Observer

 PlayStation 4
Observer Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 104 Ratings

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  • Summary: What would you do if your fears were hacked? The year is 2084. You are Daniel Lazarski, an elite neural detective known as an Observer, whose purpose is to hack and invade suspects’ minds. To gather evidence, you must relive their darkest fears, and, finally, face your own. From BlooberWhat would you do if your fears were hacked? The year is 2084. You are Daniel Lazarski, an elite neural detective known as an Observer, whose purpose is to hack and invade suspects’ minds. To gather evidence, you must relive their darkest fears, and, finally, face your own. From Bloober Team, the creators of Layers of Fear, >observer_ is a cyberpunk horror game designed to disturb you.… Expand
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Observer - The Year is 2084 Trailer

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Oct 15, 2017
    90
    Bloober has constructed a little game with a story that feels so much bigger than most Triple-As will manage this year. [Nov 2017, p.92]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. TheSixthAxis
    Aug 22, 2017
    90
    If you don’t like ‘walking sims’ then Observer isn’t going to change your mind, even if it does include some rudimentary detective work. However, if you like to be swept away by a story and pulled in to a world where every door has a new experience behind it, then close the curtains, turn off the lights, crank up the surround sound and immerse yourself in this great cyberpunk horror tale.
  3. PSX Extreme
    Sep 13, 2017
    87
    If you like good, creepy atmosphere, a world that draws you in, and a well done narrative, then you should probably give this horror game a try. It’s smart and well done. And while it can be a bit predictable in story, it makes up for it with a good, well thought out presentation. I'm starting to feel like Bloober Team might be the place to go to get that pyschological horror fix. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for their next project.
  4. PlayStation Universe
    Aug 23, 2017
    80
    With Observer, Bloober Team have crafted an interesting, and often clever, sci-fi horror game. There’s a few tiny technical hitches, some detective work that feels a little too obscure, and a lead character voiced in an inconsistent manner, yet the strength of the game’s world-building, and execution of its memorable literal head trips, softens the blow considerably.
  5. Digital Chumps
    Aug 21, 2017
    75
    Observer is a rather well done indie title with tons of style and appeal. Think Blade Runner‘s dystopian motif with Orwellian sensibilities and shades of Snatcher. Sign me up!
  6. Video Chums
    Aug 21, 2017
    70
    Observer crafts an intriguing and richly detailed futuristic world but it's let down by awful performance issues as well as some drawn-out and tedious segments. If you're into the cyberpunk aesthetic, it's still worth a look just to experience its lovingly created environs. However, unless it gets a patch to fix its problems, you might be better off playing it on a high-end PC.
  7. Push Square
    Aug 21, 2017
    30
    Observer is rough. Some neat narrative beats and a beautifully presented cyberpunk world paired with an exceptional performance from Rutger Hauer end up being the only redeeming qualities present in this title. This is a game that, despite being short, feels overlong, due in part to some tedious and obnoxious gameplay segments, and some of the least subtle “horror” we’ve encountered in recent memory. Throw in a bevy of technical problems and a third act that is complete nonsense, and Observer is, at best, a bit of a mess. To call this game a letdown would be an understatement.

