Observer (video game)

Observer (stylised as >observer_) is a

A team of around thirty developed the game using the

Observer is a psychological horror^[1] video game played from a first-person perspective.^[2][3] The player controls Daniel Lazarski, a Krakowian detective of the Observers police unit. He can hack people's brain implants with a device known as the Dream Eater, for interrogation purposes.^[4][3][5] Equipped with augmented vision split into Electromagnetic Vision—which scans for electronic devices—and Bio Vision—which scans for biological evidence^[6]—he is able to analyse and highlight certain objects in his environment.^[7] Objects can be interacted with and examined, while dialogue trees are used for speaking with non-player characters.^[8] Nanophage cards, patient records, radio-controlled cars and roses serve as collectibles. A mini-game called With Fire and Sword: Spiders is accessed through computer terminals, which can also read documents.^[5]

Synopsis

Observer is set in 2084 Kraków,

One morning, Observer detective Daniel Lazarski receives a call from his estranged son Adam, whose caller ID is traced to a tenement building. Locating Adam's apartment, Daniel discovers a body missing its head. He scans a ComPass implant and sees a missed call from "H.N." Checking the tenant log, he learns the initials belong to Helena Nowak who lives in apartment 104. At this point, a lockdown has been triggered. In apartment 104, Daniel finds a moribund man and hacks his brain for clues. Given a glimpse of the tattoo parlour outside, he heads to the courtyard.^[5]

Helena is found dead inside the parlour; hacking her brain reveals she was working for Adam, smuggling data out of Chiron. Daniel goes looking for Jack Karnas, the owner of the tattoo parlour, in apartment 210. He finds Jack murdered and follows a trail of the killer's blood to the attic, where he is ambushed and knocked unconscious. When he regains consciousness, he finds the killer dead and hacks the remains. Daniel continues from there into the sewers, arriving at the killer's hideout. Adam's severed head lies underneath a cover on a table. Distraught, Daniel is met with his son's voice mentioning a place called Sanctuary. He finds his way deeper underground, ending up at Sanctuary's gates.^[5]

Inside Sanctuary, Daniel meets Adam in a virtual world and learns that Adam's consciousness was transferred into a digital realm hoping it was out of Chiron's reach. However, Adam claims Chiron deployed a virus to break down his defences. Daniel is urged to manually override the signal that caused the lockdown, releasing Adam from the building's private network. In the adjoining building, Adam reveals he killed the original Adam for sending the virus after him and triggered the lockdown to lead Daniel to Sanctuary. Adam asks that he be hosted in Daniel's Observer mind to save what is left of his son; if Daniel accepts, Adam takes full control over him. If he refuses, Adam transfers Daniel's consciousness into a maintenance drone and steals his body. Daniel manages to steal the body of the drone's owner and uses it to attack Adam but is shot dead by police as the lockdown is finally lifted.^[5]

Development and release

At Kraków-based

Conversely, Gwaltney criticised Rutger Hauer's line delivery and the stealth sequences.[32] Vincent and Rayfield both disparaged the stealth areas, calling them "frustrating".^[33][34] Macgregor complained that, although the visual effects looked "kind of cool", they eventually lost their appeal; similarly, he called the cat-and-mouse sequences "overused". Other complaints included the use of jump scares and a disappointing plot.^[35] Jarrard saw the exploration as "cumbersome and mildly off putting [sic]".^[36]

Film adaptation

In December 2017, a film adaptation with American production company Zero Gravity was announced, increasing the value of Bloober Team's shares by over 8%.^[44]

References