Observation Reviews

An exquisite atmosphere and fresh premise make up for some slightly obtuse puzzles. Observation brims with ideas and images that fill your head.

Observation is without a doubt one of the best puzzle games of the year. You’ll be instantly drawn into the story within the first few moments of being S.A.M. and become completely enraptured.

Observation spins a chilling and seductive science fiction tale of suspense and mystery, juxtaposed against strong adventure gameplay and stellar production values.

It's full of stars.

However, if you expect everything to be wrapped up in a tight conclusion like the developer’s previous game, Stories Untold, you’d be wrong. The mystery and anticipation leads to an ambiguous ending that left me with more questions than answers. It was an interesting ending to be sure, but I’d be hard-pressed to explain the story. Observation might be setting the stage for DLC or a sequel, but as it is, I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed at the lack of solid answers at the end.

Space is scary. It’s dark, it’s unknown, and it’s infinite. Observation is a cinematic sci-fi thriller that gets right to the crux of that matter: if something goes wrong while up there, there’s nobody around to help you.

Observation is a smart, atmospheric and creepy sci-fi thriller that subverts the AI-gone-rogue trope by making you think about what it means to be the AI.

Observation isn’t a conventional video game. Whether it’s the gameplay, plot, or even its take on horror, everything about No Code’s sci-fi thriller is unorthodox.

2001 is hardly the most obvious movie to use as inspiration for a video game and perhaps predictably the end result suffers from slow-pacing and a lack of meaningful interaction.

While it could have done more with its central concept, Observation is a terrific, thrilling adventure game and a superb follow-up for No Code. The blend of the realistic workings of space exploration along with more bizarre elements is perfectly executed and creates an engrossing story with a haunting atmosphere that you'll want to see through. It's an epic mystery you'll want to experience, and while it may not be the full-on video game equivalent of 2001, it's still a killer ode that Kubrick would hopefully be proud of.

During the five or so hours I spent playing through all of No Code’s narrative puzzle game Observation, I became really invested in the game’s compelling story. Due to excellent voice acting and gripping storytelling, I was always excited to find out what would happen next.

Observation is a sci-fi thriller that takes place on an international space station. The game follows the story of Dr. Emma Fischer, through the eyes of the station’s AI system, S.A.M. Throughout the game, S.A.M. helps Dr. Fisher with various tasks, which range from unlocking doors in the space station, to performing spacewalks, to solving puzzles. It won’t take long to find out that everything is not as it should be. It is up to you to figure out what is going on and what it all means.

Space is kinda terrifying when you think about it. It can be unsettling taking the wrong turn in Wales and winding up surrounded by fields and sheep with nothing but your SatNav for company -- imagine being trapped on a space station and looking out of your window to see nought but the immeasurable black void staring back. You can't just Google "nearest pub" and get a pint to settle the nerves until your mum comes to get you. Observation knows that being lost and alone is scary, and then uses the innate horror of space to amplify that feeling of isolation to an impressive degree.

Observation combines weird sci-fi and cosmic horror with clever adventure gameplay and amazing atmosphere.

An eerie space station adventure that's derailed by some questionable design decisions.

If you’re after an experience like no other, that will challenge your problem-solving skills in logical and believable ways, you absolutely need to play Observation. It’s one of the most compelling and surprising games I’ve played in recent years. Its biggest achievement, though, is that it didn’t make me feel like I was playing a game; it made me feel like I was genuinely assisting a crew member in distress.

Observation combines an excellent narrative and presentation with some often cumbersome gameplay elements that really drag the experience down. It’s absolutely worth seeing through to its conclusion, but it may not come easy to the impatient and unforgiving.

Observation is a smart, original science fiction story propelled by its novel approach to puzzle design and stunning attention to detail. So often, an experience like this can struggle to find the balance between challenging gameplay and a captivating story, but Observation doesn't suffer from this, and the compelling plot is never halted by frustratingly obtuse conundrums. It simply doesn’t deal in obfuscation. Instead, it’s beautifully signposted without feeling clumsy, driving you through its labyrinth of hallways, and a story that grips from start to finish. All of these components combine to craft a chilling high-concept tale that nails the landing and fully accomplishes what it sets out to achieve.

Observation has the visuals, atmosphere, and story that would put it in the conversation of the best horror games of 2019, but the nausea-inducing camera, uninspired puzzles, and frequent lack of clear direction ruin it. It's a shame, too, because Sony clearly had confidence in the game and even featured Observation in its first State of Play stream. Sadly, it appears as though that confidence was misplaced. Hopefully NoCode's next game is able to deliver compelling gameplay to back up the rest of the experience.

Observation is clever, but it's also astoundingly dumb. You're placed in a unique perspective, where onscreen inhumanity accentuates your oh-so-human instincts. Then it subverts that! But then it makes you control a sphere that can't move directly up or down, furthering the nightmare of navigating already labyrinthine spaces. It asks you to do something, without telling you how.

Stanley Kubrick’s seminal sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey has served as inspiration for a lot of video games over the years, with everything from Portal to System Shock featuring their own creepy corrupted AI villains. Well, Observation turns the classic 2001 setup on its head, casting the player as an all-seeing HAL-9000-like computer. You’re not trying to escape a space station; you are the space station.

A smart sci-fi that isn't without problems, though they're balanced out by an incredible amount of style.

An astronaut and a self-aware AI form an uneasy alliance.

My initial thought when playing No Code’s sci-fi thriller, Observation, was that I was going to be in for an experience. Actually, this isn’t true. My first thought was something like, “This is a Devolver game??” And if I am being completely honest, my second thought was along the lines of: “Hey!! This isn’t in PSVR?!” But my third thought? My third thought was definitely that Observation was going to be an amazing experience.

Horror games are often loud and immediate when it comes to the shocks they deliver. Even the more restrained of the genre’s offerings, like Soma and Amnesia, often have indestructible hunters that consistently instill smaller jolts of fright pursuing you. Observation is different, trading pulse-pounding scares for a sense of creeping fear. You play a space station’s artificial intelligence in the aftermath of a disaster, and this angle on puzzles and exploration produces a unique kind of horror – one that takes the time it needs to tell an ambitious story without interruption, letting players marinate in its lake of dread before unveiling the terrors at its core.

Observation is not a perfect game. I found it unwieldy to play and, at times, was often grasping at straws for what to do next. If you can get past that, this is a gripping tale with a foreboding and mysterious aura that drives the narrative forward at every turn. Like Stories Untold before it, Observation is game that I think you really need to play to appreciate how masterful No Code is at setting a tone and building a compelling world for players to explore.

Observation promises an eerie space thriller, and it delivers. Almost. There's a great game there but its flaws too often make it feel like it's trying to hide from you.