** Minor Spoilers **
If you do everything right, run the race perfectly, jump every hurdle only to stumble and fall at the end – do you still deserve the medal?
Obduction starts of strong and almost instantly reminds you of its proud heritage; the sense of awe and wonder of Myst returns easily as glorious graphics and a delicious sense of foreboding draws you into a world of mystery and puzzles. The world invites you to explore, to discover, enticing and teasing you with locked doors and vague hints seen through windows. It’s both alien and familiar, ancient and new. Yes, there are flaws, but none that are bad enough to pull you out of the game.
It’s only towards the end that the cracks begin to show; rushed levels, flat textures and tired old puzzles tax your patience rather than your ingenuity. You can clearly sense the time and space where the Kickstarter money ran dry, where the developer’s stamina failed. To call the ending ‘disappointing’ wouldn’t do justice to the sense of frustration and betrayal you feel at the wet, limp ending of the saga.
Let’s be clear here, I’m not criticizing the ending of the story, it’s the prerogative of an author to decide how a story should end. What upsets me is that you can see where they ‘gave up’ on it, changed their minds, drew a line and aborted the saga. This story doesn’t end as much as it runs out of steam.
The good:
- Breath-taking graphics
- Some Interesting puzzles
- A compelling story line.
The bad:
- Buggy UI
- Quite a few tedious puzzles
- Very long load times
- An aborted ending.
Definitely worth a play and priced below it's value.