Observer: System Redux Reviews

In the midst of the panicked scramble to get next gen systems out the door, certain world events have delayed both hardware releases as well as game releases. While the lack of hardware is starting to catch up to demand, the lack of software has seen a greater influx of something every new gen of system encounters, but at a heightened scale: remastered hits from the previous generation! Enter Observer: System Redux, a game that was easily picked up and repackaged for the new generation that is in desperate need of titles to fully utilize its hardware. While Observer doesn’t quite bring the full use of the PS5 hardware to the table, it’s still a solid game that can give you good reason to spend some time on your shiny new system.

So, I have spent most of this review lighting up Observer: System Redux as a shining beacon in the bustling cyberpunk genre, and it is. The story is engaging and filled with noir goodness, the gameplay added to the feeling I was a memory hacking detective, and the visuals felt straight out of one of my favorite 80s movies. But the absolutely relentless and aggressive lights and patterns that invade the game a few hours in made it a hard game to finish. Because of this I still recommend it, bu...

A solid pick for walking simulator fans, but others will find a shallow game hidden behind the excellent audio/visual presentation.

Observer: System Redux combines a psychological thriller narrative with psychedelic visuals, terrifying chase scenes, and next-generation graphics to provide one of the most impressive remaster packages I've played in ages.

Somehow, I’d never played Observer until now. I honestly have no idea why, especially considering how many thrillers, horror games, and walking sims I’ve played. It’s not like I hadn’t heard about it either. Several of my colleagues have been raving about it for years, with our own Leo Faria reviewing it twice! So when Observer: System Redux was announced as part of the next-gen console launch, I knew I had to finally see what all the fuss was about. I cannot stress enough how delight...

Observer: System Redux serves as an enhanced version of Bloober Team’s 2017 sci-fi horror title, Observer. Again, players assume the role of Daniel Lazarski, an Observer-class detective in Kraków whose interrogation methods involve hacking into the minds of cybernetically enhanced folks. The dark cyberpunk setting takes place in 2084, years after a digital plague known as the nanophage devastates Poland. This doesn’t count as the crux of Observer’s narrative, though. Lazarski instead becomes wrapped up in a quest to find his missing son, Adam.

A fantastic world brought to life by great storytelling, world-building, and visual and audio design. Though I wish the voices and dialogue could have gotten some extra work put into it, overall Observer: System Redux is Bloober Team's best game yet. The Ray Tracing breaths life to a dusty and decrepit building while the DualSense allows you to feel the various actions Lazarski performs. Observer: System Redux is a great example of what both Ray Tracing and the innovations of the DualSense controller are capable of.

Observer: System Redux is one of the more impressive definitive editions of the last few years. Bloober Team does an incredible job highlighting where Observer succeeded (storyline and graphics) and improving upon where it needed to (stealth gameplay and interrogation sections). Its success was perfectly timed with the release of new consoles, as Observer: System Redux is tailor-made to enjoy aesthetically.

With all these new additions and improvements, I guess the answer some of you are looking for is whether Observer: System Redux is worth checking out if you’ve already played through the original. Well, there are several answers to that question. If you haven’t played it already, and you really dig horror and sci-fi stories, then you should absolutely play this game. If you played it and enjoyed it the first time, like myself, then yes, you should totally play Observer again. If you are looking for a game to show off your new toy to your friends or specifically want to see what cool new things Bloober Team added to Observer: System Redux, then you can definitely skip this one.

Are these side missions alone enough to make buying Observer: System Redux worthwhile if you’ve already played the original? Maybe not. But alongside the visual upgrades, improved gameplay mechanics and the somewhat budget price they are. Observer was a great game, and Observer: System Redux sees it further improved in every area. It’s just a shame that the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions haven’t been created equally. Still, if you’re after a comparably inexpensive game to show off what your next-gen console can do, it’s well worth picking up, especially on PS5 where it particularly shines thanks to its DualSense implementation. Though be warned: it’s not for the faint of heart.

Observer System Redux is a prettier, smoother version of a good game, but its setting and characters are so grotesque and dark that it can be hard to get through.

Observer is my favorite Bloober Team title to date, and it’s hard to believe it’s been three years since it was released. The Polish cyberpunk dystopia still haunts me with its oppressive, lonely atmosphere, and unrelenting body horror. Its simple setting, a rotting, dilapidated Krakow apartment building in 2084, unfurls into a spiderweb of narratives that players must navigate as KPD detective Daniel Lazarski.

A graphical feast that seamlessly blends a multilayered, psychological horror narrative with heart-poundingly and intimate gameplay, Observer: System Redux is an exquisite piece of cyberpunk fiction.

With visuals completely redesigned from the ground up, rebuilt mechanics, and even a dose of extra content, Observer System Redux delivers on the gritty retrofuturistic cyberpunk world of horror. Rebuilt stealth sections fixed the largest complaint, and the hitching in the original release is gone. The original was good, but this is great.