One can complain a bit about the games of our compatriots. All of them scare basically in the same, quite cheap and predictable way in the long run, attacking the viewer with continuous jumpscare. In each of their productions, we can also find long sequences on the border of sleep and waking, which, although perfectly directed, can give you epilepsy attacks. And yet, despite the noticeable shortcomings, it is still the world’s top in the genre.
I can see your dreams
The plot of the Observer’s “definitive version” , as the creators themselves define it, is essentially identical to the original. So we have the year 2084 and a hopeless reality – one where first a digital plague called “nanophage” killed a large percentage of people who decided to artificially improve their bodies, and those who survived had to face world war. On the ruins of what once called human civilization, the Chiron Corporation was founded, starting the process of rebuilding the old world. But where power rests undividedly in the hands of a single righteous sovereign, there can be no real freedom.
The main character of the story is the title Observer – an officer of corporate security services adapted to hacking the minds, or, if you like – a personified tool of corporate oppression. For our “protagonist”, however, life just got a lot complicated. Following the mysterious transmission of his long-lost son, Daniel Lazarski ends up in one of the buildings in Krakow’s slums. This is only the first step for his previously organized image of reality to crumble like a house of cards.
Those who played the original are probably well aware that the clue suggesting that the desperate cry for help may be behind a much wider plot is almost immediately there – but to get the full picture of the situation, we will have to undertake an arduous investigation. On the thread to the ball, as is used to say – and this is how the idea for the Observer narrative presents itself , enhanced with an interestingly created world presented.
Wandering among the ruins
The gameplay in the production of Bloober Team is basically a well-known, story-focused and almost completely linear walking simulator, however, it is enriched with a few elements that add variety to it. As we play here essentially a version of a future detective, after discovering the traces of the crime, our task becomes to determine “what, who and why”. For this purpose, apart from talking to potential witnesses of the incident, we scan the environment in search of clues, and in certain cases we travel inside the mind of the victim or suspect – with each step we approach the puzzle related to the main plot.
In addition to him, the Redux version has room for three additional side quests and although it is difficult to call them something that significantly changes the perception of the whole, they fit well into the game and emphasize the atmosphere of the production even more.
What a beautiful slum
And this one is definitely her strongest point. And it is not even about scaring, because it is due to the constant attack of predictable jumpscares that Polish horror is rather average, but the already improved graphics and still excellent soundtrack definitely do the job. The greatest impression is of course provided by ray-traced reflections, but the textures and character models have also gained detail. In other words, although we spend practically the entire game in block halls in various states of decomposition, it is extremely effective.
If we combine this with the storyline focused on asking existential questions, we get a thing with an exceptionally dense atmosphere. One that will not necessarily provide us with a continuous supply of increased amounts of adrenaline into our blood, but when it decides to get under our skin, it will not come out until the end credits … and who knows if there will be some time after it.
Ultimate Cyberpunk?
However brilliant technically it might be, the basic question for the Observer: The Redux System , however, remains whether the amount of change justifies spending money on it a second time. I admit that I have a bit of a problem with that. On the one hand, we have a refined, thoroughly refreshed production here, aware of its own strengths, on the other, we will not experience much new content here. So you have to compromise with the final evaluation – if you’ve never played Observer , you should definitely give it a chance, because it’s simply one of the most interesting virtual science fiction games in recent years. However, if you already have the story of Daniel Lazarski behind you… well, maybe you’d better wait for the promotion.
