Review for Observer. Game for PlayStation Network, PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 15/08/2017 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 07/02/2019
In early 2016 Bloober Team released the very good Layers of Fear; with Observer, the Polish independent team seeks a break from the "classic" psychological horror (with not a few inspirations from the PT demo by Konami and Hideo Kojima) and moves towards a cyberpunk and noir setting, which draws heavily on the dirty, dull and neon-lit aesthetics made iconic by Blade Runner.
As the detective Daniel Lazarski, the player finds himself locked up in a condominium in the slums; the story is set in a Dystopian Poland of 2048, in which the Chiron megacorporation has taken control of government, justice and security and "improving" prostheses are now the norm, as well as a general discontent and poverty for the ever looming threat of contagion from digital viruses, dangerous for every citizen with facilities.
In that Observer (or, as it is often defined during the game, "Leech"), Lazarski possesses unique skills, as useful as they are dangerous for himself: the Electromagnetic Vision to analyze every type of device and machine in the environment, the Bio Vision to obtain clues from biological traces and life forms, but above all the Dream Eater, a device capable of connecting the protagonist's mind to that of another subject, obtaining memories, memories ... and fears.
Observer was defined by the same authors as a "Hidden horror" precisely by the nature of what triggers discomfort in the player: between one case and another, the protagonist receives a worrying request for help from his son, Adam, with whom he has been in cold relations for years. Arriving at his apartment, Lazarski finds a corpse without a neural chip and so disfigured as to be unrecognizable; a few moments later, the entire building is automatically isolated from the internal system, as if there was an epidemic outbreak.
The whole story, of the duration of about 7 hours, is divided into investigations between one apartment and another, looking for clues about Adam's fate and what caused the isolation and violent death of numerous tenants. Lazarski has on his side the abilities of his own enhanced vision and the Dream Eater, but the use of these implants increases his psychophysical stress and forces him to take Synchrozine periodically, a medicine that, as its name suggests, helps keep it connected to its devices and "working" from every point of view.
Unfortunately, the victims with whom he will have to interact have not lived particularly happy lives, nor have they met a painless end, so the poor investigator will live a double emotional spiral as he continues his research: on the one hand, a downward twist, ever closer to the madness and psychosis that, although not his, he will find himself living in the first person; on the other hand, the disappearance of the son will open old wounds that he believed have healed and that will guide him towards an awareness and gradual liberation from emotional complexes and blocks.
Hence the aforementioned concept of “Hidden horror”: a terror dictated not only by jump-scare and gore, but by catharsis which leads both Lazarski and the player to face and overcome their (and others') fears and madness and become a better person. Concept, this, recently also seen in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, although obviously the context and the approach are very different.
As can be understood from what has already been said, Observer is not what is normally called a "light game": the duration is not excessive, the linear advancement and the puzzles extremely simple, yet the mood imposed by the environments and dialogues is overwhelming, extremely negative if not for some sporadic bittersweet joke of the protagonist. The latter is voiced by an excellent Rutger Hauer, which helps to recreate the dirty and suffocating atmosphere of Adam's condominium and of a world in which the difference between man and machine is no longer so defined.
The issues dealt with and the way in which they are dealt with do not shine for originality, but they undoubtedly manage to capture the attention and intrigue the player; unfortunately some of Lazarski's “neural journeys” are too watered down compared to what is necessary and make the tension drop and touch boredom, but fortunately these are temporary situations and in any case dependent on subjective tastes and patience.
Thanks to the protagonist's vision system, the search for evidence is always easy and a "logbook" always keeps track of progress, also indicating the next action to be taken. Observer's difficulty is next to nil and even taking Synchrozine is never a problem, thanks to the numerous vials recoverable with minimal exploration. There are no real secrets, just a couple of collectibles to locate inside the apartments and an arcade-style minigame playable through the PC stations of the various tenants.
Observer manages to entertain throughout its duration and also offers a very interesting choice at the end of the adventure, capable of determining the fate of Daniel Lazarski and his son Adam. Bloober Team has managed to hide the graphic and technical limitations of the title with excellent gimmicks and to create a claustrophobic and smelly microcosm in which the player can immerse himself without problems. It goes without saying that, in the event that cyberpunk atmospheres are not appreciated, a title like Observer loses a good 90% of its appeal, as the "playful" component appears limited, simple and tending to repetitive.
► Observer is a Horror-type game developed by Bloober Team and published by Aspyr Media for PlayStation Network, PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 15/08/2017 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 07/02/2019
