can't hold this title back from being an incredible title.