Observation

Buggy game doesn't allow me to progress in the late game, and the objectives are very unclear. Don't buy this

Unique gameplay, engaging story and creepy atmosphere.

This game is essentially impossible to play. It only saves at checkpoints, and the checkpoints are so far apart in gameplay time that almost all my playtime so far has been spent re-doing things I did in the previous session. I just loaded up the game to find that my last two hours of exploration and progress have been lost, and I just don't have the energy to retread my steps.

Gameplay a bit rough/slow but very original, as you are an AI navigating a space station via the fixed camera system, helping the crew in various ways. Sometimes a bit hard to understand what to do, but I was hooked by the story and atmosphere.

BANGER

Do not buy. They must have bought their awards.

I absolutely love this game, from all the movies and games I played I usually end up predicting how the plot line will go but in this game I couldn't predict anything,
There is some pros and cons obviously but not enough cons to make the game bad,
The graphics are amazing and all the attention to details,
The way the camera glitches when you bump into something was unsettling but I really love it
For some cons there would be that you can get lost easily, the game won’t hold your hand so you have to to listen well to the instructions and figure out puzzles quickly
One thing I would have liked is having a ping system you can press to temporarily make the objective known, as everything blends in
Overall super good game and I can’t wait to get further into it

Like being inside 2001: A Space Odyssey, but you're HAL. Brilliant atmosphere, clever gameplay. I only wish it lasted longer.

This game really annoyed my inner nerd.

The story is a neat idea, a little bit 2001 Space Odyssey mixed in with other SF movie concepts (Life, First Contact, Arrival, etc). That's fine. A mixture of character and technical implausibilities (both in-game and out-of-game) bring it down.

If you're not a space or NASA nerd at all, you'll likely enjoy it more; as long as you are comfortable navigating weightless environments in 3 dimensions. (the easily-disoriented and those prone to motion-sickness may wish to steer clear)

On the game mechanics, one - if you're going for the collectible achievement, be aware the auto game-saves can be inconsistent so if you quit and reload the game (or the game crashes - happened twice for me) you'll need to check and see if you need to recollect certain memory data again before it's locked out. Two, mouse movement/acceleration is finicky and simply looking around in sphere mode can be painfully slow or rapid. Three, sphere-mode rotates your view slightly (if you spin in a 360' view, your perspective tilts) (I believe this is a flaw of the FMOD engine as I've seen it in other games) which is frustrating for orientation and navigation. It's also frustrating that there is no true six degrees of movement for the sphere - forward/back/left/right only, no up/down options without rotating to use left/right if you want to strafe "up or down".

The perception of movement in freefall also feels off due to the nature of the auto-halt - obviously it would be too disorienting to keep moving once set in motion or to drift aimlessly but adding some indication the sphere was counter-thrusting to maintain position when not intentionally moving would have settled that. Other objects put into motion also coast to a stop without plausible reason. (probably an FMOD limitation, but still....)

Character-wise, well, the MST3K crew would have some ripe comments to make at times, the dialogue does a passable job at moving the story along but it's far more plot-driven than character-driven. Leaving aside the sci-fi wonder of, say, a planetary surface existing where there should be none, one would think a character would be slightly concerned about if there was a breathable atmosphere or not before removing their helmet. (as one example)

I did enjoy the experience of playing as an A.I. supposed to manage the station, albeit frustrated at the handholding of the plot that never lets you control anything the story doesn't allow you to at any given moment.

Anyway, it had its moments, but it could have been so much better.

I recommend Observation purely for its unique premise, atmosphere, and suspenseful mystery, and not for its gameplay, which I thought was mostly tedious.

Watch the full review here: https://youtu.be/zgD4jaU5feQ

Really makes you feel like HAL 9000

This game is really slow, from the story to the controls, and this can definitely be a dealbreaker if you don't have the patience for it. But if you don't mind that, then the atmosphere, POV and story are truly interesting and captivating. It's something truly different from most of the stuff I've played, so for me it feels like a breath of fresh air. I'd definitely recommend it if you're a fan of sci-fi and want an almost meditative, haunting experience

The plot was genuinely intriguing for 2/3 of the game and exploring the story and characters through the data logs and exploration sections was enticing and had me on the edge of my seat at times. However, the ending, as well as a few tedious puzzles that were paired with controls which were sometimes quite tough to navigate, has left me with somewhat mixed feelings on the whole experience.

