Return of the Obra Dinn

In short? This is singe-handedly one of the best mystery adventure games I have EVER had the privilege of playing. While I do recommend playing at least twice, One to experience the tragedy of the Obra Dinn, and second to see all the clues you missed the first playthrough(if any). I only wish I could play this again for the first time.

超超超好玩的推理解谜游戏，非常规本格推理类，慕名而来，不愧是神中神。 推理小白全程0攻略耗时15h通关。游戏引导性极低，推理的自由度非常高，前期刚开始玩一度有点不知道要干什么，所有的线索都要考侦查联想甚至是猜测去判断。整体叙事性也很强，通过一步步收集线索，奥伯拉丁号上60个人以及整艘船的命运像画卷一样铺开。从开局面对60张完全陌生的脸，到最终推理出每个人的命运，真的感觉很奇妙，再看照片会感觉每个人都是鲜活的。 游戏整体推理性也完全烧脑硬核，外貌衣着、语言口音、所处位置、人际往来都会成为可以确定人物的信息。美术也非常独特，第一次接触这种画风，黑白构筑的画面一开始还有点不适应，后面发现外貌画的超级传神，有些人真的可以一眼断定大概是哪个国籍的人。 刚开始不用太执着推理人物，最好先把全部事件都收集完，先确定死因或下落，因为人名给的信息真的很少，很多都要靠猜（推理王来了都得对几个中国人进行排列组合！）以及长的像刀的是剑，小刀样式的才是刀hhhh 非非非非常好玩，完全享受这种一点点剥丝抽茧揭开故事结局的感觉！

终于拿下《奥伯拉丁的回归》。 优点： 1.高度独创的游戏形式：玩家进入一个个凝固在死亡瞬间的三维场景，从人物的位置、服饰、口音、随身物品乃至社交关系中，拼出整船六十人的身份与命运。 2.宿命感塑造：定格于灾难瞬间的场景、1-bit单色抖动渲染，以及如挽歌般反复回旋的配乐，共同为整段航程罩上了一层冷峻而沉重的宿命色彩。尤其在前中期，当几个原本毫无关联的细节突然连成一线时，破案的快感几乎无可替代。 缺点： 1.终盘没能维持这种水准。随着直接线索耗尽，推理逐渐退化为吊床编号、岗位分组和名单消元；部分谜题甚至利用视觉焦点和死因归类进行近乎恶意的误导。玩家可能已经正确理解了事件，却因为没有猜中系统对“凶手”或“死因”的编码方式而无法通过验证。这不再是“我忽略了什么”，而是“作者究竟想让我怎么填”。 2.结尾来得过于仓促。《交易》补齐了事件的因果，却没有给这艘船和这些被我们逐一认识的人留下足够的情感余波。一本调查簿被填满，故事便迅速盖章结案，形式上完整，情绪上却戛然而止。 它依然是一部几乎无法被替代的推理游戏杰作，只是并非从头到尾都同样公平、同样精妙。 9/10。

[h1]Probably the best game out there to make you feel like a detective[/h1] [b]I'm not a fan of puzzles in general and usually dislike puzzle games, and I still really enjoyed this one. That's how good it is.[/b] But it's probably because it's not really a puzzle game, at least not a traditional one. We're not talking about solving weird and abstract stuff, but about something way more down to earth : be a detective, and solve who died and how. The game doesn't do anything for you, doesn't give you clues or make suggestions when stuck, or conclude things for you. No, YOU have to think hard, link informations, deduce everything yourself. [b]Because of that, it rarely gets frustrating, and it's extremely rewarding to figure out stuff because, well, you did it all by yourself.[/b] [h1]Not a perfect game[/h1] [b]The game is not perfect though. I have a few complaints, but they're minor and aren't a dealbreaker.[/b] [h3]The game is ugly[/h3] I know it has a distinct art direction that make it stand out, but it still is ugly to look at. But it's a matter of taste, and most of the time, it doesn't make the game harder (aside from a few deaths where it's a pixel bloat). And I guess it's able to run on pretty much anything more powerful that a fridge. [h3]You HAVE to complete it in a short period of time[/h3] You need to have everything clear in your mind. I made the mistake of putting the game aside for a few weeks for my previous playthrough. Don't do this : it was near impossible to go back into it, and the game stayed on my backlog for years afterwards. But as the game is pretty short (my playthrough took me 8 hours), it's not too much of a problem [h3]A bit too much bruteforce near the end[/h3] Without spoiling anything, you pretty much have to bruteforce the game for a few deaths by just switching names because you don't really have other options (yes men of a certain country, I'm thinking of you), which doesn't feel like actually deducing, and more using/exploiting video game mechanics. A bit sad, considering it's something the game managed to avoid up to that moment. [h3]And a few nitpicks that would be quality of life improvements[/h3] - be able to run, especially near the end of the game - be able to enter a memory from the book without having to walk to the corpse (especially for the ones that are accessible only from other memories) - be able to skip a new cutscene if you want to ; having to wait for a full minute when you just to write off the cause of death of the victim is a pain - have a keyboard key to exit a memory instead of walking (very slowly) to the door would be a nice addition

