Observe

Played this game when it was still a demo, super excited to see it fully released! I've not beaten the game as of writing this review but I've gotten maybe 2/3rds through the 4th chapter and oh man the puzzles are so cool! the mechanics are so interesting and unique, and the puzzles are all the right level of challenging. Having to replay levels you already know the solution to because your timing wasn't quite right may be a tad annoying but it only really bugged me on this one section in the Hive where you have a really narrow window to hide behind a wall from a laser and I died like. 10 times. but hey it gave me an achievement so i say it's all worth it. anyway i finished that level and I've been doin alright since so yay. The story uses a lotta big words so my plan is to just like. beat all the levels and then once I've got all the dialogue unlocked I can just sit down and parse through it all at once lol

Absolute banger of a game, wishing more people knew of it. Works perfectly on the Steam Deck (with the right key mapping preset), looking forward to proper controller support!

[b]8/10[/b] The illuminati is finally done with this life, but their 3rd eye keeps getting in the way. [b]What is it:[/b] You’ve figured it out! You’re finally able to see beyond the facade of this life. You’ve peeled back the curtains and what do you see? The people pulling the strings are just as confused as yourself - bumping into each other (or some version thereof) as they themselves try to leave the very stage they are manipulating. Observe was a weirdly good one. You play a hooded character that has the ability to manipulate into action whatever it is looking at. This boils down to moving lasers in a clockwise fashion until they trigger each level’s exit conditions - penetrating various crystal balls strategically laid throughout the level. Sounds simple? It's not. Keep reading. [b]How complicated can moving lasers around really be?[/b]Very. So much so that you actually have to work with past versions of yourself to illuminate all the crystal balls needed to exit the room. Add to this that the lasers can kill you and your “time-clones”. Some solutions require precise timing from one “you” so that you don’t accidentally kill (or as the game puts it “lose a memory”) any future “you”s. This is probably my favorite part of this game. I had to predict where my future “me” would be and act a certain way in the present to ensure I didn’t kill the later “me” as we worked together to complete each puzzle. This kind of planning was a first for me and I think the game did a good job at guiding me to think in the correct way. Also, sometimes the crystal balls are hidden around corners so you need to use your magic vision to move mirrors that redirect lasers or to activate the crystal balls with your vision itself - all the while positioning the present version of yourself near the exit so that when every ball is lit you can finally leave the chaos. [b]How hard is it:[/b] This is where the game throws another curveball. The standard levels were ★★★☆☆ difficult, but the secret ones found in 3 of the 5 worlds were ★★★★☆ maybe even ★★★★★ difficult. Take a look at the achievements to get an idea. While I know the percentage of players who get certain achievements isn’t the best way to determine their difficulty, it's been a pretty accurate gauge for me across all my years puzzling. The first batch of secret levels found in the 2nd world sees around 8% of player-completion. And it just gets lower for each batch of secret levels. Another cool thing is how you access the secret levels. I’ll tell a secret….its a secret. Now I am going to be straight with you reader - I did not pure-logic my way through this game. I was able to use the finicky nature of the lasers to cheese some solutions. But the cheese took so long to age into a solution that it was more like a cheddar, and goodness I love cheddar. [b]How long is it:[/b] This is a hard one to quantify because of how the levels are designed. Including secret levels, you could say there are 5 worlds with about 17 puzzle rooms in each but some solutions require you to go back and solve past rooms differently so that your past self helps you in a way you couldn’t have predicted initially. The final puzzle in the entire game is the culmination of this entire concept. Without spoiling too much, you will solve each puzzle, then the final puzzle room opens up and once you understand what is needed, you look at the path before you and think, “Wow, that's a lot of cheese I gotta go back and age.” [b]Level design:[/b] As I mentioned before, the levels are designed to have their own individual solution that once solved gives you access to the next room. However, at some point a room will open up with a solution that requires your past selves to interact in a new way. This requires that you go back to that room and re-solve the puzzle in a way that allows for an interaction needed to solve the present room. It's weird, but very cool once you get the hang of it and the tutorial world does a great job of introducing the concept. One spoiler-free interaction that stands out for me was I initially solved a level by having one of “me”s moving a laser while another one of “me”s waited behind a wall as the laser passed by. 5 or so levels deeper and I discover a solution requires the assistance of one of “me”s that isn’t present in that level. I figure out that if I had the “me” 5 levels back do something while I was waiting for the laser to pass, I could help the future “me” solve the puzzle. That was cool. [b]Quality:[/b] Due to the real-time nature of the game, no undo. Reset is pushing space to kill, I mean end, your current memory and start the level over. Takes some time for the animation to run its course. It wasn't a big deal to me. No controller because the game wouldn’t work with it. You need to move your character around with WASD and also swivel its head around with the mouse to “observe” things. Keys are rebindable tho. All the normal volume sliders options. Graphics are simple, as every puzzle game should be, so nothing much to expect there. Currently available in 13 languages. There is a short chunk of lore introduced after you solve a puzzle. Don’t know how intelligible those chunks are in every language. I’ll update this section as soon as I learn all 13 languages. [b]Worth the price:[/b] Yes. Took me 12 hours to solve every puzzle. I have had cheaper time to price ratios but 10 bucks is not asking too much. [b]Most positive aspect for me:[/b] The unique challenge of solving then re-solving to future solutions was very weird but super engaging for me. That final level was the craziest experience I have ever had in a puzzle game. [b]Most negative aspect for me:[/b] Control scheme is wooonky AF. Swirveling the head and moving the body at the same time creating countless moments of accidentally moving a laser or mirror and killing, dammit I mean ending, my memory. I expressed much frustration here. If you do decide to jump in, one piece of advice - you can turn your vision off with the left mouse button so that you don’t activate anything when you look at it. Very good QOL for those solutions that require precise movement and timing. I discovered this feature way too late in the game. [b]What would make it better:[/b] A tutorial for that turn-off vision feature. If there was one, I see it and I have vision like a hawk. [quote]For more puzzle game reviews, news and everything puzzle-related, follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/25928931-Puzzle-Lovers/]Puzzle Lovers[/url] and check out our [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/puzzlelovers]Steam group[/url].[/quote]

Fantastic Puzzle Game. As a person who doesn't typically game at all, let alone play puzzle games, I have found it difficult to put this one down. The art, music, and storytelling contributes to a sense of immersion that reinforces the incredibly fun and unique gameplay. I've always been a fan of how simple rules and ideas lead to complex emergent behavior, and this game is a perfect example. The simple notion of being able to have your past actions affect yourself leads to detailed puzzles that require a lot of thought. The difficulty is just right for me and I thoroughly enjoy it. Props to the developers.

My mental health is completely healthy and I AM LIGHTNING MCQUEEN VROOOM! VROOOM! VROOOM! VROOOM! VROOOM! VROOOM... VROOOM... vrooom... vrom.