Observer

one of the most atmospheric cyberpunk horror games ever.
this game very much nailed blade runner atmosphere. they even have rutger hauer to voice the main character!
gameplay wise, it's a walking simulator. you're a detective investigating crime scenes, and hijacking people's memories.
the world you get to explore in this game is relatively small but it is so drenched in detail and atmosphere, that it feels more than enough to enjoy.
highly recommended for fans of cyberpunk genre, especially blade runner.

What if David Lynch made a cyberpunk horror game?
If that sounds right up your alley, you are going to love this experience!
Some of the game mechanics need to be polished, but the visually stunning graphics as well as the story itself makes this game a worthy experience in my opinion.
This OG version is no longer available, but if you still want to check it out you should definitely check out Observer: System Redux! It is an enchanced version with 4K graphics, extra missions and some improvements on the gameplay mechanics.

“Whatever it takes.”
If Cyberpunk 2077 and Outlast had a baby but raised it to be sinister and sophisticated instead of destructive and dangerous you’d get the diabolical neurosurgeon that is Observer. The game revolves around a detective, played by the talented Rutger Hauer (may he rest in peace), in a dystopian Poland in the year 2084 who has the technological ability to break into people’s minds and view their memories. Unfortunately, not only has this caused the detective problems in his past, but they get a lot worse throughout the game.
While it only took me around five hours to complete the main storyline, there were moments when it felt longer due to the pacing and atmosphere that seemed to go on forever. The use of jumpscares was a little overdone, but I didn’t mind them. If you play the game continuously, they help add a sense of urgency to certain objectives. However, there isn’t much real danger within the game since ‘enemies’ are conquered through stealth or speed. This is more of a story game, meant to be remembered for its ending and the choices you make rather than the gameplay.
Observer does a great job of exploring both the philosophical and scientific aspects of memory and identity within a small environment with many moving parts. Much of the game makes you question the detective’s sanity, and keeping him sane is how you keep him alive. But at the same time, the player is presented with the question of what even is sanity, and whether reality is an objective truth or a subjective experience. This makes for an interesting playthrough and one that is memorable due to the worldbuilding, breathtaking visuals, perceived dangers over real ones, and beautiful soundtrack.
I can tell that works such as Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, and The Thing influenced the developers when it came to the style. There were also classic dystopian themes such as classism, propaganda, and corporatism presented alongside European art, language, and history (particularly the plague as the nanophage) that make for a unique science fiction environment. If you’re a fan of any of those things you’ll enjoy playing Observer.

There are no issues in this game that I noticed aside from being locked at 62 FPS (which is fixable by editing the config files) and the aspect ratio messes up if you disable v-sync (this fixes itself when you relaunch it however). I experienced zero crashes throughout my 9+ hour play-through. This was one hell of a ride and I beg you to play this game! If you like Layers of Fear and SOMA, then you'd love this game! It challenges the idea of control over your mind and your actions and experiences.

Great game, makes excellent use of sound to create fear, and limits jump-scares so that they remain impactful throughout the story. The story itself relies on the player to fill in their own interpretations at points, but paints the themes very clearly. As someone who struggles with navigation generally, I appreciate that the game nearly always does well at suggesting where to look or go based on visual and context clues. A great piece of art and a highly entertaining game.

Nice story, graphics and ideas. Some gameplay segments feels dragged out and unnecessary but overall worth playing if you are interested in the stories like this.

A game with a cool plot, great worldbuilding and awesome graphics/sound design but that also gets dragged down by it's gameplay. It's often frustrating, sometimes almost to the level of "f* this, im not playing any more". Throwing stealth sections on the player two thirds into the game is just weird and it's also very often unclear what you are actually suposed to do and where you are suposed to go, especially when you are inside peoples mind. You pretty much walk around in circles hoping for something to trigger. The objects you interact with are also sometimes miniscule, making them very easy to miss, and tge scanning implant you have is under used, and basically only for an achievement, it's extremely seldom that you get something useful from it. That said, this version is not on sale anymore, and it's possible the updated version solved some of my complaints. It's still a ok game, just something that could have been much better.