T
hespacestation
Observationhas
brokenawayfrom
itsEarthorbitand
isdriftingsomewherenear
Saturn.Itssystemsare
malfunctioning,afire
hasbrokenout,andthe
on-boardartificial
intelligence,SAM,isacting
strangely.Thingsarenot
lookinggoodforDrEmma
Fisher,thereluctanthero
ofthissci-fithrillerfrom
thestudiobehindStories
Untold.
Butwhat’sinteresting
aboutObservationisthat
youdon’tplayasFisher,but
SAM.Thestationisan
extensionofyou,andits
camerasareyoureyesand
ears.Youcan,whenasked,
opendoors,cycleairlocks,
assessdamage,andall
manneroffunctionalduties.
Butsomethingseemsto
haveawokeninyou.A
flickerofself-awareness,
perhaps.Andanominous
command from an unknownpartyhasinfiltratedyour
code:BRINGHER.The
Observationisreminiscent
oftheInternationalSpace
Station–astrangely
low-techwarrenof
claustrophobiccorridors
withnoupordown,littered
withlaptops,science
equipmentandthepersonal
effectsofthecrew.Who,by
theway,arealsomissing.
There’sapowerfulsense
throughoutthat,untilvery
recently,thisplacewas
bustlingwithlife.Fisheris
alone,butasshefloats
throughthestationinzero
gravitythereareechoesof
thevanishedcrewall
aroundher.
Fisherisjustifiably
distressedbythediscovery
thatshehassomehow,
inexplicably,endedup
almost 900 millionmiles
fromwhereshe’ssupposed
tobe.Butshe’salsoatrained
astronautandimmediately
setstoworkrepairingthe
stricken station – with yourhelp.Atanytimeyoucanpull
upaschematicofthe
Observationandjump
betweenstationarycameras,
panningandzoomingand
scanningforobjectsof
interest.Thegameislargely
silentexceptfortheambient
rumbleofthestationandthe
whirringandclickingof
thesecameras,whichis
enormouslyatmospheric.
Whenyou’velocated
somethingFisherislooking
forwithoneofyourcameras- adamagedmodule,perhaps,
orthesourceofafire–you
canrespondtoherrequest.
SAMwillanswerinthekind
ofcalm,reassuring,butalso
slightlyunsettlingvoiceso
belovedbysci-fiAI.Shewill
alsoaskyoutounlock
jammeddoors,recoverdata
fromlaptops,andreboot
systems,includingre-
establishingcommunications
withEarthandactivatinga
trackerthatwill,intheory,
locatethemissingcrew.
Observation’s great
Observation
An astronautand aself-aware artificial intelligence
form an uneasy alliance.
$25 | PC, PS4 | WWW.NOCODESTUDIO.COMstrengthisitsstory.The
influenceof2001:ASpace
Odysseyisobvious,butnot
inthewayIexpected.
SAM’srebellionand
fluttersofself-awareness
arenotassinisteror
obviousasHAL’s.Instead,
it’sintherestraintofthe
narrativewhereIfeltthe
strongestechoesof
Kubrick’sausteresci-fi
epic.Observation’splotis
incrediblycompelling,with
afascinating,mind-
bendingsenseofmystery
thatkeptmehookedfrom
beginningtoend.
Andy KellyVerdic t
Astylish,understated,andsubtly
chillingpsychologicalthriller
with a compelling mystery.downtime»game reviews
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