Deeply satisfying deduction gameplay
Mentioned in ~1 in 2 positive reviews
“everything is completely deducible from the partial information you are given”
Steam review · 14.2 h played ↗
Return of the Obra Dinn
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Overwhelmingly PositiveOverwhelmingly Positive · 97%Lucas Pope2018Detective · Mystery · Puzzle
$19.99
Open on Steam ↗US Steam price, checked 5 h ago
The verdict
A brilliant, uncompromising deduction puzzle with a striking 1-bit look and great sound. Skip it if slow pacing, clunky scene navigation or guesswork-heavy late puzzles annoy you.
Great for
Players who love observation-driven logic puzzles, notebooks and no hand-holding, like Outer Wilds or Golden Idol fans
Main risk
Tedious scene navigation, forced waits and late-game guesswork can turn it into a slog
What players love
Compelling story and atmosphere
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews
“I particularly love how many other mysteries are contained within it that go unanswered”
Steam review · 6 h played ↗
Unique, striking 1-bit art style
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews
“I wouldn't have imagined that a game that imitates a monochrome screen would have such fantastic graphics!”
Steam review · 21.9 h played ↗
Excellent soundtrack and sound design
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews
“possibly the best sound design I've ever encountered”
Steam review · 6.6 h played ↗
A once-in-a-lifetime first playthrough
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 positive reviews
“it is a treasure of a first play-through and I would sell my soul to be able to do it again.”
Steam review · 30.5 h played ↗
What players complain about
Slow pacing and forced unskippable waits
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 negative reviews
“the forced minute long wait before I can use the book when entering a scene”
Steam review · 3.7 h played ↗
Clunky scene navigation, no jump from book
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“Also the artstyle is probably one of the worst choices imaginable for a game that needs you to visually identify people”
Steam review · 1.3 h played ↗
Art style hard on the eyes and hides details
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“The monochrome color is hard on the eyes (lasting afterimage in my vision after quitting the game to do other stuff)”
Steam review · 4.5 h played ↗
Weak, anticlimactic story and repetitive loop
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“Story started out great but then ended on the biggest "who gives a ♥♥♥♥" of all time.”
Steam review · 6.5 h played ↗
Late puzzles rely on guesswork and brute force
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“ends with you guessing names based off arbitrary information knowing that if you get 3 right by chance the game will tell you and lock them in”
Steam review · 4.5 h played ↗
Needs outside knowledge and obscure clues
Mentioned in ~1 in 15 negative reviews
“Requires too much knowledge from outside the game, such as being able to identify foreign languages”
Steam review · 2.8 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: VerifiedController support2 GB
Minimum
OSWindows 7 or better
Processor2 GHz Intel i5 or better
Memory4 GB RAM
GraphicsDiscrete GPU
Storage2 GB available space
OSWindows 7 or better
Processor2 GHz Intel i5 or better
Memory4 GB RAM
GraphicsDiscrete GPU
Storage2 GB available space
More games to check
Other games we’ve read the reviews for
Nobody Wants to Die
Very Positive · 83%
+ Stunning visuals and art direction
− Hand-holding, railroaded detective work
analyzed 3 d ago
Lacuna – A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure
Very Positive · 91%
+ Gripping story and worldbuilding
− Boring, generic story and flat characters
analyzed 3 d ago
The Case of the Golden Idol
Overwhelmingly Positive
+ Satisfying deduction puzzles
− Worse than Obra Dinn / shallow gameplay
analyzed 5 d ago
This Is the Police
Very Positive · 83%
+ Gripping noir story with moral dilemmas
− Repetitive gameplay that drags on too long
analyzed 5 d ago
Weekly digest
Fresh games worth a look, in your inbox
The most interesting games we’ve just analyzed, once a week.Once a week we send the most interesting games we’ve just analyzed: the verdict, top pros and cons, and what changed. No spam.
One email a week · unsubscribe in one click