Return of the Obra Dinn Review

As Challenging as it is Confusing

Return of the Obra Dinn is one of the most unique games I’ve played in some time. This should come as to no surprise considering the designer Lucas Pope also created Papers Please. One part snapshot in time, one part mystery, this is one of those titles that you could spend months pouring over every detail. Despite that praise though, I feel this is going to end up on a lot of people’s best, or worst, lists.

A Mystery at Sea:

In the game you play as a nameless surveyor who has been tasked to explore the Obra Dinn, a ship crewed by 51 men who mysteriously disappeared. Your job is to chronicle the doomed journey of the Obra Dinn and figure out what became of everyone. Not to mention all the while looking at graphics that could have come from an 80’s computer.

Return of the Obra Dinn is one of the lowest stakes games I’ve played. You’re not on a grand adventure, or fighting enemies, or even getting jump scares — everyone is long dead, the ship is silent, and you have a job to do.

Your only guide to what happened is the book that you’re writing about the Obra Dinn. As you explore the vessel, the book will begin to fill in with events and start to tell the tale of what happened. Speaking of telling the tale, the game features…