I’ve played No Code’s previous title Stories Untold twice over. Once because I was broke and may or may not have pirated it to try it out, and again because I bought the Steam version and earned all the achievements at a later date. It left me eager to see what they had next, and that turned out to be Observation, a sci-fi thriller set on a space station. I’ve never really delved into sci-fi video games before, despite owning the original Mass Effect trilogy for some reason… Regardless, it looked intriguing and I was all for getting sucked into a scary story in space. And don’t worry, this review will be spoiler-free.
Your role in Observation is to operate S.A.M., an A.I. interface that controls the space station and keeps it functioning. You’re launched into the game right after “the incident” has taken place, and the only person visible to you is Emma Fisher. This wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that there were previously six people aboard the station. Through the use of the station’s cameras, computers, and various other hi-tech devices your job is to assist Emma in unravelling the mystery and hopefully, locate other surviving crew members.
To be honest, I was kind of expecting Observation to be a Stories Untold 2 affair, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are several improvements over its predecessor. For one, you’re not trapped in a single room for the whole experience; instead an entire station is available to explore. It’s filled to the brim with audio logs, photographs, and secrets galore if you’re keen on digging around yourself, and you’re quite likely to see most of it just by following the story too as it weaves its way around the various sections. One thing I especially liked was that the whole space felt lived in. Belongings and mementos were left everywhere, making the absence of life that much more unnerving.
They found a really good work-around to make it immersive while still letting you be a bystander when the story needs it as well. You’re often thrust into situations where the cameras aren’t functioning or don’t show you all the necessary information, so you have to pilot a sphere to get into the nooks and crannies, which is of course flown from a first-person perspective. This let me move alongside Emma in some of the tenser moments and absorb the dark atmosphere, creating some of the most terrifying parts in the game. I will say though, I found the game’s story more mysterious than I found it scary. I think branding it as a “thriller” rather than a “horror” was the right call, cause there isn’t a lot of what I’d consider traditional horror on display. The only parts that kept me on edge were the unknown elements that I had to slowly piece together.
Emphasis is on slowly, I’m sad to say. Observation isn’t the most exciting game and it can grind a bit at times. The pacing was generally fast enough, but there were a couple occasions where I was desperate for the next plot beat to come along but several system errors were in the way of that. The vast majority of the gameplay comes down to solving simple puzzles by reading instructions and then pressing the right buttons. It’s more like Simon Says than puzzle-solving really. The only time I’d get stuck was when I couldn’t find a document I needed in the environment, so the “puzzles” didn’t really shape up for me.
Really though, it’s unfair to judge Observation based on its gameplay alone, as really it’s just there as a way to allow you to drive the story forward at your own pace. If you’re getting too nervous, then why not stop and search for secrets for a bit? If you want to see the end as soon as possible, then focus entirely on doing everything Emma tasks you with. It’s like turning the pages of a book, in video-game form. A visually stunning book, where every chapter ends with a cliffhanger that keeps you hooked till the very end. Observation really shines with its story, and I think that makes up for some mediocre mini-games well enough.
But now it’s time for “Stevie’s completionist complaints.” Only got a couple. First, there’s no way to keep track of where you have and haven’t found things. An absolute nightmare when there are eighty-five files to find that could be literally anywhere on the station. Secondly, before you finish the game you’re allowed to free-roam to search these out, a decision I massively appreciate. It’s a shame then that power to the lights has been lost in many areas at that point, making navigation a chore and investigation nigh on impossible in some spots. And again, I don’t know where I’ve missed things. Some way to scan a room for objects or something like Batman Arkham’s detective vision wouldn’t go amiss, especially since the camera transitions remind me of that as it is. Or even just a button to turn the flashlight on would be great. In the end I gave up finding everything and just went to the ending, and with the lack of chapter select, I’d have to restart entirely if I wanted to truly complete it. Needless to say, I’m just hoping a guide comes out or the devs share a checklist somewhere. That’d be nice.
Nit-picks aside, I really enjoyed my time with Observation. It’s a worthy follow-up to Stories Untold and evokes a lot of the same feelings of dread, unease, and curiosity I had with that game, but to much greater effect. I found myself becoming attached to Emma very quickly, and the story kept me on tenterhooks throughout. If you’re in the mood for a tense time in a sci-fi setting, Observation has you covered.
A digital copy of Observation for Epic Games Store was provided by the developer.
Find Observation on Epic Games Store here: https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/observation/home
