Observation — a sci-fi puzzle adventure that tasks you with solving an unraveling mystery aboard a stranded space station
Observation is an indie sci-fi puzzle game created by the developer No Code. In it, you play as SAM, an advanced A.I. aboard the fictional international space station known as “Observation,” and something has gone very wrong. Along with the help of one other member of the mission team, you must figure out what’s happening aboard the space station, as well as to yourself.
The story Observation introduces is immediately compelling, and it’s what kept me playing while other aspects of the game unfortunately lacked. I wanted to love this game, and in some ways I did, but in others I found it frustrating to no end. I’d had this game on my wishlist for a while and ended up picking it up on sale for $6 .78— I unfortunately have to recommend that you do the same, rather than spending the full $24.99.
This may seem shocking considering its plethora of nominations as well as its BAFTA awards for “Best British Game” in 2020 and “Best Game” at the BAFTA Scotland Awards in 2019. Despite my qualms with the game, I can see how it won these awards; it’s not a bad game, but you should be wary of some glaring flaws going into it.
For one, the game was first launched on PC, and yet many players have an issue getting it to work on PC. I found Steam forums filled with attempts to troubleshoot an issue I myself had run into: the game does not run. I verified my files, I uninstalled and reinstalled, verified again, and followed the tip of changing my 3D settings on my Nvidia control panel. Finally, the suggestion of changing the game to run on Windows 8 compatibility mode was the winner. Why does a game released in 2020 force many players to run it on an old OS? Why is it also an issue still present 4 years after launch? It feels neglectful and lazy on the devs’ parts unfortunately and did not have my experience with the game off to a great start.
Onto the game itself, technical issues afterwards were minimal. The only bothersome thing I noticed was an important cutscene having your viewpoint obstructed by literally being brought into objects in the environment. Instead of watching a climactic moment, I kept getting stuck on the inside of rocks. Really takes away from what is clearly meant to be an impactful moment in the game.
What also takes away from moments in the game itself, is loss of momentum. The reason for the loss of momentum, is the difficulty of the puzzles; I enjoy challenging puzzles, but as I’ve mentioned in previous articles, there’s a difference between challenging and frustrating. This game decided to forego explanation on many puzzles, in a way that almost expected you to have a working understanding of an international space station. I may be playing as an advanced A.I., but I’m not actually one. Poor wording, and a U.I. that is unique in a way that causes you to be stuck for ages due to a game mechanic you are unfamiliar with.
Not only do the puzzles kill the momentum and immersion of the game, but everything is made more difficult by navigation. You are sometimes controlling SAM through a sphere that can travel throughout the station. You are small, difficult to control, and waypoints interact with the world around you in a way that has you constantly turning around. The waypoints will pass you overhead as you get closer to your destination, an action in every other game that means you’re going the wrong way.
Of course, having a waypoint is still better than not. Especially when you’re a tiny sphere floating in space outside a gigantic space station. The devs seemingly decided players know exactly how to navigate the outside of a space station, and their destination did not need to be indicated with an icon whatsoever.
All of these things halt your progress, bringing the story to a grinding stop, and instead make you hate every second. I should not be playing a game, doing a puzzle literally thinking “I hate this, I hate this.” Every time a new puzzle was presented, I got excited; the excitement was quickly killed, each time. The concepts had so much potential, but it was clear the devs had a certain way of thinking, one that was unique to those who intimately know the game and what they are making, and they expected players to follow along.
Another flaw to the puzzles was an aspect of the game that I found wholely unnecessary. The visuals in what is meant to be a pattern recognition puzzle are a complete and utter failure. You are shown a sequence and meant to repeat it back. Easy, right? Except the visual is accompanied with blinding, flashing lights; I’m not epileptic, I have no issue with these types of visuals usually. In this instance, however, the developers went so overboard with it I kept having to shield my eyes, which isn’t great when I’m meant to be watching a pattern so I can repeat it back. It’s a huge oversight, honestly; there’s never a point in a game where such intense visuals are required. Your players shouldn’t have to shield their eyes and peek out of their peripheral to try to advance in the story.
Ultimately, this game took me 6 hours to complete, but if it were made with the player in mind, it probably would have taken 4 hours. The only saving grace of this game is its story; it’s not particularly unique, but it still had me fascinated and pulled in from the get-go. It’s why I find it so disappointing that the rest of the game failed to meet the story at the same standards.
Despite all of my qualms and frustrations with the game, I didn’t hate it. I never want to play it again and immediately uninstalled it from my computer, but the story was enough to have me make it to the end and not regret the $6 I spent.
Observation gets a solid 3.5 out of 5 from me.
You can find Observation on PC and console.