Finished this in one go.
Really interesting gameplay mechanics and the story kept me on board the entire time.

"WTF did I just play?" but in a good way.
10/10 recommend. Very unique experience.

I tried the game with keyboard and mouse and so far it a good game BUT I have issues playing with a keyboard and some of the puzzles are too fast for me to use a keyboard. I thought I thought would try to use an Xbox controller to see if it was easier for me since Steam says it is supported. The game even shows binds for the controller but the second I turn my controller on the game crashes. I tried turning the controller on before launching the game and after the game was running but it crashes no matter what I do. I think I'm going to refund it since my issues using a keyboard take the fun out of the game. For now I can't recommend game until they fix the issues with controller.

Unfortunately this game is interesting at the start, but quickly becomes less and less enticing.

The atmopshere is superb and really drags you into the game.
Obviously the game takes a bit of inspiration for 2001: a space oddesy, with the AI being a monotone voice that speaks with the crew, done to great effect here.
Visually it looks great and the enviroments looks belieable, it nails the space station aesthetic.
The voice actors do their roles greatly, especially the 2 main characters.

Gameplay consists of going through the various cameras in the rooms, of the space station, looking for various items to interact with.
most of these are simple and just requires you to locate a picture telling you the various commands, and then applying it to the various substations through a small minigame.
alot of the systems that the AI has, you hardly ever use besides once or twice, and you're only really using a couple actions through the entire game.
It would have been interesting to have seen the systems more indepth and operating them more, than barely using most of it, say for scripted sequences where you're needed to do "x, y or z" to progress the story.
What we have now is okay, but is mostly "look for a piece of note, that tells the puzzle or part of it", and then apply it to a minigame you only see once or twice.
which is not helped by the fact that there's multiple pieces of paper and the only way to tell which pieces are important for either the puzzle or the backstory, is a highlight around it when you hover over it.´
There's also computers with messages as well, which was done quite decently, however the only issue is whenever you've read a note once, it goes into your inventory and you can't access the pc again to look at it.
So you always have to go into your inventory to look at a really poorly done UI "wheel" to try and locate the specific note you were looking for.

Later on in the game, you're given control of a small robot sphere, that can float around the space station, while it is great to move around this way, compared to the cameras, the controls can be clunky,
combined with the fact that it's zero gravity, so you can quickly get lost on what's up and down, and with the "flickering" effects, it's not helped furter.
It takes a while getting somewhat used to it, and when all the rooms look quite similar, you're bound to get lost.
The drone more or less trivializes the cameras, and you're essentially only using the cameras if you don't have access to the drones, or if there's a specific action, only the cameras can do.


You have a "respond" button, in which your character will talk a bit about something you've found, be it in your systems or some object in the space station.
While these are neat, sometimes you'll have to allign yourself very correctly in order to hit the "respond" button, which can be finicky at times.
Most of the time, the respond button is there for clarification, which ranges from being useful at remembering what the objective was, and at times borderline useless.
Not to mention the times where you don't have another character to ask, so you're just going to have to wing it.

Game does not have manual saves either, and rely on checkpoints, which are weirdly placed, so if you have to leave and are in the middle of a puzzle, you don't know how much you're set back when you then play the game again.

Story starts off great as a mystery sci-fi thriller, but quickly sinks in quality, not only feels rushed, but the ending left me nothing but disappointed.
If you really like puzzle games that's presented stylistically and enjoy sci fi, maybe pick it up.
Otherwise, skip this game.

Unique

Very fun game. You play as the AI of a space station under the influence of powerful and mysterious forces. You play by 'inhabiting' the ships cameras and systems, repairing the station and helping your human charges to understand what is happening to them.

Systems are fixed and manipulated with little mini-games. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult with these to actually know what you're supposed to be doing, but a bit of messing around and it usually becomes clear. So far, it seems like it's not necessarily that easy to cause a major catastrophe and kill everyone, which is a relief, at first I was worried to do anything in case I blew the station up by mistake, but the game is pretty forgiving.

This is an enjoyable sci-fi thriller with a puzzle component, ticks most of my boxes for a good game. The graphics are really realistic, maybe except for the faces, but faces are very hard to get right. I especially like the static and the signal interruptions, the aesthetic really helps with immersion.

Tip for this game: Look at *everything* in each room, even (especially!) random bits of paper. Clues are everywhere.

