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Obduction (creators of Myst)

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  • 29-08-2016 9:40pm
    #1
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,203 CMod ✭✭✭✭


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsWHoOKa24E


    The Witness has left me with a fierce appetite for artful puzzle games (and, well, puzzle games full stop) so had to give Obduction a try once I read the reviews.

    I never got Myst when I played it as a kid - didn't have the patience to be frank. But I'm really loving this so far. It throws you in the deep end, as expected, with a pretty sprawling environment that you need to figure out. At first it can be intimidating, and you'll probably spend a while trying to figure out what the first things you're meant to 'do' actually are. There's definitely moments where you'll be left scratching your head or wandering around trying to find that next step - not as much as old school point and clicks, but definitely you need to get a damn good grasp on the map to figure out where all the shortcuts are. It's generally balanced on the right side of 'challenging' though.

    But once you get into it, the world of Obduction reveals itself to be basically one big puzzle box - one that's measured in kilometres. It's supremely satisfying to have more of the world open up to you once you figure out the mechanisms within. Saying much more would spoil a lot - and I've had several legitimate 'holy **** that's cool' moments as some of the world-changing secrets reveal themselves in ways both subtle and lovingly OTT - but suffice to say there's plenty to engage with here.

    It also looks beautiful, easily one of this year's most graphics-card punishing games. The art style is confident, with a nice mix between alien landscapes scattered with more earthly sites. It makes a good case for the resurgence of FMV too! There's definitely a few kinks to be ironed out - I've encountered some random severe frame rate drops (ones which were rectified when the game was reopened, oddly), and it does tend to stutter more than other recent titles I've played. It has the most beautiful loading transitions I've ever encountered, although they go on a tad longer than ideal even on SSD. But minor concerns in what is a game that really deserves a good audience - it's a very particular type of experience, but it's a wonderfully modern refresh and refinement of some classic and still rather radical design philosophies.


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    #2
    gizmo
    Registered Users Posts: 8,405 ✭✭✭gizmo


    That reminds me, did you see The Turing Test, johnny? It popped up on Steam last night and looked intriguing and it just got a Recommended from Eurogamer in their review.


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    #3
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,203 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    gizmo wrote: »
    That reminds me, did you see The Turing Test, johnny? It popped up on Steam last night and looked intriguing and it just got a Recommended from Eurogamer in their review.

    Heard about it a while back, certainly will look into it once I have this finished! Obduction and NMS are proving a nice balance for my current gaming time for the next little while though :)


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