Observer is the latest entry from Aspyr and Bloober Team SA; the publisher/developer duo responsible for the sensational psychological horror hit of 2016, Layers of Fear. Though both parties have only been around on Steam since 2014 and 2012 respectively, and neither of them have a large catalog of releases available, their past creations have garnered quite a bit of enthusiasm and a decent amount of followers over the years. Layers of Fear itself was praised as the Silent Hills PT that we never actually got, and that's quite the bar to set. Undoubtedly, that leaves audiences wondering if Observer can rise up to the same preset standards.

The year is 2084, and the world has become a dark dystopia ruled by technology. Humans undergo implants and augmentation at their will to not only improve their life, but increase their lifespan as well; though, at great cost and potential risk of death. As little flesh and blood is left within our species, a new strain of virus evolved and eventually struck, The Nanophage. Targeting neural implants, The Nanophage wiped out an unknown portion of humanity. Most of those that weren't killed in the War died to this new sickness, and those that survived began turning to anything to escape their new reality. After receiving a mysterious call, KPD Detective and "Observer", Daniel Lazarski, has set out to find his estranged son, Adam, in a rundown, junkie-inhabited sector of town. What he finds is more gruesome and convoluted than he expected.

If you're looking for a trippy, true psychological horror experience, look no further. Observer is one of the greatest psychological horror experiences in recent memory, and it's a title that is a sure contender for (Horror) Game of the Year. If you're down with cyberpunk stuff and Vaporware aesthetics, then you're in for an extra special good time. The dystopian world of Observer is conveyed brilliantly, with constant rain outside, neon blue, pink, red, and green lighting, tiny yet decrepit apartments, and cybernetic augmentations. Both Aspyr and Bloober Team spared no detail with their latest masterpiece, making the world of Observer overwhelmingly easy to become engrossed in; hours will pass you by in the blink of an eye. Also included are nearly photorealistic graphics, akin to Resident Evil 7, which further enhance the immersion factor.

Even though this title is hailed as an entry into the psychological horror sub-genre, it has a good mix of elements from other sub-genres. Some areas can be classified as somewhat walking simulator oriented, while there are three or four forced stealth sequences as well. There's also a very simplistic survival mechanic in place, where you must continue taking a drug called Synchrozine in order to keep your augmentations from completely depleting. A couple of areas are rather labyrinthine in nature, and there are many puzzles to figure out in order to continue progression. Of course, the most primary factor is indeed the psychological nature of Observer, and it's done a lot differently than in Layers of Fear; it's a lot more in-your-face, rather than subtle or gradual, and though it starts out with a high intensity, it continues to grow to an overwhelming magnitude throughout 7-8 hour campaign.

For any horror fan that has a wide variety of played titles under their belt, it's easy to recognize the multitude of influences that were incorporated into Observer to make it what it is. There's a bit of System Shock, a dash of Resident Evil, heaping helpings of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, a tiny spoonful of Condemned: Criminal Origins, and a pinch of Sanitarium, all blended together with a crafty mix of H.R. Giger style and Vaporwave aesthetics. Even though these obvious inspirations shine through radiantly, Observer manages to stand on its own as an original piece with a mostly unique plot and concept; in fact, it's probably the most genuine horror title that you will play in 2017.

With all the good that's able to be said about this title, it's painful to have to explore the negative. A major downfall here is the lack of character depth within any of the main protagonists; nothing here is fleshed out, making choices that would otherwise be tough, rather easy and insignificant to the player. It's also a downfall that sticks out even more if you explore the game entirely, and speak with the various denizens that inhabit the rundown apartment complex as they are quirkier and filled with more life than Daniel himself. There are also many small, but important, details that are either completely missing, or simply get swept under the rug since they're not talked about enough; for instance, the name of the town that the title takes place in.

Moving on to the technical side of things, Observer does have its fair share of flaws. First up, Aspyr, get rid of or redesign the bad launcher; it's clunky, slow, glitchy, and above all, pointless. Just setting up my account caused the Steam Overlay to keep opening out of nowhere, and it was a huge hassle to close it since the launcher doesn't go fullscreen. Even though the game ran for the most part at a stable 60 FPS on my i7-6700k/GTX 1080 rig, I did see random dips into the mid 40's and 50's. These were not caused by anything other than simply walking through small apartments and confined areas, so any potential justification is out the window.

The biggest problem, however, is that the game crashed on me in a certain area, and caused me to experience a game breaking bug; the dreaded falling-through-the-floor crap that everyone has experienced at least once in their gaming lifetime. The thing is, when it happens in Observer, your save file is ruined forever. You MUST start a new game. Luckily, someone has uploaded a save file from the point that it happens, so I did not have to repeat my then-6 hours of gametime. This, in and of itself, is an inexcusable flaw that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. It's severe, and at the time of writing it has been three full weeks since release and there has been no patch as of yet.

Despite the aforementioned negative qualms, Observer is still one of the greatest horror games to come to life this year. It's quite possibly one of the greatest psychological experiences of all time. The kinks that it has are easy enough to get ironed out with patches, at least one of which will hopefully come out very soon. The game does indeed rise up to the challenging bar that its unrelated predecessor, Layers of Fear, had set last year; though it does so in an entirely different manner. Some folks may be put off by the price of $32.99 CAD, but given that there are two endings that must be achieved on separate playthroughs, you can get at least 16-20 hours of playtime out of Observer; especially if you decide to track down all 69 collectibles. If you're in it for one run through, a 20% sale won't leave you feeling ripped off.

