Bloober Team·Released Aug 15, 2017·Single player
Observer is a first person perspective horror game that focuses on a dark, atmospheric environment and deep story telling.
Despite threatening to fizzle under the weight of its reverence for Blade Runner, Observer manages to craft an impressive and affecting horror experience on Switch that doesn't outstay its welcome. It's arguably at its best when you surrender to the barrage of imagery and sounds rather than scanning pools of blood with detective vision. This port walks a technical tightrope and falters a little in docked mode, but fares much better as a handheld experience – its ambition and rich world-building are admirable enough to make up for any technical shortcomings. If Bloober Team doubles-down on the horror genre and keeps producing work of this quality, we'll gladly play whatever's next in the pipeline.
Experience strange days in this cyberpunk horror game.
Observer is rough. Some neat narrative beats and a beautifully presented cyberpunk world paired with an exceptional performance from Rutger Hauer end up being the only redeeming qualities present in this title. This is a game that, despite being short, feels overlong, due in part to some tedious and obnoxious gameplay segments, and some of the least subtle “horror” we've encountered in recent memory. Throw in a bevy of technical problems and a third act that is complete nonsense, and Observer is, at best, a bit of a mess. To call this game a letdown would be an understatement.
It's the Cronenbergian cyberpunk game I never knew I wanted, and it's shot right into my top ten of the year so far.
Observer is a futuristic horror game in the Condemned tradition which casts you as a cyborg detective scoping out a beautifully imagined tenement building. Euro
Observer is a horrifying but brilliant marriage of sci-fi and horror.
This mind-bending cyberpunk masterpiece is a grim yet beautiful descent into the hell of being human.
