Return of the Obra Dinn

[PorkyThePaladin]

Nitpicking this game is like snorting high end Colombian undiluted cocaine and complaining that the supermodel sucking your dick wasn't in any Hollywood movies. I mean come on people...

The logic is top notch, everything can be deduced. I only played 2 games in my life where literally everything could be problem solved in a brilliant way, this and Ultima Underworld. Both legendary games.

You already figured out the kraken part, you can definitely see them falling into its mouth in one of the scenes from the overturned boat. For the brothers, figuring out HOW to use the hammock numbers to solve that one was fucking brilliant.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

RPG Codex comment of the year.

 

[Rincewind]

Played this a few years ago, my favorite game that came out in the last 20 years. Breaking new ground in both mechanics and presentation. It makes you feel like a proper detective as you progress by making deductions from your observations. They way you piece together and experience the story is unlike anything else.

I'll wait for a few more years to play it again, hopefully I'll forget enough by then.

It would have been amazing if there was a second story, like investigating a failed expedition to some ancient ruins. But it is a masterpiece as is, and second story would have been to much to ask for given that it's developed by one person and there's astonishing amount of detail. Still, I'd love to play another game with the same mechanics.

Play the case of the golden idol.
Now.

Thanks for the tip, looks absolutely hilarious.

 

[Lucumo]

Any other games besides The Last Express that scratch that detective itch?

Asked myself the same question after Obra Dinn and Unheard was decent (and unusual).

 

[gooseman]

This was a good game, but definitely not flawless. Music was meh, but overall audio is stellar with great voice acting (except one sailor that sounds 10 years younger than he looks, that was off). Even the non-english speakers actually speak their language, which can't be said even for a lot of AAA games (at least the russians are). Don't understand the forced linearity with blocking off parts of the ship until you finish exploring a chapter. The stupid magic ball of padding the game out. The forced 60 seconds of exploration. What if I want to stay for longer? What if I want to get on with it? Nope, first time you have to wait. On rewatch, if you skip the black screen, music starts playing over the dialogue... Annoying. Have to walk to a scene to watch it. Can't restart a scene either. And this gets even more annoying with scenes that are only accessible from the other ones, so you have to daisy chain the entire way to get to it. It'd also be great if the game had a built in note taking system. You have a fucking notebook with you ffs.
The puzzles are great. At first they seemed too easy, but then the ultimate challenge is... can you tell 4 identical chinamen apart? There are many cases where it allows bruteforcing, I think golden idol did it better, though I'm not a fan of sentences with blanks either. Graphics I also wasn't a fan of. The models looks great. But the filter sucks. I guess it sort of works for a "horror" game, since seeing fucked up dithered monsters is scarier than regular ones, as your mind fills in the unknown. But then you need to make out what the 2 guys that are hugging each other doing. Are they strangling each other? Stabbing each other? No idea. And there are quite a few puzzles that rely on small details. Details that are only visible up close and from a certain angle, otherwise they dissolve into a mess of pixels. You either have to pixelhunt in 3d to find them or know where to look. Even when I did find them, it was still hard to make some things out. And then I think of how pretty the game would look properly lit and textured... There was a glossary, but some terms weren't in it. For my taste, too many puzzles rely on hints from chapter 02.
Still, this is one of the best games I've played and I wish there were more.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Still, this is one of the best games I've played and I wish there were more.

Try golden idol if you havent

 

[OSK]

Still, this is one of the best games I've played and I wish there were more.

Try golden idol if you havent

I think golden idol did it better

You must have really struggled with this game, HoboForEternity.

 

[ColonelMace]

Still, this is one of the best games I've played and I wish there were more.

I haven't played it myself but I've been told Chants of Sennaar is somewhat similar in some aspects.

 

[gooseman]

Still, this is one of the best games I've played and I wish there were more.

I haven't played it myself but I've been told Chants of Sennaar is somewhat similar in some aspects.

Played it. It's about deciphering a few languages of different cultures/castes, good puzzle. Great visuals and music. Highly recommended.

 

[Jaedar]

Still, this is one of the best games I've played and I wish there were more.

I haven't played it myself but I've been told Chants of Sennaar is somewhat similar in some aspects.

Played it. It's about deciphering a few languages of different cultures/castes, good puzzle. Great visuals and music. Highly recommended.

