2019: Return of the Obra Dinn
Return of the Obra Dinn
Release Date Developer Publisher 18 Oct 2019 (Switch) Lucas Pope 3909 LLC
Good detective games can be hard to find. Designers must work to balance the game so that it isn’t too hard to find important clues or uncover the mystery while still enabling player expression and keeping the joy of discovery.
Return of the Obra Dinn accomplishes this using an expanding tome of identities that the player fills in to denote which characters have perished, by what means, and who (if anyone) killed them. The book will inform the player they’re correct only when three identities are completely filled in (identity, means of death, and adversary). This ensures players are actually paying attention and filling things in while they go, but also allows some guesswork to help pave the way.
In addition to the mystery of deaths aboard the Obra Dinn, there are also other-worldly forces at work that make the in-game lore more interesting to explore.
For example, one of the the mermaids’ shells can be seen from the ship, even from the start (though the player will have to deduce this sparkling talisman throughout the story). Even aspects of the Memento Mori, the pocket watch which allows players to see into the snapshots of the past, has consistent rules it follows, further revealed by the storyline with the monkey paw, which illustrates how a remnant of the deceased is required to look back at the moment they died.
To me, Obra Dinn is a modern take on the detective game formula. There are innovative ways of enabling player expression (especially for the deceased who don’t have dedicated diorama entries for their demise) while also some in-game mysteries to explore, like how the mystical pocket watch enables your investigation. I’ve recently also enjoyed Case of the Golden Idol which uses similar mechanics and inner-world mysteries to drive an impressive, snapshot-based experience.