Microsoft has announced some new titles for Xbox Game Pass this month, each coming under the ID@Xbox. These include Night Call, which is available today and sees a cab driver in Paris fighting to solve a mystery. Though it released for PC last year, this will be the adventure title’s debut on Xbox One.

Other big names include Observation from No Code, better known for Stories Untold. It takes place in a space station where the crew has gone missing. Only Dr. Emma Fisher remains to solve the mystery but that’s not your role. You play as S.A.M., the station’s AI, and must help Emma (while also figuring out what’s going on internally). Observation will be available tomorrow for Xbox One and PC subscribers of Xbox Game Pass.

Then there’s Sabotage Studio’s retro homage The Messenger which is coming to Xbox One tomorrow. It stars a ninja trying to save his world from demons and jumps back and forth between 8-bit and 16-bit gameplay. Streets of Rogue might also be worth checking out as an immersive sim/rogue-lite RPG with free-roaming AI that will react dynamically to your decisions.

The isolation of deep space has always made for a great setting to explore strange and creepy stories. One such story was last year’s Observation. It had a unique gimmick of controlling an AI to assist and observe Dr. Emma Fisher and her crew by operating the space station’s various assisting tools. Of course, things aren’t quite what they seem, as you’d expect. The game has been available on PC and PS4 for quite some time, now it’s time to come to Microsoft’s systems.

As announced by Devolver Digital and No Code, the game will finally come to Xbox One as well as the Microsoft Store next week. You can see the listing for it here. It also seems that the game will feature Xbox Play Anywhere meaning that purchasing the game on Xbox One will allow you  to have a copy on the Microsoft Store and vice versa.

Observation is available now on PlayStation 4 and PC, with the Xbox One copy launching June 25th. You can read our full review of the game through here.

Stories Untold developer No Code has a penchant for unorthodox games. So when it announced Observation, a thriller that sees players controlling a space station AI, we were suitably excited. Observation is now available for PS4 and on PC via the Epic Games Store. Check out the launch trailer below for a short glimpse at the game.

The story focuses on Dr. Emma Fisher, who is looking for her crew aboard a space station. She does this with the help of S.A.M., the station’s AI. Players will operate different controls, cameras, and other systems to help Emma. However, there’s clearly something deeper afoot, especially considering S.A.M.’s role.

Observation is exclusive to the Epic Games Store on PC. You can read GamingBolt’s official review to learn more about it. Long story short: The narrative is worth experiencing, even if the overall gameplay isn’t always up to snuff. Besides, who doesn’t want to step into a potential HAL 9000’s robotic perspective?

"There’s an underlying feeling that SAM itself is having to completely relearn its own programming as it goes, leading to a feeling of anxiety as you embody what may or may not be the true culprit behind the station’s disastrous state. It’s cryptic, and it works excellently to set the game up as a suspenseful “whodunit” of sorts."

See, Observation aims to disorient and cause discomfort by casting players in an unconventional role – your perspective comes solely from an omnipresent AI named SAM located aboard a recently damaged space station. You’re not initially given any further understanding of the events that transpired prior to coming back online, but you’re immediately greeted by the scared and confused human, Emma Fisher, who is seemingly the last remaining crewman aboard the station. After a lengthy introduction gives you the basics of the game, you learn that you’re responsible for having transported the space station to another planet far beyond Earth and essentially dooming its inhabitants. When asked why, you simply respond, “I don’t know.” The screen cuts to black. Cue electrifying opening credits.

From the very beginning, SAM and Emma become well aware that whatever has happened to the ship has also apparently damaged some very core functions of SAM – including his memory. There are corrupted menus, broken tracking features, and a sense of trepidation from Emma. But she’s ultimately forced to trust you despite her concerns because you’re the only chance she has. It’s this intriguing premise and presentation that makes Observation such an engaging experience. There’s an underlying feeling that SAM itself is having to completely relearn its own programming as it goes, leading to a feeling of anxiety as you embody what may or may not be the true culprit behind the station’s disastrous state. It’s cryptic, and it works excellently to set the game up as a suspenseful “whodunit” of sorts. Above-average voice acting makes the characters relatable with obvious feelings of apprehension. It meshes well with the eerie space station, a wonderfully haunting locale that builds tension solely through its quiet but disheveled ambiance.

Being in control of an AI means that the entirety of your time with the game is spent seeing things through low-quality camera lenses or data screens full of schematics, computer messages, and errors. There are various segments of the ship, and each is equipped with its own cameras, allowing you to freely jump around as you work to unfold the mystery. This is initially very confining, but Emma presents you with a sphere camera near the beginning of the game that allows you to freely float through the station at will, and switching from static cameras to the sphere is seamless and often necessary to fully explore and discover areas.