On my first playthrough, I got a very terrible ending and thought, wow...I should never be a detective. But seeing as I really didn't give it enough time or thought, and acknowledging how much I truly missed on my first playthrough, I was motivated to immediately give it another go. This is a murder mystery game with an extremely rewarding system. Once you get a hang of the basic mechanics (which I highly recommend you don't ignore, i.e. bookmarking) and become more familiar with how clues are presented to you, the game becomes a ton of fun. You'll find yourself going back to previous moments in the game and constantly putting puzzle pieces together. As you work through each mystery, you realise the game is actually set up far more thoughtfully than it may initially seem. Obra Dinn is a puzzle/mystery game, and as such it can be quite frustrating at times, so don't be afraid to use process of elimination if you truly have no leads. Just know that all the clues are there for you, and some are just way less obvious than others. At the same time, you will probably miss over obvious clues, and that's okay. Advice for stuck players: - If you find yourself getting stuck, try not to feel disencouraged. Continue to play through the game and things will be gradually revealed to you. - Certain fates are very obvious, so if something *seems* really obvious, it probably is, and you aren't penalized for making incorrect assumptions. Try not to overthink things if most signs are pointing to yes. - Pay attention to character relationships. Certain characters appear often alongside or nearby others. Relationships are one of the best clues to identifying individuals. - Pay attention to dialogue/accents. Accents will certainly not always be a giveaway, but they can help narrow down identities, and will sometimes be a dead giveaway. At the same time, many things people say will give direct clues as to a character's fate or identity. - Explore beyond the main point of focus of each fate. Many memories have one or two deaths that they focus on, but often they reveal more about other characters - Certain character fates are not obvious at all if you give them a tunnel visioned look. Try using the above strategy and viewing that specific character in other memories to help piece together their story. You might find characters looking like they're dead, but you have no idea how they died, or if they maybe survived. Again, examining that specific character's presence in all memories will help you put the pieces together. - Some of the easiest characters to figure out are the ones that are most unique. Characters that are unique as a solo or duo based on either their nationality or profession are often the easiest to identify when you don't have such an obvious clue like a spoken name. - Read the glossary. It's there for a reason. Understanding what each profession actually means is very important for identifying characters. Characters with the same roles/professions will often dress identically or very very similar. This is an easy way to tell what a character *isn't*. Additionally, understanding what a profession entails (i.e. knowing where on the ship they typically operate) is also helpful for identifying a particular set of people. - There are fates in the game that aren't used. They aren't super misleading, but just understand that by solving every fate, you will not find one person for each cause of death. - Don't be afraid to google foreign words you don't understand. Howerver, I will say BE VERY CAREFUL OF SPOILERS. I looked up one line of dialogue in a different language because I wanted to know what language it was, and stupid google AI overview told me, "the line, 'blah blah blah' in Return of the Obra Dinn is said by this character". - Fates that you *don't* have to link to other characters are more often than not, easier to solve. If you're going to use process of elimination, I would recommend becoming confident on two fates and making educated guesses on the more simpler fates that you already have either only an identity for or an obvious cause of death (since fates are confirmed in sets of three). For instance, if you are certain about two fates that you have logged, and one fate in which a you are positive of the fate of the character, but not their exact identity, and given that you have a clue what profession/nationality/group of people that character belongs to, then scan through the identities that make the most sense until it works. I hope that makes sense, and to anybody reading who hasn't yet played, it won't make any sense. - Try playing with friends. This is absolutely not necessary, and I didn't do this myself, but I know people who have and they said they had a great time doing it. After all, murder mysteries are rarely solved by one person. I finished my second and fully complete playthrough between 9 and 10 hours across a few length sessions. Finding the time to sit down and solve these mysteries was meditative, even if frustrating at times. The truth is, this game might not be for everybody. Even though the clues are all there, I can't say everybody will have the same experience solving the mystery. However, if you do, the story is very fun to unravel and figuring everything out feels quite rewarding — like you've truly put your brain to good use. Beyond all that, one element that was mildly frustrating at times is the art style. It is quite gritty, so identifying things that are happening can sometimes be a headache, and you may even think, 'why would a murder mystery game have an art style where things are just harder to see?' In reality its an obstacle to minimal clues throughout the game, but I can still see how it could be a headache for some. There was only one time that I felt kind of bullsh****d, and maybe it was my own fault, but figuring things out helped me realise that the game is *not* unfair, even if it feels that way. I would definitely recommend this game to most. It is one of the most captivating mystery games I've ever played and it is such an intriguing and rewarding mystery to solve. The music is great too and will stick with you for a bit. Just give this game a chance, and take what I and others have said/advised into account, and definitely don't try to hammer your way through things unproductively if you're truly having a hard time. Once you find yourself getting settled in Obra Dinn, it is truly a fantastically unique experience.

Bought it many years ago, played for a few hours and got distracted by another game and never got back to it. Finally got back around to it this past week and got through the entirety of the game in about 10 hrs, not following any guides. Absolutely stunningly well made game. Super interesting, both in the story itself and the puzzles being solved. GOAT in its genre, by a country mile.

Очень понравилась. Игра на логику, не очень сложная. Но к визуалу надо привыкнуть.

many of the causes of death can very clearly and accurately be described by several of the things in the cause of death list making the "deduction system" for them trail and error which is stupid, not the intended solution and also the only way to solve it at the same time. I get that some things are supposed to be unclear that's not the problem the problem is some that are clear can have many clear and accurate descriptions from what you are given. This also wouldn't be a problem if the game accepted any of the accurate descriptions instead of requiring a specific one. There is also apparently some information that the player is expected to have external from the game but this is never shown in any way in-game, there is a glossary showing a bit of the info but so much more external info is required and intentional. This is a terrible design and from what I have gathered from looking into it is that more than half of the people with "positive reviews" claiming "game good" just started guessing whatever after a bit. That's not solving anything