Reviews

A new take on the space horror genre - pitting you as the rogue AI rather than the humans fighting it - that absolutely drips atmosphere, but lives or dies based on how absorbed in it you can get.
It's not a short game, clocking in at around 7 hours, but I'd nonetheless recommend trying to find time on a long night to play through it all in one sitting because it's difficult to get re-immersed if you come back to it mid-way through. Unfortunately though the game itself doesn't make that easy. About half of what you'll be doing as SAM - the System Administration & Maintenance AI - consists of interacting with various units in the space station and, not only is it sometimes unclear which one you need to complete your tasks, it's sometimes unclear if something's even interactable. Objects sometimes look interactive but have no prompt, sometimes they do have a prompt but activating it does nothing. This caused one particular occasion of frustrated wandering around to try and find the one thing I needed to interact with to progress, only to learn it was the Power Management Terminal that did nothing when I activated it half an hour ago and continued to do nothing until I reset the game. There was also a hard crash to desktop at the WORST possible time, mid climactic ending, that pretty much ruined the wrap-up of the game for me.

When not exploring the station the other half of SAM's duties are pop-up windows with - I'd hesitate to even call them puzzles - data entry tasks to activate various systems like re-routing comms and jettisoning modules. As the name of the game suggests, Observation is very light on the interactivity - if you're the type of person arguing that "walking simulators" shouldn't be classed as games this one probably isn't going to be for you - but it makes up for that with some stunning cinematography. Easily the high point of the game, the developers No Code have a real knack for creating powerful imagery and the design of Observation is up there one of my favourite space station designs in fiction. The only element of cinematography I found lacking was the not-quite-perfect transitions between cutscenes/gameplay and different environments. It might be that recent games like Ground Zeroes and God of War have spoiled me with their seamless camerawork but in a game like this where most of the cuts are from fixed camera angles it seems like a jarring omission.

The story Observation tells slowly unfolds at a pace that keeps it gripping throughout and, while the twists might hit as hard as intended, it ends strong by straddling that perfect line between over-explaining and leaving things too open to interpretation. It's just a shame it's bogged down by technical issues and the occasional tedious interactable hunting mission.

Just recently replayed this game after a long time and fell in love all over again. What elevates this well above the other Telltale stalwart The Walking Dead is how effective this is as a mystery story. Obviously Telltale had already proven their strengths in this wheelhouse of narrative choose-your-adventure style gaming with that game, but simply put, a mystery story in the Telltale formula makes for a more effective game than a survival-type game. With the player in the role of detective, there is greater encouragement to explore every nook and cranny of a given room, navigate the many dialogue trees carefully, and there is greater urgency when being forced to pursue one lead over another.

Another stroke of genius (and I suppose 'Fables' architect Bill Willingham is owed credit for this) is that in true mystery fashion, everyone is a suspect, but as a player you actually already have a second-hand understanding of who most if not all of the characters are already. Just as Bigby has lived with his fellow Fables for hundreds and hundreds of years, you too have also known the characters since you were a child. Even though it is a fantastical world to buy into, your familiarity with it allows you to start off the game right away acting in a place of authority over the world of the game, and that is awesome. The game's finale also puts the critical eye over your entire play style, which is fantastic. While abusing your power doesn't always have immediate consequences, by game's end they can catch up with you. All in all, this is definitely the best mystery-style game I've played. Its simplicity trounces all over something like L.A. Confidential and make for a fun and rewarding gaming experience.

I've spent far more hours than I'd like to admit searching for a game that fills my build-your-life itch. I played Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life as a kid, but as I grew older its simplicity eventually kept me from playing it for more than a couple of weeks at a time. Stardew Valley had all the bells and whistles, but since I was looking for a game that completely captures you in a new life, a couldn't get past the graphics. 

My Time at Portia not only ticks all the boxes for me, but fills some holes I didn't know existed. I find the bright animation enthralling, and always feel like I'm entering a better world. There is also always plenty to do in My Time at Portia, though there aren't hard deadlines for the most part, so you can take things at your own speed. The majority of your time is spent building commissions for the town and for individuals. In order to do this you need to collect various materials, both to upgrade your workshop and fulfill commissions. You collect most of the materials in mines. There are abandoned mines with a fairly standard "pick-axe-discovery" mechanism, as well as hazardous mines-- think extremely watered down Zelda dungeon. You could technically go full Harvest Moon/ Stardew Valley, raising animals and planting crops, but it would be a meager living. This didn't bother like I thought it might though. I found the exactly how I spent my time wasn't as important as where I spent it and who I spent it with.

And Portia is a great place to spend your time. The NPCs are fairly complex for the game, so I didn't have the same sensation of taking to the same mechanical, one-dimensional robots over and over again. The dating mechanism is fairly complex. Once you are friends you can ask someone out on a date, and if you date multiple people at once, you could even get caught!

There is so much to do in Portia that its hard to review it all. I'll just say that I find it a charming town and plan on going back time and time again.