Sennaar seemed kinda cool from the demo, but the stealth sections were terrible, and at least in the demo the language puzzles were quite simple.

 

[gooseman]

Puzzles get progressively harder. I'm ashamed to say I didn't have the patience for a few of them and had to look up hints. There's 3 stealth sections (that I can remember), but only one of them is long and annoying enough to be bad. They are only a small part of the game.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

This was a good game, but definitely not flawless. Music was meh, but overall audio is stellar with great voice acting (except one sailor that sounds 10 years younger than he looks, that was off). Even the non-english speakers actually speak their language, which can't be said even for a lot of AAA games (at least the russians are). Don't understand the forced linearity with blocking off parts of the ship until you finish exploring a chapter. The stupid magic ball of padding the game out. The forced 60 seconds of exploration. What if I want to stay for longer? What if I want to get on with it? Nope, first time you have to wait. On rewatch, if you skip the black screen, music starts playing over the dialogue... Annoying. Have to walk to a scene to watch it. Can't restart a scene either. And this gets even more annoying with scenes that are only accessible from the other ones, so you have to daisy chain the entire way to get to it. It'd also be great if the game had a built in note taking system. You have a fucking notebook with you ffs.
The puzzles are great. At first they seemed too easy, but then the ultimate challenge is... can you tell 4 identical chinamen apart? There are many cases where it allows bruteforcing, I think golden idol did it better, though I'm not a fan of sentences with blanks either. Graphics I also wasn't a fan of. The models looks great. But the filter sucks. I guess it sort of works for a "horror" game, since seeing fucked up dithered monsters is scarier than regular ones, as your mind fills in the unknown. But then you need to make out what the 2 guys that are hugging each other doing. Are they strangling each other? Stabbing each other? No idea. And there are quite a few puzzles that rely on small details. Details that are only visible up close and from a certain angle, otherwise they dissolve into a mess of pixels. You either have to pixelhunt in 3d to find them or know where to look. Even when I did find them, it was still hard to make some things out. And then I think of how pretty the game would look properly lit and textured... There was a glossary, but some terms weren't in it. For my taste, too many puzzles rely on hints from chapter 02.
Still, this is one of the best games I've played and I wish there were more.

Again, I don't get comments like this. Do you look at the Mona Lisa and go, oh this is a great painting, but you know, Da Vinci should've used a different color for her nipples? Like wtf, nothing in this world is perfect, but if you see a masterpiece, tip your hat, and stop pointing out minor nitpicks.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Still, this is one of the best games I've played and I wish there were more.

Try golden idol if you havent

I think golden idol did it better

You must have really struggled with this game, HoboForEternity.

Thanks

 

[gooseman]

minor nitpicks

These are far from minor.

stop

Why?

nothing in this world is perfect

Do you suggest we shouldn't discuss games on a game forum, just say it's good or bad and move on?

 

[asper]

There is a very interesting devlog of the development of Obra Dinn:

https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=40832.0

Very illuminating to read how many problems the making of such a game posed, and the creative solutions to them, things that mostly go unnoticed while playing. For instance, there were many issues with rendering the rigging of the ship.
Definitely a classic, inspired work.

 

[gooseman]

Re-listened the soundtrack. It was incorrect to call it meh. It's good. But if found it jarring that most tracks sound upbeat, triumphal even, like a parade or something, while you investigate 60 deaths. Somehow, it builds its own charm.

There is a very interesting devlog of the development of Obra Dinn:

https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=40832.0

Very illuminating to read how many problems the making of such a game posed, and the creative solutions to them, things that mostly go unnoticed while playing. For instance, there were many issues with rendering the rigging of the ship.
Definitely a classic, inspired work.

Thank you for posting. Currently reading through this, a lot of interesting information. It was clear to me that the guy put a lot of love and effort into the game, which manifests in all the tiny details and the devlog confirms it further.
It's interesting he'd hoped to have 80 crew initially, saying a ship this size should've had at least 120 people on it. Population felt a little lacking, like how, conveniently, each nationality only has a handful of crew and very few share names.
He also mentions how the music playing over the dialogue was a bug that he liked and kept it as a feature, when skipping the black screen.

The sketches are interesting too, he commissioned a few people to make one based on his 3d renders, then used the results as a guideline to make his own.
These are his first attempts, before the commissions.