Devolver Digital and developer No Code announced Observation for the PS4 and PC today. Observation is a thriller set on a space station above Earth, with players in control of the station’s artificial intelligence S.A.M. The game is set to launch sometime in spring 2019.
Observation is being billed as “a riveting story told through the lens of artificial intelligence.” The game’s first trailer was released today. Its moody atmosphere is riveting, and features some lovely graphics. Check it out below.
Players operate the station’s control systems, cameras, and tools as S.A.M. to help Dr. Emma Fisher and her crew carry out their mission. That mission goes awry, and players must uncover the mystery of what is happening. No Code have been developing the game since spring 2017 — after they released Stories Untold.
S.A.M. immediately feels like a retreading of 2001: A Space Odyssey‘s HAL 9000, right down to the glowing camera-lens eye. The key difference for Observation is that players control S.A.M. and seem to be good. Hopefully S.A.M. will emerge from HAL’s long shadow to become an interesting, unique character all its own. The team at No Code certainly has the pedigree for storytelling to produce as much.
Observation is the fourth game from No Code — a studio with veterans from Rockstar North, IO Interactive, Rocksteady, CCP, and Creative Assembly. Stories Untold is their previous game, it is a well-received horror adventure title with four unique stories. Several team members worked on Alien: Isolation which features a similar space ship setting to Observation‘s.
Devolver Digital began working with No Code during the development of Stories Untold and are publishing Observation as well. Devolver Digital has quickly built a name for itself as the home for both irreverent action games like My Friend Pedro and serious narrative titles like Gris. The mish-mash indie publisher has been behind games like Hotline Miami and The Talos Principle.
