8. (tie) Return of the Obra Dinn (2019*)
- * released on the Nintendo Switch in 2019; original PC release in 2018)
- Final score: 61 points
- Total placements: 5 lists
- Highest placement: #4, Zilla
Casey writes:
Return of the Obra Dinn is one of a handful of games from the mid-2010s that in some ways figured out how to refresh the “adventure game” genre, a designation that over the course of the early 21st century became increasingly met with derision, citing dead-end gameplay and brute-force puzzle solving to overcome ridiculous leaps of logic. Funnily enough, games like Obra Dinn and the many investigative games that followed its huge success pull this off not by allowing more player expression, but by demanding more precision. The whole game is structured around filling in a log that the player character, an insurance agent, must complete in order to fulfill their job investigating a boat that has mysteriously reappeared, seemingly without a living soul on board, after going missing for five years. The game’s unique art style, satisfying logic puzzles, and wild historical fantasy story set it apart from many of its imitators. Obra Dinn is the second major game by creator Lucas Pope, his other game being the award-winning Papers, Please. Both games were created almost entirely by him (including the music!), with support from others for work like voice acting and translation/localization.