There’s a lot left up to interpretation, which can be said for much of the larger story as well. They’re not an exact replication of the victims’ memories, but more of a trippy reenactment that mashes together different environments and art styles.

These “dream eater” sequences keep the derelict apartment setting from ever feeling too claustrophobic. Oh, and you can plug into a chip in dead people’s brains to explore their memories, like you do. You’ll use these abilities to track down whoever’s murdering the building’s tenants, sometimes following a literal trail of blood in your quest to stop the killer and find Dan’s son. Despite the familiar themes, Observer never feels derivative it’s more of a love letter to the works that came before than an imitation.īeing a cybernetically enhanced Observer, Dan Lazarski has a few extra tools at his disposal: he can use EM Vision to analyze electronic equipment, Bio Vision to identify biological materials like blood, and Night Vision to make dark spaces like the building’s creepy basement easier to navigate. There are multiple references to the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four as well, including finding physical copies of the book throughout the apartment building, and stumbling upon Easter eggs like this is always a delight.

Lazarski is voiced by the now late Rutger Hauer, whose “tears in the rain” monologue from Blade Runner deserves a spot in the dystopian fiction hall of fame. Observer: System Redux doesn’t shy away from its sci-fi, cyberpunk, and horror influences.

Observer system redux patch