Come, Watson, come! . . . The game is afoot.
This is one of the greatest mysteries ever written.
As a fairly avid reader in general, and a specific fan of mysteries, to me this ranks with _Murder on the Orient Express_ and _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime_. If you have ever been gripped by a story that just would not let you go until the final page, this game was made for you. If you have ever obsessed over details in a visual or written puzzle, or guessed riddles or played Twenty Questions—and felt that leap of ecstasy when the pieces snap into place and you surge forward with the full and complete picture in your mind—this game was made for you.
_Obra Dinn_ is a pure, minimalist, perfectly balanced experience; it is far more than the sum of its parts. The plot and the detail and the characters and the presentation all interlace in the most beautiful, intricate harmony.
But more significantly, this is one of those rare games which is thoroughly human—by which I mean that it is not a mechanical thrill-ride of pew pew pew or vroom vroom, it is not an abstract puzzle game, or a satisfying test of skill. The act of actually *playing* it is inessential.
The game is is about the story, it's a puzzle-box of flesh-and-blood people and their faults and triumphs, in as realistic (well, _mostly_) a setting as any, acting the way real people would act. Suspension of disbelief is not even applicable, belief is absolute. The "central gameplay loop" is the question "What are these people doing?"
And because this is an interactive medium, _Obra Dinn_ draws you in, personally, to *inhabit* the story. You *are* the detective, you don't "play" the detective. Whether you are any good at it, is the central gameplay mechanic. This is not a game you play, it is a story in which you are the star.
And for that reason, it is to be recommended to anyone who loves a great story and/or a great mystery, it is not necessary to be a "fan of video games". This is one of those games you give to a grandparent or some other square. It puts a shining spotlight on what I love about the medium—that experience of being someone, somewhere, some*how* else.
The fact that Lucas Pope made it all hisself is indeed impressive, but the fact that it's this *good* is astonishing. This is a seriously important game, I dare to call it literature; it is a ringing challenge to both the mystery genre and the vidya game form.
