Observation

About Observation

Observation is a story-driven adventure by No Code, a Scottish studio whose earlier game was Stories Untold, published by Devolver Digital. It came out on 21 May 2019 for Windows (on the Epic Games Store) and PlayStation 4, reached Steam and GOG on 21 May 2020, and Xbox One on 25 June 2020; the Xbox store also lists it for Xbox Series X|S and PC. Its director, Jon McKellan, was previously lead interface designer on Alien: Isolation. It won Best Game at the 2019 BAFTA Scotland awards and the British Game award at the 16th BAFTA Games Awards.

In 2026 the multinational space station Observation is crippled by an unknown event: the power is out and Dr. Emma Fisher, the medical officer, cannot reach Houston or the five other crew. She reboots the station's AI, SAM, and that is who you play. You see the station only through its security cameras, switching angles and zooming in, and you act through what they can reach: opening and closing hatches, running safety systems, reading laptops and files. When Emma asks for something, you find it in the station and report back. Later SAM is given a small spherical probe and can move more freely through the modules.

Its horror is quiet and cosmic. A mysterious transmission arrives, the station is no longer where it should be, and the hexagonal cloud on Saturn sits at the centre of everything. The grainy camera feeds and the distance between you and the one person you are meant to help make each discovery unsettling. The developers say it has only a few rare scenes of blood and gore.

Critics rated it highly: IGN and Game Informer gave it 9 out of 10, GameSpot praised its lo-fi sci-fi look, and Destructoid called it expertly paced while noting a few spots where a vague next step turns into a point-and-click wild goose chase. It suits players who like slow, cerebral science fiction with dread rather than chases or combat; PC World called it a 2001: A Space Odyssey homage.

How to play Observation

1. Buy it on Steam, the Epic Games Store, GOG, the PlayStation Store or the Xbox store.
2. Look around each module through its security cameras, switching between the camera angles and zooming in.
3. Hold the response button to answer Emma when she asks you to find or check something.
4. Use system links to work what the camera can see: hatches, laptops and the station's systems.
5. Read files and logs on the station's computers to piece together what happened to the crew.
6. Steer the spherical probe once SAM is given one, to reach places the fixed cameras cannot.

Tips

• Each module's camera has several angles and a zoom; when you cannot find what Emma is asking for, try every angle before you move on.
• Some tasks run against a countdown, such as releasing a clamp hook by hook; read the instructions on the panel before you start the sequence.
• Optional files and logs fill in the background and add time; Destructoid's seven-hour run included combing rooms for them.
• If the next step seems unclear, go back over what Emma last asked for: Destructoid found its few frustrating moments came from a vague objective rather than a hard puzzle.

Questions