May contain mild spoiler (depends on how sensitive the reader is)
Obduction is a slow but atmospheric game. Very original and intriguing story.
It can be a bit hard to understand the backround story at first because the only bits one get are through books and notes of ingame characters and through environmental storytelling, latter is very confusing in the beginning. That being said, once the central idea behind the story is communicated to the player, much more suddenly makes sense. It does not get boring after that, quite the opposite, because if you wander through the worlds, you will make more and more connections. Things you registred and didnt understand at first, suddenly shine in a new light ...
The pros:
+ Game design and environments are of a mystical beauty.
+ The plot is original.
+ It is very satisfing to finally solve a puzzle.
+ Mechanics do not get too repetitive, riddles are hard but not unsolvable.
+ There arent really "fail-states" in the game beside obvious ones. So it is possible to get things strait afertwards.
+ Connections in the world(s), world building and almost everything regarding the story is mostly very good.
The cons:
- Frustrating controlls: Even if you solved a puzzle, it can be very hard to put in the solution in the mechanic.
- The End: Story ends rather abruptly, i was expecting a chapter more to it.
- Backtracking and going from Place A to B to A to C and to B again can be mildly annoying.
The comparison to the myst series is obvious, since they are from the same developer. But Obduction is not a new Mystgame. It has in my Opinion a very different philosophy behind it, some simliarities are undeniable there though. What Obduction shows is that the people behind Cyan are still capable of creating a fantastical setting and a well thougt out world.
My conclusion: It is a great experience but not a perfect game.
