Observer – the horror of the new format

It seems that we are witnessing the emergence of future masters of the game of horror: Bloober Team almost completely departs from the standard methods of intimidation gamer. And besides they have so far no one knows how.

 

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In February 2016 the Poles from Bloober Team released horror the Layers of Fear , what showed the industry how to do simulations walk.

The developers have relied solely on visual number. All of their talent has been directed to design unforgettable psychedelic scenes, of which, in fact, was the whole game. Poles hit the mark: in the absence of gameplay mechanics as such, users can only bribe an interesting story or visual aesthetics (and preferably all at once). After becoming acquainted with the Observer ,

it became clear that the Layers of Fear was nothing more than a test of the pen and the format – this is justified by all her imperfections. Just one and a half years it took Bloober TeamTo outperform on the head of both himself and the many colleagues.

Action Observer takes place in 2084, and it’s not very quiet time. In the yard – the height of the anti-utopia and cyberpunk. People too much attention to implanting their carcasses and benefits augmentations did not notice the pitfalls. The biggest of them – walking across the world plague virus information and totalitarian control of the entire planet corporation “Chiron”.

Stones smaller player ever see himself in the shoes of a detective Daniel Lazarski. Local detectives match for their age are a whole bunch of useful for search activity implants, and for questioning them better not fall at all.

Time for idle chatter these guys prefer not to lose, and immediately connected to the consciousness of a suspect – even if he is already dead. Therefore, ordinary people are afraid of Observers observers not less than the plague.

The case of a personal nature leads Lazarski in residential unit class “C” – in these slums languish dregs of society.

Slums, catching even the days of the Soviet Poland, hung with high-tech device, spark elements of augmented reality and glowing neon signs – quite grotesque spectacle. of technologies, but a rigid social stratification and cyberpunk are in the same relation as the concept of “red” and “color.”

Gameplay Observer can be divided into three distinct sequences. The first – the crime scene. Implants allow Lazarski look at the world through different visors – biology and engineering.

He examines the biological body of the victim for injuries sustained through engineering – scans implants and equipment.

There are also night vision, but it is rarely used. The second section of the gameplay – a survey of neighbors. Frightened residents prefer to keep the conversation going through the video intercom and talk to everyone absolutely necessary.

However, these conversations – virtually the only game in the source of information about the backgrounds of. In addition, some dialogues are filled with very interesting semantic content, so I advise you not to pass by intercoms.

The third section – the most interesting, and almost all the horror lurking in it. Remember that the viewer can connect to the memory of the dead man? Several times during the game it will have to do. The main portion of psychedelia, surrealism and other frightening content Observer lies in these journeys into the depths of the human subconscious.

Here the player is completely lost in space. The environment changes at an alarming rate, more and more catching degree of horror and at the same time to the delight of what he saw.

We penetrate into the nature of the victim’s fears by watching these psychedelic journeys most vivid experience of the subject. Served information crumpled, uryvisto, through images and allegories, and any fear of being questioned appears in a surrealistic-exaggerate.

The strongest impression on me the episode in which it was necessary to pull the cord a small monitor and connect it to a different network sources in the pitch darkness.

The display was filled with laughter happy baby, and lit my way, when I carried it with him. As soon release the wire, as the laughter changed to a startled cry, around something terrible noise began, and the space was falling to pieces.

This scene – visualization of women’s fear of childbirth in the world of technological hell. Approximately thus served every strong impression, and they all add up in the end result in a single picture, which is a story of the life of the interviewee.

Detective consciousness merges with the consciousness of the victim, so in some Tripa player in the same way and learns about the experiences of the Lazarski. In this method, storytellingObserver on the head is superior to other simulators walk where history served on the forehead – after all there audio files and notes.

The Observer better than horror? As a rule, the game is usually scare users all three methods. Each of them used some sort babayka personifying a threat. In the first case babayku allowed on the player’s forehead – like in Outlast .

In the second babayka it appears suddenly in the most unexpected moment – is familiar to all Screamer. The third method is the most difficult: it babayka appears very rarely, but the whole atmosphere of the game is riddled with its presence. As a result, you feel constantly in discomfort – so it was in Amnesia and the Soma .

I want more psychedelia? Check it out our top theme!

Observer uses babaek a couple of times per game, just catching up on the horror of things happening on the screen. It is difficult to explain the full effect on the words, but the game really puts pressure on the psyche. Each time got into someone’s dead head, I want only one thing – as soon as possible to knock out of here. In this light, the return to a familiar reality is perceived as a necessary respite.

Even the slums of class “C” – a paradise compared with the subconscious. At the same time, wandering around the house and moving away from what he saw, again, you want to get into someone’s soul, to get another batch of pandemonium of hell. Such is the masochistic formula.

Despite the originality of the approach, it is clear that Bloober Team drew inspiration from the studio Frictional Games and its latest project the Soma . Both games are simulators walk, but Observer udelyvaet Soma is like a game. In the first place – a fresh approach to storytelling. Poles, unlike the Swedes, did not tear the pace of the narrative, causing yawning from boredom half an hour the players to hide from babayki or search items on the level.

Despite the fact that Soma is loved by intellectual categories of gamers but deep and complete history there is nothing original.

I got the impression that if the Poles sought to show the industry should look like a real cyberpunk horror. They did it. And I find it quite ironic that in the fullness of success the game is not enough that there is at the Soma : the depth of history and … a good voice.

With a history of more excusable: it is here – it is the latter, because the main rate in the Observer is not on the story itself, and in its supply. With voice acting worse. Daniel Lazarski announced Rutger Hauer – antagonist of “Blade Runner.”

Despite the global status, it does not look like an actor trying to work on. And it is – the best voice in the game. To believe in the story, you must first believe in the acting. Here it can be done only with a certain force.

In any case, this is a great success for the small Polish studio. Even with the identified shortcomings, it necessarily need to play – is aesthetically delightful horror attraction, which eagerly waiting for each new trip. I am sure that the game may not like absolutely everything – too strong mental discomfort, but it definitely should be tested each: at least seen to remember.

We in GameGuru look forward to the third shot Bloober Team – seems to be in horror movies game finally begins to emerge something new.