Memory Leak

I had always known about Observer, but never actually took the time to look into it. When asked to take on the next gen version of the game, I figured why not? To my surprise, not only is it developed by the Layers of Fear developers, but also stars the late Rutger Hauer. For some odd reason, I never knew any of this, but now that I have played Observer: System Redux, I can say I’m glad I did.

As Krakow police officer Dan Lazarski, played by Hauer, players are investigating an apartment complex in 2084. In this time, humans regularly undergo digital and mechanical implant procedures that augment their senses and motor functions. Lazarski is an “Observer” who has the ability and the authority to interrogate people using a mind-reading technique that allows him to “jack in” to the mind of a subject. When he comes across a murder scene, he is now looking for the killer who just so happens to be locked in this apartment complex with Lazarski along with all the tenants.

Platforms: XSX/XSS, PC,PS5
MSRP: $39.99
Price I’d pay: $39.99

The game itself is a first-person detective adventure. In fact, there isn’t much to the gameplay at all. Lazarski is augmented with a few different vision sensors that allow him to examine electrical things and biological things in his environment. The game relies on a few puzzles here and there and there are a few segments that will require the player to use stealth to get through some areas of the game as well. They occur during some really interesting segments of the game, but I did find them a bit tedious at times.

The segments I’m talking about are the memory investigations that I talked about earlier. These really push the limits to what Observer has to offer. Not only am I going through the events of what happened to a victim, I am also going through their memories of key events and feelings throughout their life. On top of that, Lazarski begins melding his memories with the person he is investigating, so I never knew what was exactly correct and what wasn’t, which was a main theme throughout the entire game – what’s real and what’s not?

The game is a pseudo-open world but in the confines of the apartment complex. While it was never too difficult to find my way around, the layout and effects along with a sometimes-ambiguous direction had me wandering a bit too much for my liking at times. Simplicity was the name of this game, and sometimes it was taken a bit too far. I was left wondering what I should do next a few times while investigating. This also plays into the actual handling of the game. I would have to be precise with my cursor and button presses to get things to activate and work properly. Twice, I found myself not finding one single piece of evidence due to not pointing just right, and ended up leaving the area because I couldn’t figure out what I was missing.

As far as the upgrades go with the System Redux version, I have no real comparison since I never played the original. To be honest, aside from the lighting, I could easily see this being played on my old Xbox One. The graphical look of it is just fine, but nothing I can see owners of the original forking over more cash for a Series X version. The System Redux version also comes with a few extra side investigations from what I’ve read, but as I said before, I couldn’t say which ones were new and which ones have been in the game since the first release.

Observer is still a fascinating game with a compelling story and some really interesting set pieces that both confuse, scare, and bring out emotion. Fans of the adventure genre, especially ones that include investigation and a great cyberpunk coat of paint on it, should pick this one up. Players that already own the original version of Observer may want to think twice if they’re looking for a high-profile visual upgrade. While it’s no slouch in the graphics department, I don’t know if it’s worth double dipping for that.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.