Rating
Return of the Obra Dinn
In this 1-bit first-person mystery game, a merchant ship called the Obra Dinn has appeared at a London harbor, years after being declared lost at sea. As an insurance adjuster, the player must examine the ship for clues.
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Return of the Obra Dinn Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
Return of the Obra Dinn breaks the mold of the gaming medium as an enthralling first-person mystery adventure with overtones of Edgar Allan Poe. This is an extraordinary conjunction of cerebral puzzle, supernatural nautical tale, and ornate art direction.
Return of the Obra Dinn stands as something wholly unique. An investigative puzzle game with clear goals but completely open ended paths to completing them, it’s a challenging exercise in piecing together a mystery without being spoon fed what to pay attention to. It’s got some small quality of life issues here and there, but the “moment of death” clue-hunting mechanic at its core is an absolute triumph. Return of the Obra Dinn is one of the best detective games I’ve ever played, and now I want so much more of it.
Return of the Obra Dinn lives up to the hype, and then some. It’s a beautifully crafted and intricately constructed detective mystery unlike anything you’ve played before with a harrowing narrative at its centre. Unravelling its secrets takes time and requires patience, but you’ll be glad you allowed the story to play out at its own pace. What we have here is a thoroughly unique experience that will stay with you, and is among best this genre has ever had to offer.
Every now and again you pick up a game and instantly hate yourself; angry that it took you so long to have played it. This was the exact result when I played Return of the Obra Dinn. While garnering GotY nominations; I noticed. Earning those GotY awards; I was interested. But when finally deciding to jump aboard the abandoned ghost ship, Obra Dinn, I knew instantly that I had made a mistake in waiting so long.
Easily the best detective game of the modern era, with challenging and rewarding gameplay combined with some of the most evocative visuals of the year.
Discover the fate of a stricken merchant ship in this clever maritime mystery.
In Return of the Obra Dinn, you play an insurance inspector investigating an abandoned merchant ship to determine what happened to the crew. Armed with only a notebook and a handy device called a Memento Mori (which is capable of turning back time to the moment of someone’s death), your job is to run through the fates of the 60 people who once called the ship home. While this premise seems ripe for spooky thrills, Obra Dinn leans away from horror. Instead, it presents a quality puzzler that plays like an ambitious, surrealistic version of Clue.
Overall, Return of the Obra Dinn is an incredibly compelling mystery that will constantly have you moving from clue to clue, itching to find that next bit of information that brings it all together. Making the correct deduction is difficult; the game doesn’t exactly hand you all the information you need on a silver platter and sometimes even expects you to work simply by process of elimination, but once you finally get it right there are few feelings more satisfying. Despite having to take breaks due to the visual style, the game kept me coming back again and again, desperate to find the nex…
So there you have it—we're late to the party, but Return of the Obra Dinn is one of the best games of 2018. There are a good number of people who may not digest game criticism the same way we journalist folks may, so to be fair to us, Lucas Pope's game is one that may fall through the cracks and be off the radar. Despite late game gripes, this mystery game is one that everyone with a computer needs to at least try. Pop in your earbuds, turn up the volume, perhaps close the lights, and get ready to watch some people die.
Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope returns with a new interactive investigative drama called Return of the Obra Dinn, which is out today on PC and Mac.