Return of the Obra Dinn | Insurance, but make it an investigation…
Have you ever played Clue? If you have answered no, id strongly suggest leaving the review and play a round or two before returning...
The Setup
Did you do it? Are we good? Excellent! You know that feeling at the end where you open the sealed envelope to find that you correctly guess Professor Plum in the Study with that god forsaken Pipe Wrench? I just got chills. Now, imagine that pure feeling of emotional bliss a few dozen times throughout one game. That’s The Return of the Obra Dinn.
To be honest, I have been pretty excited about this game since I stumbled across the trailer over a year ago. Something about the call to the monochromatic, 1-bit, Apple 2 styled gaming, tickled me in an abundance of ways much of which I’m still processing. For god’s sake, they even let you change settings and adapt the image to your favorite 80s inspired computer monitor. A very cute detail, indeed. But don’t let this description scare you, the lack of a color pallet and pixelated image lends itself to the eerie atmospheric doom that helps embed you into the story, grips and engages you, making the emptiness of the picture an unexpected beautiful experience.
The game really is a well thought out mystery, expertly woven together without being too complicated and though it can be frustrating at times, it’s not a rage-quit discouraging frustration. The feeling is more in line with just knowing you’re simply overlooking a key piece of information, and it’s is extremely satisfying when you get the correct combination through your rigorous study of the scenes.
Plot Time
The game is a first person perspective experience following an insurance inspector (sounds boring but stay with me) who is hired to investigate and assess the Obra Dinn, a merchant ship that had gone missing for five years only to return as a ghost ship with a single set of skeletal remains on deck. At the request of a mysterious man, you are to solve the mystery of ship’s fate by identifying each person on the 60 person manifest, what happened to them, and if applicable, who did it to them. To perform this daunting task, you are given two tools to aid you, a book that logs your gathered information, and a pocket watch, appropriately named “Momento Mortem”, that allows you to transport in time to the moment a person has perished.
Gameplay
Moment...hmm, now that brings me to gameplay. Essentially, the whole game, minus your exploration in the current time, is a series of flashbacks consisting of black screens with voice over of a specific moment which is then revealed as a frozen, three dimensional moment you walk throughout which at times can be absolutely mesmerizing to look at. The image can be so intriguing that it’s hard to fully take in all the details you may need, so you will find yourself revisiting these moments over and over again.
Controls
The mechanics are pretty straight forward. Navigate the 3-dimensional 1-bit world, find the deceased and activate the pocket watch to access the memory, log the information as best you can. Step, repeat. Once you correctly assign three crew members they are permanently assigned into the book. There are some that are relatively easy while others took a while with some trial and error, but all becomes clear the further into the game you get and often figuring out one person helps lead to figuring out another.
Final Word
Overall the game takes you on a fantastical journey through the utter chaos and horror of the Obra Dinn’s last voyage and what a story it is. Honestly, if I had the money, I’d buy the film rights immediately and write the script for a theatrical release. Plus I’m definitely getting a Momento Mortem pocket watch tattoo.
AiK Rating: 4.5/5 Adventure Coins
🪙🪙🪙🪙|.5🪙|
✨ I have a difficult time giving anything a perfect score…..
✨Watch gameplay here.
Picture by Nintendo
Publisher: 3909
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Players: 1 player
