Obduction Review

Obduction is a beautiful, unrelenting adventure game whose complex puzzles can be both satisfying and frustrating.

[sweetlynn]

I play games like this on the Xbox in our living room the whole family gets involved with solving the puzzles. My kids get super addicted and have to think creatively. Not to mention the time spent together.💜

[nintendokings]

My 56 year old dad hasn't played a game in about 15 years, yet Obduction has lead him to buy a PC to play it :)

[andermachines]

I loved this game in spite of having the exact same problems. Part of it is just the nature of the genre, you can't make everything too obvious, but it would've been nice if there were more visual clues as to how many levels an elevator has, or whether you can move a lever a certain way, etc. But the single biggest issue was the loading times between worlds, and the amount of backtracking you can end up doing. It absolutely does require patience

[paradoxacres]

Wow this Review came out of nowhere.

Was *not* expecting Gamespot to review a game that practically had *_zero hype_*. That's good, though. Smaller, non-AAA games like _Obduction_ need the exposure.

[CraigJNewman]

To all who are curious, here are my two cents on the game being a huge fan of the Myst series. This will be stream of conscious and not in any particular order:

- The game is absolutely beautiful. I genuinely love just looking around in this game because it is that damn pretty. Also, the soundtrack is fantastic.
- The game is not as hard as you think, and actually quite linear. Unlike previous games, you kinda have to unlock things in a sequence before progressing (most of the time.) This is a downside as I would have liked to have gotten stuck in one place, get frustrated, tried another puzzle, than come back at a later time.
- On that note, there are not as many "puzzles" as I would have liked. Most of the time you are not able to progress because you just missed a switch somewhere. But to each their own.
- One of the "worlds" is hands down just lazy. When you get to it, you will know the exact one I am talking about. The rest of them though are very fantastic and fleshed out
- It is a HUGE game in file size so you really need to look at the specs it takes to run.
- LOAD TIMES! HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE BIGGEST ONE! One of the main downsides to this game is the amount of loading it will do specifically when you "transport". Jesus, if you speedrun this game it will probably take you an hour and a half...with half of that time being load screens. Also, one of the puzzles relies heavily on you "transporting" so its one load screen after another (have fun in that maze people)
- Act 3 really fell flat to me. Act 1 and 2 though are pretty damn awesome.

Overall, I really liked this game. Perfect predecessor to games like Myst and Riven. If you liked those games, you will like this one. Its not as hard as either (specifically Riven) but its still worth a play-through. You will still have the "ah-ha" moments and the story is just as vague as the originals (in a good way) I would love to see more from Cyan and more story/puzzle games like this. Worth the $30 and a weekend of play.

[nrn]

For the youngsters that naturally did not play the previous games in the series... this is definitely NOT a walking simulator nor a "minor" game by some obscure developer. It's the last iteration in a series of milestone games that include Myst (the first one). Complex environmental puzzles it's their signature mark and i understand the reviewer pointing this out to a generation of gamers used to far more approachable games... i remember in Riven you had to connect the sound of the animal you heard in the distance while rolling balls scattered across the islands to solve one of the last puzzles.. i mean it took me two weeks to realise that in an era when internet was not there to help with walkthroughs. This said the environment for what i see here appears to me quite unimaginative compared to that of Riven! And no islands??

[morbozim]

wow, an informative, well written, well narrated review. Please do more!

[vancheng]

I play Obduction now and this review is by FAR the best in all internet. I was simply amazed by the game in 1 half and bored and irritated in the 3 world. Overall good game, but they could do much better. Game lacks Riven-style grand and natural to the world puzzles. For example - some puzzles you forsed to solve only because you character cant climb a little fence wich is stupid.

[dcashley]

Agree with the criticisms in the review, but I still absolutely loved this game. Definitely up there or even better than the first Myst games. I'd highly recommend Outer Wilds (not Worlds!) and Quern too, and both are easier to get along with than this.

[Nortic]

It looks stunning! And difficulty level sets the challenge. I look forward to it!

[Jameskaimuki]

He said 3 times how difficult the puzzles were but how gratifying the success was.

[hoobslice]

I think people don’t like this game so much because they just simply don’t like puzzles. I think if you like puzzle games, you’ll like this game overall. The puzzles are definitely on the harder side (and by harder side I mean, leaning more towards The Witness rather than Limbo), but if you like a challenge then it’s great. It’s entirely personal preference though and if puzzles don’t tickle your fancy, this game is not for you.

[kenwalker]

Great review. That last line is the perfect puzzle game advice.

[roccov]

When looking for vr adventure games to play and deciding if I should buy Obduction, when I saw it was made by the same people as Myst, I bought it right away. It is easily the best vr adventure game I've played so far. Would I recommend it? Well it would depend on if you are an adventure game player. If you've played Myst and Riven and liked those games, you will love Obduction. If you want to try an adventure game for the first time you, you should start with something easier that holds your hand. Obduction throws you into a world with no idea of what you are doing there or what you are supposed to do. It is only through exploration that you slowly piece things together. As such your first play through will probably be the most satisfying.

[doomie]

I liked the jungle planet and riding with the little train.

[SWIFTzTrigger]

90s game design with modern day visuals

[milsvaard]

Wow, good review. It actually described the reasons why I should stay away from this game! kidding aside, very thoughtful review.

[GEEKsomniac]

Just finished this, definitely worth the price, and agreed that the later half gets a bit repetitive and difficult, but over my whole 18hrs playthrough I only looked up a hint to get unstuck two times, and looking back it was because of poor puzzle design not lack of understanding, mainly for the ridiculous gauntlet puzzle :| but yeah, play it!

[lilBugger]

I loved Myst but Obduction is my favorite Cyan game.

[davidsabillon]

Anyone else here because it's free on epic next week?