Last time I playedObservation,anew
game from the creators of horror
anthology Stories Untold, it was a pretty
gentle introduction to the idea of being an
AI. For the first hour, Fisher doesn’t even
know her station has drifted away from
Earth quite so severely. And so you
help her restore power, open doors,
and fix problems around the station.
But when the grim truth of her
predicament becomes clear, things
get more intense. I play another section
from later in the game and Fisher is visibly
more desperate, but still holding it
together. She picks up an orb-shaped
drone and transfers SAM to it, which
allows me to float around the station. I
have freedom of movement, using little jet
thrusters to propel myself through the
zero gravity corridors of the station.
Icanstillleapinstantlybetweenstatic
cameras–andthat’sactuallyaquicker
and more convenient way to get around
–butthisdroneletsmestudythingsup
close.Ifloatmywayintothequartersof
oneofthemissingcrewandscantheir
personal laptop, reading emails and
listeningtoaudiologs.I’mtoldthatalotofthe story in Observation will be conveyed
this way, and you’ll have to do some
investigation if you want to decipher all of
its mysteries.
The station is based on the
International Space Station, and so there’s
no clear ‘up’ or ‘down’, which makes
navigating with the drone quite tricky. It
takes me a while to get my head around
the space, and I keep bumping into things,
which makes the screen stutter and glitch.
Eventually I find a device that Fisher wants
me to activate to help her restore power to
part of the station.
When I interact with the device, a
strange, impenetrable computer interface
appears on the screen, and Fisher tells
SAM that she has no idea how to use it.
And this is where my first puzzle comes
into play. If you played Stories Untold you’ll
know that developer No Code loves
complicated puzzles that have you
reaching for a notebook, and Observation
is no different.
But I like how this reinforces the
fiction, because these interfaces were
never designed for people to operate. It
helps sell the idea that you’re controlling a
semi-sentient AI, and not a human.
The director, Jon McKellan, whose
background is in designing user
interfaces, tells me he’s purposefully
breaking established UI design rules
in the game for this very reason.MAPPED OUT
At any time I can bring up a schematic of
the station listing active cameras and
switch between them. And if the drone is
near one of the cameras I can take
control of it. I ask McKellan if he’s worried
people will just want to stay in the drone all
thetime,buthesaysthatit’sactuallya
rather slow and clumsy means of
transport, and using the cameras is more
efficient overall.
After helping Fisher with various tasks
around the station, something really
strangehappens–butIthinkit’sbestifI
let you discover it for yourself when the
gameisreleased.Therewasatouchofthe
paranormalaboutit,andIwasnot
expectingthatatall.Andsoanotherdemo
ends and I’m extremely desperate to play
more of this very weird and very
interesting sci-fi game.
Andy KellyD
r. Emma Fisher is having a bad day. Her
space station, which is supposed to orbit
the Earth, is now floating near Saturn.
The rest of the crew are missing. Things
keep breaking down. And SAM, the station’s
soft-voiced AI assistant, seems to have become self
aware. But here’s the cool thing: you control SAM,
and so you are, essentially, his self awareness.Things get weird in No Code’s
stylish sci-fi thrillerOBSERVATION
I HAVE FREEDOM OF
MOVEMENT, USING THRUSTERS
TO PROPEL MYSELFRELEASE
2019DEVELOPER
No CodePUBLISHER
Devolver DigitalLINK
http://www.nocodestudio.comNEED TO KNOW
PLAYED
ITThe station is
drifting near Saturn.Is this guy alive...
or dead?Observation
PREVIEW