• For our 10th anniversary on May 9th, 2024, we will be giving out 15 GB of free, off-shore, DMCA-resistant file storage per user, and very possibly, public video hosting! For more details, check a look at our roadmap here.

    Welcome to the edge of the civilized internet! All our official content can be found here. If you have any questions, try our FAQ here or see our video on why this site exists at all!

Return of the Obra Dinn

Gauche

Arch Disciple
Messages
663

Return of the Obra Dinn is a mystery game by Lucas Pope

Story:

The Obra Dinn, lost at sea in 1803, has now returned
You play as Chief Inspector for the Honorable East India Company and are tasked with assessing the insurance claims of the vessel. Shortly after boarding, you climb back down to the ferry boat and open a box to discover a book with over a hundred blank pages. The few filled in pages contain a map of the ship's planned journey, deck plans, crew/passenger manifest, some sketches and even a glossary. In the preface, Henry Evans requests that you use this book to catalog the adventure & tragedy which took place. The box also includes a magic pocket watch which allows the possessor to witness the still final moment of a nearby corpse

You could either do your job or do your job and solve some fates

Game Mechanics:
  • Only upon successfully identifying three separate individuals as well as deducing their fates will the information be revealed to the player as being true and finally typed into the book. This allows the player to brute force guess an identity/fate if they are positive of two others

  • Most locations on the ship are inaccessible from the start. One explores the ship by viewing fates which grant access to gated areas
Praise:
  • Sound design
  • Male breasts
Criticism:
  • Follow wisp for loop-the-loops was annoying
  • Too heavy
  • Not enough male breasts
 

Arnox

Master
Staff member
Founder
Messages
5,288
Wait, is this fully 3D or is it like Myst where you click where you want to "walk to" and it loads up the scene for that spot?
 

andersonnnunes

Disciple
Messages
326
Wow, unauthorized copies are already for sale on the most popular marketplace in Brazil. The price isn't even that far from Steam's price and the game ins't even localized for this market, but I guess the buyers don't care as long as they can feel that they are getting a better deal and the marketplace does not care as long as it gets a cut.
 

Houseman

Zealot
Sanctuary legend
Messages
1,068
I beat it. I was kind a disappointed with the story.

The powers of the box\shells weren't really explained. What, you just dip your arm into the quicksilver and magic shoots out and incapacitates all the mermaids nearby? And the mermaids just want the shell back? So why even travel with the shell in the first place, isn't that just inviting trouble? And how did Henry Evans get the pocketwatch? That was just a thing he conveniently had the whole time, which only served to help the protagonist write an insurance report? He lived. He had witnesses with him, he could have just told his story."
 

Gauche

Arch Disciple
Messages
663
I beat it. I was kind a disappointed with the story.

The powers of the box\shells weren't really explained. What, you just dip your arm into the quicksilver and magic shoots out and incapacitates all the mermaids nearby? And the mermaids just want the shell back? So why even travel with the shell in the first place, isn't that just inviting trouble? And how did Henry Evans get the pocketwatch? That was just a thing he conveniently had the whole time, which only served to help the protagonist write an insurance report? He lived. He had witnesses with him, he could have just told his story."
Aww, that's a shame. I rather enjoyed it

The powers of the box\shells weren't really explained. What, you just dip your arm into the quicksilver and magic shoots out and incapacitates all the mermaids nearby?
Must they be? The watch is never explained either but one gets the gist of it. I took it that the conch was magic and Beng knew how to work it seeing that he was on a mission to open the chest while also never pulling it out of the mercury. Mercury was believed to ward off evil back in the day so I guess that dulled the calling of the conch

As a side note, he was my last deduced death. My first impression was he died of old age having reached into the fountain of life. Sure doesn't scream like his arm was on fire
And the mermaids just want the shell back? So why even travel with the shell in the first place, isn't that just inviting trouble?
Maybe. They could just really hate humans. If they wanted it back they could of just flipped that small boat over and the chest would be theirs. No need to go human hunting. As for the travel... dunno. Maybe they picked it up along the way to Britain. They were from present day Taiwan so they either go walking across Europe and boat to their country or just boat there from the start. Balls really in the air on that one

And how did Henry Evans get the pocketwatch? That was just a thing he conveniently had the whole time, which only served to help the protagonist write an insurance report? He lived. He had witnesses with him, he could have just told his story.
No clue. I didn't spot the watch on him while on board so I figured he later picked it up in Africa at some voodoo-mart though that theory fell apart when he shot the monkey to keep a paw. It doesn't necessarily serve to help with the report. You could just leave the ship having solved no fates. Haven't done it myself yet but I do wonder if that reveals further info. The end letter makes it clear the others don't want to ever speak of the events. They don't still live in Africa voluntarily. Its not like their story would clear them in court
 
Top