See all 19 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 34
  3. Negative: 5 out of 34
  1. kraenk
    Aug 16, 2017
    10
    As soon as I realised this game was made by some polish developers I got curious. By experience most developers from Eastern Europe alwaysAs soon as I realised this game was made by some polish developers I got curious. By experience most developers from Eastern Europe always care a lot for a unique style, story and atmosphere and luckily I was not disappointed. A dystopian horror adventure with great character and a likeable protagonist! Sadly performance on PS4 isn't that great but ok for such a game.
    Do me a favour...watch the first hour or so in a let's play...if you like what you see buy it! Small developers who dare to bring us experiences like that deserve to be supported!    … Expand
  2. ToMajonez
    Jul 27, 2018
    10
    The storytelling and visual art are excellent. This game is a masterpiece. PS: One of the best mini - games "With Sword and Fire: Spiders".
  4. SuperkenGaming
    Aug 17, 2017
    8
    Observer
    Slow start but a great finish
    Observer is an about 6 and a half hr long cyberpunk styled psychological horror game where you play    Observer
    Slow start but a great finish
    Observer is an about 6 and a half hr long cyberpunk styled psychological horror game where you play as detective Daniel Lazarski investigating an apartment building after he gets a call from his son adam, you spend the rest of the game trying to find out exactly what happened to your son and to the other murdered victims in this building..
    This game is developed by the same team that made one of my most favorite horror games of all time layers of fear, so I was extremely excited to try this one out
    and admittedly I was very disappointed in the games first half…
    The first half to me felt like a door to door salesman simulator..
    youre just knocking on door after door until someone answers and you interrogate them to help you progress through the game
    Youre finding codes and throwing switched to access different areas and youll eventually find yourself investigating a crimescene, there are computers around with mini games within the game as well as documents to get you deeper into these characters, but this is where you do batman style scanning of the items at the crime scene trying to figure out exactly what happened to the victim
    but you can take getting information a step further
    you play as an observer.. youre able to plug into minds and see a distorted reality of your target to get answers buried deep in their conscious and subsconsious through a chip they have in their head, which is found by scanning them..
    these moments arewhere the game becomes great,
    a lot of puzzles and mind tricks and survival horror , shifting rooms much like the layers of fear games…
    and each one offers an intriguing and unique experience, stopping it from feeling repetitive like the investigator part of the game
    I didn’t necisarily find this game to be scary, but its definitely unsettling..
    and once you reach the end of that characters story things are blurry and you have to take a pill… this happens as you wander around the building for too long as well..
    im not really sure the point of this mechanic.. its just makes the game ugly, choppy, and hard to look at.. but it’s a thing and you have to look for these pills around the rooms.. but then youre back to being a door to door salesman..
    until finally youre not anymore..
    theres one final door to door section underground which is where I ran into the only bug during my play time where the night vision wouldn’t click off, thankfully this was fixed by backing out into the menue and coming back into the game…
    but the 2nd half of the game is very linear and is like one giant chunk of the mind hacking stuff and its great..
    shifting rooms, illusions, questions, answers, monsters…
    I much preferred going through these mind bending moments that made me fall in love with layers of fear so much…
    I was worried with the initial direction the game was taking, but the brilliant story telling pulled me through to the good stuff
    Who knows, maybe you end up liking the door to door stuff and finding codes and investigating areas..
    I didn’t.. and if you don’t I promise you that its definitely worth getting through the slow drag of the games first half and dealing with all of its knocking on doors, puzzles and switches to get to its 2nd half..
    Bloober Team delivers again with a great psychological horror experience
    I give Observer
    a 7.5/10    … Expand
  5. Awanka
    Feb 27, 2021
    7
    A fascinating dark journey into a futuristic dystopia where technology is used to control, oppress, and exploit almost every facet of life. IA fascinating dark journey into a futuristic dystopia where technology is used to control, oppress, and exploit almost every facet of life. I had put off playing this for quite a while because I didn't know what to make of it from the descriptions. It's definitely not what I expected. Reminds me a bit of Soma with its claustrophic techno/steampunk atmosphere. The first half of the game starts off very strong. The game is very atmospheric, and the setting is ingenious in its environmental storytelling, which speaks of people suffering quietly and beaten down, ruled by sociopathic corporations that don't care about them. Playing the game, there is an ominous feeling of constantly being surveyed, and a voyeuristic thrill exploring other people's homes and horrific secrets. This game is blacker than "Black Mirror" as it references cannibalism, organ farms, and child abuse. The walls are covered in holograms that show brilliantly subversive and disturbing advertisements.

    The second half of the game was less interesting for me. This game was developed by the same people who did Layers of Fear, and if you've played that game, you have a good idea of what it's about. You enter surreal visually impressive and schizophrenic dreamscape sequences which involve taking a linear path forward and experiencing various sequences, kind of like a haunted ride crossed with an escape room. When you get stuck, you must experiment trying different things until you find the "trigger" to allow you to continue to the next sequence in the simulation. Often this involves ping-ponging back and forth randomly wondering what the trigger is supposed to be, and it can be frustrating. These are interspersed with some bad stealth sections similar to the games Soma and Amnesia(There has to be a way to make these more engaging.)

    I was worried towards the end that the storyline was becoming sappy and cliched, but it turned out I didn't need to worry. 7/10 for being kludgy, frustrating, and a bit buggy, but also dark, disturbing, and original.    … Expand
  6. fastdak25
    Aug 27, 2017
    6
    If I was grading this on PC it would be an easy 0 as it wasn't even functional. No in-game audio and progress froze before I could eve getIf I was grading this on PC it would be an easy 0 as it wasn't even functional. No in-game audio and progress froze before I could eve get out of my squad car. Refunded it immediately on Steam then bought on PS4. Still on my PS4 Pro it still had severe frame rate issues throughout the game.

    Game itself was ok at best IMO. Didn't really get a horror feeling, though there were a few cheap jump scares tossed in. Has a few areas where you must avoid a monster that pats around (typical horror game trope) almost exactly like in Outlast. A lot of the visuals were pretty crazy though, being high might make the game too much for you. Get it on sale, worth a walk through (80% of game is just a walking sim) if you're into the whole distopian, cyber-punkish scene.    … Expand
  7. SWERY_51
    Aug 22, 2017
    5
    As a huge fan of Blade Runner, this game seemed to be awesome. Unfortunatly, the atrocious framerate on base PS4 (sometimes it's not higherAs a huge fan of Blade Runner, this game seemed to be awesome. Unfortunatly, the atrocious framerate on base PS4 (sometimes it's not higher than 10 fps!) make it just completely unplayable for the moment. I hope a patch will correct that ASAP, right now, avoid it at all cost...

    (This review will be updated when the game will have a stable framerate)    … Expand
  8. Krotos
    Sep 11, 2017
    0
    DO NOT BUY! GAME-BREAKING BUGS!

    While Observer has an intriguing plot and great atmosphere, it also has *serious* bugs that, if they come    DO NOT BUY! GAME-BREAKING BUGS!

    While Observer has an intriguing plot and great atmosphere, it also has *serious* bugs that, if they come up, can make it impossible to progress in the story. Since the game has only a single, continually-updating autosave, whenever you encounter one of these bugs, you have to RESTART THE ENTIRE GAME FROM THE BEGINNING. I ran into one of these when I was maybe 80% completed.

    It is unforgivable for any software studio to release a title in this state. Maybe they'll patch it up eventually, but for now, save your $30 for a game that isn't going to suddenly stop working when you're most of the way through it.    … Expand

See all 34 User Reviews

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