Bloober Team is known for their psychological horror titles such as Blair Witch, the original Observer, and Layers of Fear. The developer is also currently working on the upcoming Xbox Series exclusive title The Medium, however, their most recent release is Observer: System Redux. Observer was released originally back in 2017 however it was not a very stable release hence the developer completely remade the visuals and enhanced everything else and have re-released the title as Observer: System Redux. This is our review of Observer: System Redux on Xbox Series X in which we explore a dark cyberpunk apartment complex and view some Dream Eater sequences.
Observer: System Redux is basically a detective game set inside a futuristic cyberpunk building where you step in the shoes of a Krakow Police Department (KPD) Detective named Daniel Lazarski. Right at the start of the game, you get a call from your son Adam and you begin your search looking for him inside his residential area however you are greeted with a couple of dead bodies. As the KPD detective, you have the power to initiate neural investigations by tapping into the neural implants in the brains of the victims. These twisted investigations are called Dream Eater Sequences, and these are vital for your investigations to find the clues and solve the mysteries behind all the murders.
During these Dream Eater sequences, you will be introduced to the psychological horror aspect of the game as these dark and twisted dreams are all mangled and broken. As broken as they might be, these are the key to finding your son and solving the murders of different people around the complex. Your ultimate goal in the game is to find the whereabouts of your son Adam who apparently calls you at the start of the game. The game is set inside the same cyberpunk building however it is quite big and different puzzles and mysteries will ensure that you are never bored of roaming the many corridors and apartments in the block.
While the normal exploration is not that much action-packed, these dream sequences will really get your heart pumping. Normally, you are simply walking around the complex looking for the next clue which involves finding the right rooms and apartments, speaking with different NPCs in the game asking questions about their neighbors, and messing around with broken machinery in order to get information or opening up locked doors. During this phase, you can also complete different side quests in the game which are a great way of exploring more of the game and diving deep into the lore of the game.
The most action you see in the game is during the chase sequences in the Dream Eater from different creatures as well as during the stealth sequences. Technically, you cannot really die in the game or fail your missions unless you run into these cyberpunk abominations haunting the dreams of the victims that you are exploring. The exploration mode is pretty laid back as well so nothing really forces you to hurry up and you can take your time scanning the crime scenes looking for clues and gathering data. You can also find some collectibles hiding here and there if you look around carefully.
Now coming to the remaster bit of Observer: System Redux, this is not just a simple 4K and 60 FPS port of the original title. Bloober Team has developed the visuals of the game from the ground-up and if you directly compare the remaster with the original title, there is a massive difference in the original and the remaster. For this review, we tried the game on both Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X and the game ran perfectly fine. It stayed at a steady 60 FPS while the original title was unable to even maintain 30 FPS on the older consoles. The technical side of the game sees a major improvement in the right direction which shows that the developer has worked hard in its development.
The visuals are eye-popping beautiful this time around with the cyberpunk theme of the game really sticking out with its unique color scheme littered with green and blue lights here and there in the dark. Since it is a psychological horror game, the environments are not too brightly lit but use HDR with 4K and you have an environment that really shines in every perspective. The character models also look brilliant this time around as they have accurate expressions and features since they have been redesigned as well. Apart from the character design, you will also see new animations and reflections, and effects with Ray-Tracing which really immerse you in the universe.
Observer: System Redux is not just a visual upgrade as well. Since we’ve already discussed above that the game features side-quests as well along with the main quests so the remaster comes with three brand-new side quests as well which allow you to further learn about the world of the game and about the lives of the people living in it. Each of these side-quests is blended so well into the main story of the game that they do not actually feel like they were added to the game at a later stage and this really immerses you in the game. All of these combined together offer one of the best Observer experiences and if you have not played the original title, this is the perfect opportunity to try out this brilliant psychological horror.
The only problem that I found with Observer: System Redux was that the game did not support the Quick Resume feature. I am a frequent player of Forza Horizon 4 and ever since I shifted to Xbox Series X as my review unit from Xbox One, I have never quit running Forza Horizon 4 and it always runs in the background while I am playing any other title or even reviewing another title. The same was the case for Observer: System Redux. During my playthrough on the Series X, I switched between Forza Horizon 4 a few times, and every time I switched back to Observer: System Redux, it would start from the beginning however fast load times ensured I did not had to wait long and the game started from exactly the same spot where I had paused the game earlier. Still, it was weird not seeing the game utilize such a useful feature offered by the console.
Final Verdict:
Observer: System Redux is an amazing remaster of a great game. The work that Bloober Team has put into the game really shows at every corner of the remaster. The details are top-notch, and the trippy special effects really have that impact on you. While there are a few gameplay mechanics that I would like to be improved in the game, if you overlook them, Observer: System Redux is a brilliant next-gen cyberpunk psychological horror game. While Xbox Series X already offers plenty of other horror titles currently via its amazing backwards-compatibility, few are optimized for Series S and Series X, and lucky for you, Observer: System Redux is one of them and you can really see the power of the next-gen consoles with this amazing re-release by Bloober Team. If you love psychological horrors and cyberpunk environments, Observer: System Redux will keep you company for a good long time.
Final Score: 8.5/10
