Many conversations with the building’s tenants feel a little too much like talking heads for specific political outlooks, or they offer philosophical perspectives on a society whose members willingly have their body mechanically modified. The direct storytelling is a little shakier than the environmental due to the fact that there is plenty that >Observer_ wants to explore. This is a developer that understands the power of the environment they have constructed and it reminds me of my own experiences in the rundown areas of Poland I am familiar with like the ghettos of Wroclaw, or the dead factory in Ursus. The hallways and stairwells are asymmetrical, walls have been knocked down to make new pathways, aging gates have rusted shut to block others. There is a feeling of age and neglect to the edifice, and of constructs being papered on top of themselves - some comm systems on the doors look up to date, while others are barely functional. Water appears to drip everywhere under the grim neon lights. The apartment building Lazarski navigates has holographic displays flickering in and out, barely covering over festering wooden frames, and decaying concrete. What immediately hit me about >Observer_ is the incredibly strong environmental storytelling, and by this I don’t mean anything as simple as some writing on the wall in blood. While searching the building, the player is required to switch between normal, Electromagnetic and Bio visual filters to discern clues in electronic devices, or to scan items such as blood. >Observer_ is essentially a walking simulator with elements of procedural detective work. Of course, things don’t stay straightforward and soon Lazarski is embroiled in a murder investigation and the possible outbreak of a deadly virus while still trying to find his elusive son. Lazarski gets a call from his lost son, and the opening starts by pulling up outside the his last known residence while a weathered Hauer growls and sighs through his opening lines and sets the scene. Observers are detectives augmented by cybernetics, able to jack into the chips inside (almost) every citizen and relive their memories to solve crimes. The player takes the role of Dan Lazarski, an “Observer” in the city of Krakow voiced by Rutger Hauer. Fortunately, after going through Layers of Fear and The Blair Witch recently, I was motivated to revisit Bloober Team’s least horror-based title to date and revise my opinions on it. I missed out on the full >Observer_ experience the first time around - I played it on Game Pass but found that the dingy, slow pace put me off. WTF Those Fire Sword minigames could be their own release. LOW The ‘dedicated to Rutger Hauer’ message on boot-up. HIGH The first time connecting to a victim.
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