Return of the Obra Dinn is the most engrossing puzzler on PlayStation 4 since The Witness. Putting you in the shoes of an investigator, you're sent aboard the titular ship, which has reappeared after being assumed lost five years earlier. Your job is to explore every part of the vessel in order to work out the identity and fate of everyone on board. A powerful pocket watch allows you to go back in time to see freeze frames of each person's final moments. Using the limited information these snapshots provide, you must fill in the pages of an unfinished record on the ship.
The problem -- or the genius -- is that identities are rarely spelled out for you. How one person died is usually quite obvious, but with 60 people to distinguish and scarce information to go on, putting names to faces is the tricky part. It's only through visiting different memories, listening to desperately brief final words, and figuring out who was present where and when that you'll eventually crack the case. You're left to solve this mystery through a real investigative process.
And what a mystery it is. We won't spoil anything, but as the Obra Dinn's adventure across the sea unfolds itself, you'll slowly learn about the relationships and tribulations of all its crew members and passengers. The post-mortem storytelling is compelling, and is never quite enough for your investigation -- or your curiosity. The art style is similarly withholding, offering just enough detail but maintaining an air of unease, and it looks utterly unique to boot. Some may struggle with the visuals as it can be a little too noisy in places, but if that's our only quibble, you can deduce that this comes highly recommended.
Comments 14
Really? The only negative being that the visual style ‘may’ put people off? That’s an entire unique selling point of this game that it replicates the old Macintosh graphics! This and The Witness are the two best adventure puzzlers since the 90s and I’d maybe say this is better.
Been meaning to check this out for a while since it got rave reviews on PC. Glad to read another positive review.
Will add to my ever-extending wishlist.
How much does this cost? Looks very promising.
@ellsworth004 $19.99
Sounds absolutely incredible.
That's a lot of praise, but it also reinforced my opinion that I probably wouldn't enjoy this. Trying to keep track of 60 people and remember who they are and what they look like is going to get confusing for me real quick. And I didn't enjoy The Witness, so I'm wary about trying out these kinds of puzzle games that don't explain anything and instead leave you to figure everything out. The visual art style is also off-putting, and I'd much rather have some colour in the game.
Sorry for being so negative on a Friday. It could be a great game, but it's just not something I'd like.
''Return of the Obra Dinn is the most engrossing puzzler on PlayStation 4 since The Witness.''
Sold.
@crimsontadpoles No need to apologise. Reviews are there primarily to inform, not tell you what to buy. If this review has told you the game isn't your cup of tea, then it's done its job — likewise for anyone it persuades to give the game a try
Thanks for reading.
Looks fascinating, cant wait to give it a try, though it might not be on my ps4. Great review!!
@nessisonett Absolutely, the whole mono-visual style is giving me a ZX Spectrum Fake FPS vibe. Just needs to run at 1fps and it will be 100% Speccy
@Quintumply how long is the game unaided? I know it depends how good you are at puzzles, but what's the length roughly?
@MonkeyDLuffy19 As you say, it’s going to vary a lot from person to person, but I think you’re looking easily at like 10, 12, 15 hours. Around there somewhere, I’d say.
@Quintumply Thanks for the quick reply🙂
Love the visual style. Just like playing on an ancient Apple/Macintosh
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