“As you walk beside the lake on a cloudy night, a distant thunderclap demands your attention. A curious, organic artifact falls from the starry sky and inexplicably, without asking permission, transports you across the universe.”
The creators of Myst and Riven have done it again! If you’ve ever experienced one of Cyan’s beautiful, atmospheric, bizarrely imaginative games, you’ll know what to expect with Obduction, released today. Back when Myst was released in 1993, it took the gaming world by storm. The exploration-puzzle genre has faded into niche status since then, but in an industry increasingly dominated by quirky indie games, their new creation may change all that.
A few years ago, I came across a link to Obduction’s kickstarter on tumblr and, being a pretty big Myst fan, jumped to back it without a second thought. There was very little information about the game at the time, except that it would follow in the same exploration-puzzle formula as Myst and it would involve transportation of the player to a new planet. Considering how much the games rely on exploration and discovery to unfold the plot and give the player context, much more than that is basically spoiler territory. This makes it a bit hard to drum up enthusiasm from people who don’t have any familiarity with the Myst series or the genre.
But the thing about Cyan is, they don’t really care if the game gets popular or not. They just want to make a game that they and their fans think is really fun and awesome. And if you don’t find that at least a little bit admirable, well, Obduction is probably not for you. If, however, you find the idea of being dropped in the middle of an alien world with no idea where you are and why at least a little bit interesting, then you should check it out. It’s currently available for Windows and VR, and a full Mac release is on the way!
“we all lost everything
everything but our stories
and they shouldn’t be
forgotten“
Gamer's Elegy 