Review for Observer: System Redux. Game for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the video game was released on 10/11/2020
Version for PlayStation 5 from 19/11/2020
With the arrival of Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 this autumn videogame is becoming more and more interesting and full of news but not only: there are in fact several already known titles that are re-proposed in improved versions and adapted to the new powerful consoles from Microsoft and Sony . This is the case with Bloober Team who, already working on The Medium, wanted to put the Observer back to release it in its System variant Redux. With a whole series of graphic improvements compared to the original 2017 cyberpunk thriller title and the introduction of new narrative elements, Observer: System Redux is undoubtedly the work that most of all demonstrates the maturity of the Polish studio, born as a small independent reality but which today can be considered a staple of the indie and videogame panorama.
Needless to turn around, Observer System Redux represents first of all an artistic legacy and a tribute to the late Rutger Hauer. The Dutch actor, as can also be seen from the game's poster, lent the features and voiced the protagonist Daniel Lazarski giving him a unique depth and credibility. Having passed away in July 2019, Hauer dedicated himself to a whole series of b-movies in the XNUMXs while in the XNUMXs he held secondary roles in large productions, for this reason Observer represents his latest work as the main protagonist of a work.
In the recesses of the mind
The themes of Observer System Redux will be familiar to the admirers of Bloober Team production: a broken life, broken family s, a mystery and an investigation in search of a truth dormant in the recesses of memory. What characterizes the cyberpunk title, beyond the futuristic setting of 2084, is precisely the Krakow detective who is part of a special unit of the Police Department: the "Observers". These feared figures of the law are able to carry out a real hacking of personal identification microchips implanted in citizens, penetrating the minds of others in order to "observe" the truth.
But what makes Daniel Lazarski's steps move from the suburbs of this futuristic and dystopian Krakow is a message of help received from his son Adam, from whom he had distanced himself several years earlier due to family problems that the game will go to dissect in a way thorough. The search for his son leads the detective to find himself stuck inside a dilapidated housing structure, in quarantine due to a digital virus - the Nanophagy - while a mysterious killer takes victims in a "bestial" way. In short, although it is not too long-lived with its about 8 hours of gameplay, variable depending on the style of play adopted, at a narrative level Observer: System Redux manages to weave a respectable plot that keeps you glued to the screen in its short, but intense campaign.
The observer
The gameplay of Bloober Team's work is at first glance rather canonical with a first-person view and walking simulator approach, however we will have some interesting features available thanks to our Daniel's observer system able to provide him with an augmented vision that will allow the analysis of the various scenes from an electromagnetic (Electromagnetic Visio) and biological (Bio Vision) point of view in order to grasp clues and details that are elusive to the naked eye. The hacking device implanted in detective Lazarski's right forearm will also have the role of an archive diary, as well as indicating in real time the level of stress reached by the protagonist and reminding us to assume the Sincrozine, vital drug for the detective and able to guarantee synchronization with augmented vision: failure to take it will make vision unstable and disturbed, reflecting consistently in our investigations.
For the rest we will be faced with dialogues, analysis of environments, reading of digital documents and simple puzzles that will hardly put even the most inexperienced player in difficulty. A gem of the title is represented by the minigame With Fire and Sword: Spiders, a puzzle game consisting of 17 levels (10, in the original Observer) in which we will impersonate a knight in search of his princess, in various paintings in which we will be threatened, as the title itself suggests, by fearsome arachnids. The levels of this cute minigame can be found among the various PCs scattered around the housing complex in which detective Lazarski will move and can be violated through his hacking skills: overcoming all the paintings will unlock a secret achievement. The gameplay of the Xbox Series X version does not include the additional features of the PlayStation 5 version guaranteed by the peculiarities of the Dualsense controller, however it denotes a significantly improved sensitivity and reaction of the commands even for the solid pad from Microsoft.
Since this is a game revisited for the next-gen, we could not fail to analyze the technical aspects of Observer: System Redux. As well as the environments in which we will take our steps, Bloober Team's graphic update work is characterized by light and shadow. In fact, the generational retouches on textures of environments and characters are evident and, above all, the work done on the lighting of the title is remarkable, which now enjoys HDR and ray tracing, able to make Observer's cyberpunk setting more vivid and even more credible. However, the graphic weight moved by the now tested Unreal Engine 4 suffers from a slightly unstable frame rate even on a hardware power such as Xbox Series X: the problem here is not attributable to the console itself, but to thehaving probably dared too much in terms of graphics, losing sight of the general fluidity of the title, which is affected on several occasions by all the excellent tricks developed by the Polish team.
Despite this, the title is enjoyable and returns a satisfying and generous visual feeling, able to give hope for the future The Medium. On the audio side we have already had the opportunity to underline the acting of Rutger Hauer accompanied by a dubbing made up of less famous but still convincing supporting actors. The soundtrack accompanies our investigations almost absently, leaving room for the corollary of almost indistinguishable sounds, creaks and verses that make the atmosphere of Observer: System Redux even more disturbing and claustrophobic, to then result in a volume boost, typical of modern horror productions, in the most excited and topical phases. It is definitely advisable to use a pair of good wraparound headphones, to better appreciate the excellent work done on the Observer sound.
Observer was a good title already in 2017, but the release of Observer: System Redux is the consecration of the work of Bloober Team through a cyberpunk concept in which the interpretation of the late Rutger Hauer, an institution of the film science fiction genre, stands out. The title offers a rich plot, able to excite and make you forget the few and negligible puzzles present and, above all, some problems of fluidity due to an imperfect optimization of the graphics engine. Despite this, the technical sector proves to be of excellent workmanship, with an important restyle work and a massive and wise use of HDR and ray tracing. Observer: System Redux will not be the longest-running title among those made available for next-gen consoles at launch, but it can certainly be defined as a pleasant discovery or, perhaps, rediscovery.
► Observer: System Redux is an Adventure-indie game developed and published by Bloober Team for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the video game was released on 10/11/2020
Version for PlayStation 5 from 19/11/2020
