Mystery Adventure Games Codexery

Return of the Obra Dinn

A 1-bit puzzle game about reconstructing deaths on a ghost ship.

Last updated

The player investigates a ship that vanished in 1803 and reappeared with all sixty people dead or missing.[1] The game is a first-person logic puzzle where the player uses a pocket watch to witness moments of death.[2][3] The logbook automatically records basic information, and correct fates are validated only in sets of three.[4]

Making and release

Lucas Pope began developing the game after his earlier title Papers, Please, wanting to use a 1-bit aesthetic inspired by early Macintosh games.[5] Pope initially considered a concept where the player character repeatedly died and could manipulate the environment, but found it technically challenging.[5] A second demo at PAX Australia in November 2016 presented deaths out of chronological order, confusing players.[6] Pope solved this by dividing the narrative into ten catalyst events, which led to the creation of the logbook.[7]

Pope teased the game in 2014 expecting a release the next year, but it took four more years.[5] According to Wood's 2017 interview, the game's story required the most development time.[5] On October 17, 2018, the Japanese studio 3909 published Return of the Obra Dinn for macOS and Windows computers.[5]

What the cited sources add

The same review describes the game as "expertly crafted puzzle, beautiful worldcrafting, fascinating story"[8] Wright's article states that Pope started development with the visuals, then had to create a game concept to match.[9] Pope told Wright that the game's lack of hand-holding made it divisive among some audiences.[9] Wood's article reports that the alpha build of the game was completed in May 2017.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Return of the Obra Dinn" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wood, "Lucas Pope on life after Papers, Please", Eurogamer, November 2, 2017; Wood, "Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope details his next game", PC Gamer, August 15, 2017 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Return of the Obra Dinn" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Francis, "For Lucas Pope, Return of the Obra Dinn was a bunch of appealing design problems", Gamasutra, November 25, 2018; Schreier, "Why Obra Dinn Is One Of The Year's Best Games", Kotaku, December 2, 2018; Kohler, "Return of the Obra Dinn: The Kotaku Review", Kotaku, October 18, 2018; Gault, "'Return of the Obra Dinn' Is a Beautiful Murder Mystery by the Creator of 'Papers, Please'", Vice, October 18, 2018; Goodman, "Our favorite low-click PC games", PC Gamer, February 18, 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Return of the Obra Dinn" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Donlan, "Return of the Obra Dinn review - prepare to be transported", Eurogamer, October 18, 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Return of the Obra Dinn" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kohler, "Return of the Obra Dinn: The Kotaku Review", Kotaku, October 18, 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Return of the Obra Dinn" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wood, "Lucas Pope on life after Papers, Please", Eurogamer, November 2, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Return of the Obra Dinn" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wiltshire, "How a book binds the Return of the Obra Dinn", Rock Paper Shotgun, November 7, 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Return of the Obra Dinn" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wood, "Lucas Pope on life after Papers, Please", Eurogamer, November 2, 2017; Wiltshire, "How a book binds the Return of the Obra Dinn", Rock Paper Shotgun, November 7, 2018; Wiltshire, "How a book binds the Return of the Obra Dinn", Rock Paper Shotgun, November 7, 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Kohler, "Return of the Obra Dinn: The Kotaku Review", Kotaku, October 18, 2018. facts only, no text reused. kotaku.com
  9. Wright, "Lucas Pope on the challenge of creating Obra Dinn's 1-bit aesthetic", PC Gamer, January 23, 2019. facts only, no text reused. pcgamer.com
  10. Wood, "Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope details his next game", PC Gamer, August 15, 2017. facts only, no text reused. pcgamer.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Return of the Obra Dinn (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Mystery adventure games

Ace AttorneyBeacon PinesA Case of DistrustThe Crimson DiamondCruise for a CorpseDanganronpa: Trigger Happy HavocEmio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective ClubGamedecGhost of a TaleInscryptionLife Is Strange (video game)Life Is Strange: Double Exposure

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. Who designed "Return of the Obra Dinn"?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Lucas Pope.

2. In what year was "Return of the Obra Dinn" first released?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 2018.

3. Which company developed "Return of the Obra Dinn"?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Lucas Pope.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →