The PC Gamer - Game Of The Year Awards 2018

Celebrating another great year of PC gaming

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BEST PUZ ZLE

RETURN OF THE OBRA DINN

Samuel: Like Her Story, a perfect detective game because it leaves enough space for you to work it out—making you feel like a genius when you figure out the name of one character, then like a dunderhead when you’re utterly stumped.

Andy: Return of the Obra Dinn could only exist as a videogame, and I always find that exciting. While steeped in the tropes of nautical fiction and whodunits, it’s something unique, forcing you to engage with the story, world and mystery on a deep level. In those long periods where I couldn’t find the right clue to progress, I almost gave up. But then something would always click, toppling a domino chain of revelations in my mind, making me feel like the smartest detective in the world. This is one of the most satisfying puzzle games on PC, largely because it refuses to hold your hand at any point. It trusts you to do it yourself, and is massively rewarding as a result.

Pip: Props for the use of ‘dunderhead’, Sam. It’s spot on with this game.

I think the thing I admire the most here is that Obra Dinn seems designed in such a way that epiphanies actually happen after you’ve been stumped a while. I’m not sure quite what it’s doing on a mechanical or design level to prompt that, but so many puzzle games have moments when you’re stuck and that stuck-ness never seems to shift. But everyone I have chatted to about Obra Dinn seems to have been able to hit a wall and then, crucially, find a moment of inspiration that gets them through it. It’s a joy to work through.