Observation is quite a unique game. From the creators of Stories Untold, No Code put just as much work into this version of their madness as their other games. As an AI, the task at hand is to survive. In this adventure horror simulation, there will be much to discover and just as much to do.
Somewhere between hovering around Earth and suddenly becoming part of Saturn’s atmosphere, S.A.M, the artificial intelligence you are playing as works hand in hand with the only crew member left, Emma. Dr. Emma Fisher is just as confused as you are about the strange disappearances but her drive to survive is what fuels this game. Her first objective is to start fixing the ship with your help.
The plot to Observation is very focused on Emma since she brings the personality to the game. She is the co-pilot to the game and you come to bond with her in a way. S.A.M, on the other hand, has a very flat voice with no emotion or function that would cause it to second guess possible moral problems. The voice given to S.A.M really brings out the vibes of HAL from 2001 A Space Odyssey but less creepy perhaps.
Seen from the perspective of a lens, S.A.M floats through the ship, looks through the cameras and keeps an eye on the ship at all times. This floating ball of awesome also diagnoses system failure and programs its own memory. Somehow though, the system has been infiltrated. BRING HER.
There is just enough tension in the game to keep you unsettled without being panicked. Much like the game Untold Stories, grainy images appear with some type of subliminal message you must decode. You are given just enough information to keep at the task at hand in order to find out what is truly going on. To compound the mystery, there are at least four other parts of the space station to wander through.
Each different section offers a look into a different culture. For example, the space stations that were home to the Chinese team, are delicately decorated with pieces of the culture while still maintaining the superb detail to an actual space station. Papers and wires are all over and navigating the corridors are just as confusing as you would assume in zero gravity. Up is down and sideways is back to where you came from? There may be no complete pattern to learning your way around but there are many chances to go and look around both in and outside.
If you get an Alien feeling from this game, there is a good reason. Observation is directed by the creator of Alien: Isolation. These two games combined for a great crossover where everything S.A.M does is in the format of fixing an interface. Puzzles meet sci-fi. For example, in order to create better features, S.A.M has to put the items together to rewire its memory but you, the player, have to find all the pieces then figure out how to rotate everything to make it work.
A lot of things can be said about Observation but the biggest things that stick out is the visual acuity, the ability to work on puzzles without much guidance and the plot. From the beginning, the story will intrigue and pull you in and actually keep you there. Observation is much more than a typical space game.
8/10
Available on: PS4 and PC