Cool concept, some interesting puzzles, mostly just panning around cameras oh-so-slowly hoping to find a post-it note in a cluttered room that will tell you the password for the next mcguffin. I would probably have liked this game if i was a fan of visual novel games, but still I’d recommend waiting for a sale.

I would have liked to see more interaction between the various systems of the station. If we’re to play as the AI of the station, it would be so much more rewarding if we could achieve some mastery of it’s parts and put that knowledge to use. Instead, this game is a sprint from new interface to new interface which all boil down to drawing a pattern that’s displayed right next to the interface.

Maybe the point was really supposed to be the plot, but then i wish It was more fluid as all the clunky controls dilute the story and introduced several glitchy feeling moments.

10/10
The characters' premise fits my needs of perspective.
This might not mean anything, and I apologize if this isn't misleading.
I don't leave bad reviews, all efforts are a perfect score.

now i know how chat gbt feels when i scream at him for doing something wrong

the game has minor glitches but would recommend it the story is great.

Wow!

I am with you.

Couldnt get it to run in a resolution better than 1600x800. Might be a good game but I'll never know cos it looks like dogshit on a 1440p monitor.

Bought on sale, was fine for the price

Good game, Puzzles are varied and well done. Graphics are good with no bugs encountered. Story is a bit weird at the end. 7/10

9 hours of playtime, but I used a guide from time to time to play. I didnt realize how you can put down a waypoint that will guide you through the space station, and because of that it was very frustrating finding my way around. I used a video guide to help. If I had known about the waypoint, the game would have been better for me.

The game definitely does not hold your hand, and you have to figure out much on your own.
If you like puzzles, youll probably like this game. I played using a moust/KB most of the time, but there is a part at the end that I found it absolutely necessary to use my Xbox controller. The graphics are pretty good, as well as sound. Its not great ,but ok. Controls are fine too. It did not play full screen on my ultra wide, 3440x1440. I played wide aspect, but I ended up with black bars all around the screen. I couldnt find a fix for it.

The story is interesting and the ending is disturbing! I recommend picking it up on sale, since its not a long game and its not spectacular.

Great story, I enjoyed playing and learning this story through SAM.

Incredibly original gameplay for the Adventure Game genre. Loved the twists and turns and the collectibles impacting the background of the story, all leading up to a very rich and entertaining experiences. Loved being introduced to mechanics early on that wouldn't be used until the end of the game. Very original, exciting, different. Satisfying conclusion and can't wait to see what they work on next.

Look, this game is something personal for me, My dad in his crazy head made we watch 2001 when I was 7. I was terryfied and was clueless of what I just saw, I told my dad and he told here's the book, and that book was the first Sci-fi I ever read. After growing up and falling in love with Kubrik I went and the supposed "soviet 2001" Solaris, by Tarkovsky. And I loved it, I had always said Kubrik was using Soviet montage and film theory on his films.
OK all that shit out of the way. First I will answer first thing for people who don't like walking sim, with QTS. Second, if u love 2001 and HAL specially this game will be something u will just be amazing. The devs are not shy on their insipirations, mainly 2001 ans Solaris. This is good, because u are HAL, and the events in the game are of the same depth and the universe and non human life are comletely uncomprehensable conceptualy and empirically. ITS PLAYING 2001 FROM HALS PERSPECTIVE WITH SOLARIS ADDED TO THE MIX, if that sounds like a thing u go "NO WAY, THANKS SOMEONE DID THIS". Well they did, for regular people with no 2001 geek orgasms like me, then its up to the opinion u have about narration driven walking sims are something u like or not, if u do give a try and then u can watc the films. If u dont, well u know dont buy it.

Gorgeous looking game with really bad user experience.
gave me a headache.

A great story experience with unique puzzles let down only by the clunkiness of the Keyboard and mouse controls.

Amazing

Good story and innovative gameplay. Thumbs up!

Wonderful.

This game showed me that humanity does not need to go into space and it is better to stay on Earth, where we can at least navigate normally and understand where is down and where is up.

I will briefly describe the gameplay of this game:
60% of the time is spent on understanding where to go and how to get there
35% of your time is spent trying to figure out what is required of you on the spot
5% of your time is spent on the actual mission that got you here.

You know what's funny? Only when at the end of the game, when I had a few minutes to go before the finale, I realized that you can put a mark on the map and it will guide you through these mazes of corridors. I.e. 60% of the problems can be solved just like that, but the game doesn't tell you about it.

