Return of the Obra Dinn – Gaming Journal 9/2/21

by Thomas Pulsifer

Being a huge fan of ‘Papers, Please,’ I’d been looking forward to eventually getting around to playing ‘Return of the Obra Dinn.’ Now, thanks to my Games & Culture class, I have the perfect excuse! The first thing I notice about Obra Dinn is that the graphics are extremely minimalist, which, I’d argue, adds to the atmosphere and serves as an incredibly unique art style. There’s a compelling mystery to unravel, but all that remains is a small bit evidence. However, by using your trusty “Memento Mortem,” you can rewind time to view a “temporal snapshot” of the moment someone died. Doing so can lead to the discovery of more evidence that wasn’t visible previously. Each time I find where a piece of the puzzle fits, five more pieces appear. Each new clue raises more questions, prompting further exploration. Needless to say, this game is very hard to put down. After my first few minutes or so, I found that I was already completely hooked. My first discovery was that the Captain of the Obra Dinn took his own life after killing his crewmates in what was seemingly self-defense. But after digging a little deeper, I discovered that there’s also a Kraken involved, which certainly took me by surprise. So many questions, so few answers. I look forward to continuing my pursuit of the truth in the next journal entry!