I previously wrote about how blown away by Layers of Fear I was, so I was definitely on board with whatever Bloober Team developed next.
And that next project came in the form of >observer_, a cyberpunk horror mystery, which I enjoyed thoroughly. >observer_ is drenched in atmosphere. Specifically, the game is most heavily influenced by Blade Runner in look, feel, soundtrack, and the amazing voice work of Rutger Hauer.
The game also has themes from other genre movies like: The Matrix, Alien, Strange Days, Ghost in the Shell, Johnny Mnemonic, and Videodrome. Also, perhaps a small dashing of The Terminator and Predator is in there somewhere as well.
I absolutely loved the look of the game. Old tubed-televisions, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, and computer monitors everywhere! I must have the disease that is technology (which is a theme that’s prevalent in these kinds of stories), because it actually gave me a strange feeling of comfort throughout that every corner of the game, even the darkest, foulest corners, still had good ol’ television to keep you company. 📺
My favorite part of the game, essentially playing as Rutger Hauer (his character’s name is Daniel Lazarski, a detective), was going door-to-door, talking to tenants in this run-down apartment complex. Not sure if other people got as much satisfaction out of that aspect of the game, but I thought it was the richest part of the whole experience. It felt so nostalgic and a throwback to older games. I’ve always loved the melding of old and new.
Of course, there’s a lot more insanity and action to be had, much of it very similar to Layers of Fear, especially when you jack into other characters to basically skip interrogation and access their memories directly. Still, I enjoyed the lucid moments of gameplay, just walking around doing detective stuff and solving some puzzles, the most. 🕵🏻♂️
There’s also some very interesting 🐺 stuff going on in this game…
For those of you that don’t mind walking simulators (that is, games where you can’t kill anything), this is an easy recommend. Have a look at the trailer:
Some snaps of my journey through the game:
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