The Horror Network Curator | Group Click for Gore

Observer is the latest entry from Aspyr and Bloober Team SA; the publisher/developer duo responsible for the sensational psychological horror hit of 2016, Layers of Fear. Though both parties have only been around on Steam since 2014 and 2012 respectively, and neither of them have a large catalog of releases available, their past creations have garnered quite a bit of enthusiasm and a decent amount of followers over the years. Layers of Fear itself was praised as the Silent Hills PT that we never actually got, and that's quite the bar to set. Undoubtedly, that leaves audiences wondering if Observer can rise up to the same preset standards. The year is 2084, and the world has become a dark dystopia ruled by technology. Humans undergo implants and augmentation at their will to not only improve their life, but increase their lifespan as well; though, at great cost and potential risk of death. As little flesh and blood is left within our species, a new strain of virus evolved and eventually struck, The Nanophage. Targeting neural implants, The Nanophage wiped out an unknown portion of humanity. Most of those that weren't killed in the War died to this new sickness, and those that survived began turning to anything to escape their new reality. After receiving a mysterious call, KPD Detective and "Observer", Daniel Lazarski, has set out to find his estranged son, Adam, in a rundown, junkie-inhabited sector of town. What he finds is more gruesome and convoluted than he expected. If you're looking for a trippy, true psychological horror experience, look no further. Observer is one of the greatest psychological horror experiences in recent memory, and it's a title that is a sure contender for (Horror) Game of the Year. If you're down with cyberpunk stuff and Vaporware aesthetics, then you're in for an extra special good time. The dystopian world of Observer is conveyed brilliantly, with constant rain outside, neon blue, pink, red, and green lighting, tiny yet decrepit apartments, and cybernetic augmentations. Both Aspyr and Bloober Team spared no detail with their latest masterpiece, making the world of Observer overwhelmingly easy to become engrossed in; hours will pass you by in the blink of an eye. Also included are nearly photorealistic graphics, akin to Resident Evil 7, which further enhance the immersion factor. Even though this title is hailed as an entry into the psychological horror sub-genre, it has a good mix of elements from other sub-genres. Some areas can be classified as somewhat walking simulator oriented, while there are three or four forced stealth sequences as well. There's also a very simplistic survival mechanic in place, where you must continue taking a drug called Synchrozine in order to keep your augmentations from completely depleting. A couple of areas are rather labyrinthine in nature, and there are many puzzles to figure out in order to continue progression. Of course, the most primary factor is indeed the psychological nature of Observer, and it's done a lot differently than in Layers of Fear; it's a lot more in-your-face, rather than subtle or gradual, and though it starts out with a high intensity, it continues to grow to an overwhelming magnitude throughout 7-8 hour campaign. For any horror fan that has a wide variety of played titles under their belt, it's easy to recognize the multitude of influences that were incorporated into Observer to make it what it is. There's a bit of System Shock, a dash of Resident Evil, heaping helpings of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, a tiny spoonful of Condemned: Criminal Origins, and a pinch of Sanitarium, all blended together with a crafty mix of H.R. Giger style and Vaporwave aesthetics. Even though these obvious inspirations shine through radiantly, Observer manages to stand on its own as an original piece with a mostly unique plot and concept; in fact, it's probably the most genuine horror title that you will play in 2017. With all the good that's able to be said about this title, it's painful to have to explore the negative. A major downfall here is the lack of character depth within any of the main protagonists; nothing here is fleshed out, making choices that would otherwise be tough, rather easy and insignificant to the player. It's also a downfall that sticks out even more if you explore the game entirely, and speak with the various denizens that inhabit the rundown apartment complex as they are quirkier and filled with more life than Daniel himself. There are also many small, but important, details that are either completely missing, or simply get swept under the rug since they're not talked about enough; for instance, the name of the town that the title takes place in. Moving on to the technical side of things, Observer does have its fair share of flaws. First up, Aspyr, get rid of or redesign the bad launcher; it's clunky, slow, glitchy, and above all, pointless. Just setting up my account caused the Steam Overlay to keep opening out of nowhere, and it was a huge hassle to close it since the launcher doesn't go fullscreen. Even though the game ran for the most part at a stable 60 FPS on my i7-6700k/GTX 1080 rig, I did see random dips into the mid 40's and 50's. These were not caused by anything other than simply walking through small apartments and confined areas, so any potential justification is out the window. The biggest problem, however, is that the game crashed on me in a certain area, and caused me to experience a game breaking bug; the dreaded falling-through-the-floor crap that everyone has experienced at least once in their gaming lifetime. The thing is, when it happens in Observer, your save file is ruined forever. You MUST start a new game. Luckily, someone has uploaded a save file from the point that it happens, so I did not have to repeat my then-6 hours of gametime. This, in and of itself, is an inexcusable flaw that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. It's severe, and at the time of writing it has been three full weeks since release and there has been no patch as of yet. Despite the aforementioned negative qualms, Observer is still one of the greatest horror games to come to life this year. It's quite possibly one of the greatest psychological experiences of all time. The kinks that it has are easy enough to get ironed out with patches, at least one of which will hopefully come out very soon. The game does indeed rise up to the challenging bar that its unrelated predecessor, Layers of Fear, had set last year; though it does so in an entirely different manner. Some folks may be put off by the price of $32.99 CAD, but given that there are two endings that must be achieved on separate playthroughs, you can get at least 16-20 hours of playtime out of Observer; especially if you decide to track down all 69 collectibles. If you're in it for one run through, a 20% sale won't leave you feeling ripped off. [h1]Rating: [b]4.5/5.0[/b] - Excellent, highly worth playing.[/h1] The Horror Network [url=http://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/28221963/]Curator[/url] | [url=http://steamproxy.net/groups/thehorrornetwork]Group[/url] Click for Gore