Obduction (PlayStation 4) Review

Obduction starts with a cryptic testimonial, almost like the kind one might see on late night television talking about a drug addiction centre or stress relief spa. The voice acting is absolutely stunning, managing to feel like it could have easily been old stock interview footage. From there on the adventure begins. Much like it's spiritual predecessor, Myst, this is all about laying out a mystery and asking the player to slowly piece the puzzle together.

It's easy to just mindlessly push forward in here, but you run the risk of missing portions of the story, which is very well conveyed. Plot bits are found all over, and Obduction finds some clever ways to convey them. Combine this with the absolutely breath-taking landscapes and supremely well done graphics, and the presentation is positively fantastic. The puzzles, however, are going to be a deal breaker for some, as they require paying close attention to the environment, almost to the point of nit-picking details.

An important button could be extremely small, stuck to the wall in a way where it almost blends into it, looking like it can't be touched, let alone feel important. One puzzle early on involves some abstract thinking about numbers, and the most important hint is hidden extremely well in the environment in a completely different location. If you can enjoy this style of puzzle game though, this is an exceptional title. Thinking about things in the way Obduction asks you to is so fun and cerebral, it truly doesn't feel like it has any peers in gaming in this day and age. Your ability to enjoy this, though, will fringe on how well you can pick apart the details.

Also, as it gives you no real direction or guidance, it means it's easy to overlook important details or interesting story beats. This is riding with the training wheels off, and it works great, again, only if this is your thing. The only other problem this has is related to loading. For the purposes of this review, the game only crashed once. However, the load times are absolutely ridiculous sometimes. At one point, it stopped, loaded for about three minutes, and then proceeded. This wasn't even when entering a new area, but a hallway that, at that point hadn't been explored. The long load times vary, and, fortunately, they aren't a constant problem. Still, when it happens, it's jarring and a bit annoying.