Plus there are also bugs. At the end of the game I spent 25 minutes trying to find the source of the alarm, and it turned out that the new version of the station was not loaded and I was in the old one. Only after restarting the game everything was fixed.

The plot is, uh. let me put it this way, at the end, the hero touched the mystic grass. That's the whole plot.

I don't recommend it. Extremely annoying experience.

I think this game is underrated. It's a very fresh concept and sure, it has some weaknesses, but it's an overall pretty captivating experience. I was glued to the screen for hours and don't regret a minute spent there.

It's probably not the type of gameplay that's for everyone though and I explain why down below:

The good:

• interesting story
  
• new perspective (you play as the AI)
  
• tricky puzzles and minigames (if you like detective games, this could be up your alley)
  

The story feels like a mix of HAL 9000, the thing and maybe some other scifi-movies I can't recall the names of. I wasn't a fan of the cutscenes and the story is rather slow, since it includes only a handful of people who barely interact with you. The title already sums it up: you're the observer for the most parts. It's still hella interesting, packed with twists and turns and from the perspective of an AI, it gives everything an entirely new flavour. I tried to peek into every laptop and document my little AI camera could zoom in on to puzzle more of the backgroundstory together. The puzzles range from easy-peasy to dark souls hellhole, but not one of them is impossible or illogical.

The bad:

• controls and camera
  
• nearly non existing task lists and explanations
  
[*] dragged out cutscenes

The game throws you into cold water with little to no handholding. This makes it very challenging to figure out what exactly your next steps are or how to solve certain puzzles. The game encourages you to pay attention and use your brain, (mostly memory and logical deduction skills) so if you're looking for a brainrot cinematic experience, look further. Even though I really liked figuring out the puzzles, some I had to trial and error my way to victory. The controls for the drones and camera feel sluggish and slow, which I admit is annoying, but also intended. It's part of the atmosphere and storytelling - being in space and all. It's still disorienting and might make some people feel seasick.

All in all a good game for certain people. Give it a try on a sale if you're unsure, I would recommend it.

I WANT MORE

Visually it is extremely stunning, and like "Stories Untold" it provides a gripping immersive experience in solving yet another mystery in a leisurely way, with no need to rush gameplay.

Great game concept, however , the camera effects made me put the game off. To strenuous on the eyes.

Pretty average story and characters. The puzzles were nice except the Astrophysics once (do they really expect you to look at every single thing, taking forever?). Some were intuitive and some clever, overall a very good buy. I'd wait for a sale though.
Downsides : very easy to get lost, and the sphere sections are motion sickness inducing if you take them too fast.

The overarching story is so bad - space is scary enough you don't need to make floating hexagons covering everything in goo to make it spooky. And the ending makes no sense.

Still a thumbs-up because they don't make many games like these anymore

Basically an interactive sci-fi story laced with simple puzzles. Voice acting and atmosphere are good, but controls aren't great and it's difficult to find your way around. You'll spend a lot of time entering and re-entering the same room looking for a PIN code or a hatch you've missed. The UI for a lot of the map type screens isn't the best which is also a source of frustration. The auto-save mechanic as others have commented on can also be annoying, it appears to only save at the start of a chapter, despite the little save icon flashing up. Having said that, I had a fine enough time as the story was good and it wasn't too long.

Good game, I liked being a space station for a few hours, super linear though. I wish it was a bit more flexible, like your choices mattered more, and you could do more with existing game mechanics.

Also: I played through the whole game on PC and the ending sequence was rough, but not impossible, for me. The rest of the game was also fine, just a little clunky with the controls but you get used to it. Still, other reviewers say this game is better on controller so that's probably the play if you want to play this game yourself.

excellent narrative, interesting approach of having an AI as the player character. would recommend.

Compelling science fiction thriller with a novel gameplay loop, and a cool story.

Good

I enjoyed the story and acting performances in this game. However,
I found the drone controls very clunky and the interactivity a little lacking. There are several times where the map is taken away from you where it would be helpful in navigating the confusing station. If you really value novelty of the perspective of being a space station AI and playing the story yourself, grab this game on sale.

Idea and graphics are amazing but OH MY GOD playing this game is annoing as hell. Camera rotation speed is slooow, time limited tasks combined with absutely non-intuinive controls are just frustrating. I spent all time dedicated to jetissone module on figuring out when and what I shoud press. Okay, I failed, but can I load previous checkpoint and replay it? No, f*ck you, accept your failure and proceed. I will play more, but right now I am just dissapointed