I'm on Observation Duty 3

Rate it

No cameras this time: walk the haunted house yourself and photograph what changed.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, VR
Price: Paid
Rated: Mostly Positive on Steam (77% of 369 reviews)
Players: 1
Made by: Notovia
Released: 2020

What frightens Instead of watching cameras you walk through a haunted house yourself through the night, phone in hand. When something is wrong, furniture that has moved, an object that was not there, an intruder, you take a photo and send a report, and you have to keep up to survive until morning.
Content: scary and uncanny monsters, mild nudity.

I'm on Observation Duty 3 takes Notovia's spot-the-anomaly horror out of the security office. You walk through a haunted house in first person through the night, photograph anything that has changed, from moved furniture to intruders, and send a report. It can be played flat on PC, Mac and Linux, or in VR on Windows.

About I'm on Observation Duty 3

I'm on Observation Duty 3 is a horror game by Notovia, released in November 2020 for Windows, Mac and Linux. It is the third entry in the I'm on Observation Duty series, and the store calls it a psychological horror game.

The big change is in the store's own words: say goodbye to surveillance cameras. The earlier games had you watching feeds from a desk; here you are inside the haunted house. You walk its rooms, a living room with green sofas, a study, hallways hung with old portraits, a bathroom and a garage, and look for anomalies: furniture that has moved, extra objects and intruders. When you see one, you take a photo with your phone and send a report.

The game includes a VR version for Windows with tracked controllers, as well as the flat version for Windows, Mac and Linux. The store screenshots also show offices and a medical room beyond the house.

Being in the rooms changes the fear. You can no longer see every room from a safe chair; you have to turn your back on one to check the next, and something may be standing in a doorway when you come back. The makers warn of scary and uncanny monsters and some mild nudity, with no gore. Reviews on Steam are Mostly Positive, lower than the camera-based entries, so it suits players who want the series in first person or in VR more than those who want more of the same.

How to play I'm on Observation Duty 3

Start the night and walk through every room once to learn how it looks.
Keep moving between the rooms and compare what you see with what you remember.
When something has changed, raise your phone and take a photo of it.
Send the report and wait for it to be processed.
Keep checking the house until the night is over.

Screenshots

A gloved hand holds a phone reading Report pending in front of a framed picture of a pale, dark-haired girl in a dark room

A dim hallway of white doors with a large portrait of a woman's face on the wall

A garage with a chequered floor and a white car, seen in VR with blue glowing hands

A dark office with chairs and framed pictures, a phone in hand showing Anomaly fixed

Tips

Plan a route through the house and walk it in the same order each time.
Look at walls and portraits as well as furniture; small changes are easy to miss.
In VR, take your time turning around; checking behind you is part of the game.
Do not stand in one room too long, or changes elsewhere pile up.

Questions

Is I'm on Observation Duty 3 in VR?

Yes. It includes a VR version for Windows with tracked controllers, and a normal version for Windows, Mac and Linux.

How is it different from the other I'm on Observation Duty games?

It drops the surveillance cameras. You walk the haunted house in first person and photograph anomalies with your phone instead of reporting them from a monitor.

Is it scary?

The makers say it has scary and uncanny monsters and events, some mild nudity, and no gore.

Is it on consoles or phones?

Not that we found. It is sold on Steam.