"Forcing you to discover obscure solutions on your own works fine in some games, but Observation’s focus on narrative leaves these moments feeling more like disheartening roadblocks than rewarding problem-solving."

But as compelling of a narrative and concept Observation presents right out of the gate, it stumbles in its fundamental gameplay. Controlling the camera sphere in zero gravity is a chore, and I found myself frequently bumping into walls and objects as I fumbled with the floaty controls. Turning is especially cumbersome, and since gameplay heavily revolves around finding/scanning objects, it was endlessly frustrating to try to align the camera’s focus on an object.

The objectives given to you by Emma are vague, and I frequently found myself wandering around the ship in the right area but being completely unable to understand how to complete my task. Early on, I was asked to move from one side of the ship to the other to complete an objective, but I soon reached a dead end. I was forced to clumsily maneuver the floating camera around multiple cluttered rooms in search of just the right thing I needed, then switch to a mounted camera in another room, find a door, engage in a quick mini-game to unlock it, and then proceed to the next room. None of this sounds abnormally hard to figure out until you’re wandering around playing trial and error for 10 minutes because the game doesn’t give any clear understanding of the process.

Forcing you to discover obscure solutions on your own works fine in some games, but Observation’s focus on narrative leaves these moments feeling more like disheartening roadblocks than rewarding problem-solving. A little more guidance could’ve gone a long way. But if you’re able to tough through it, some optional exploration and objectives can lead to expositional logs and core function upgrades, the latter of which can sometimes alleviate some of the tedium associated with repetitive tasks.

"Thankfully, despite its fundamentally flawed puzzle and navigation elements, Observation remains a mystery worth seeing through simply for its story and presentation values."

The problem extends beyond simple navigational issues and to the actual mini-games themselves. Opening doors, booting up systems, and other tasks around the station often require strange, unexplained boards to appear, forcing you to not only try to solve the puzzle but also to find out what the puzzle’s objective even is to begin with. The ambiguous puzzle mechanics drag down the experience through further trial and error gameplay. Many of them are timed and create a rapid onset of urgency without giving players even a rudimentary sense of direction. Having to restart a challenging puzzle multiple times just to understand the concept isn’t enjoyable – it’s frustrating, and it works strongly against the pacing of the narrative and overarching exploration, especially since some of these scenarios are tied to win/lose outcomes that permanently affect access to certain reactions or areas.

Thankfully, despite its fundamentally flawed puzzle and navigation elements, Observation remains a mystery worth seeing through simply for its story and presentation values. Casting players as a rogue AI poses a lot of possibilities from the very beginning… Are you the good guy? Are you the bad guy? These questions linger with you as you unravel the game’s central mystery, and while I would’ve loved to see it rely less on its unwieldly game-ier side, it manages to pull everything together on the whole to leave a lasting impression on its audience.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Development

Observation was a long time passion project at developers No Code, with John McKellan – co-founder of the studio and creative director and writer on Observation – stating that the studio had been created so that they could one day work on Observation. While the studio had been growing and building toward the project and looking for publishers, they developed Stories Untold. No Code’s work on Stories Untold with Devolver Digital eventually led to the two partnering up for Observation as well.

The game takes cues from several found footage style films, as well as from several artificial intelligence stories and science fiction media. Arthur C. Clarke’s Space Odyssey novels have been described as an influence, while the development team has also mentioned films like Gravity, as well as Alien, Europa Report and Paranormal Activity. The developers have also looked at real life images and footage from the International Space Station to help with art design in the game, as well as zero gravity animations.

The developers have also mentioned that they have not yet considered Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions of the game, and remain focused on the game’s launch on the PS4 and PC. When asked about why they decided to make the game a console exclusive for the PS4, they mentioned it was because Sony had taken “an early interest in this game and has worked closely with Devolver for a number of years and have a longstanding relationship.”

During Sony’s first State of Play show in March of 2019, it was confirmed that Observation would be releasing on May 21 of that year. Shortly afterward, it was also announced that on PC, the game would not be available on Steam, and would be exclusive to the Epic Games Store.

Story

Observation is a science fiction thriller with horror undertones set on the Low Orbital Space Station, or LOSS. Players take on the role of the space station’s artificial intelligence, Systems Administration and Maintenance, or SAM for short. As the game begins, SAM reboots and turns on, and discovers that the space station is disarray, and many of its functions in a flux. The crew has gone missing and is not contactable, with the exception of Dr. Emma Fisher. As SAM, who continues to grow self aware, players must help Dr. Fisher with her survival, come to terms with their own self awareness and growing conscience, and uncover the mystery of what happened to the space station and its missing crew.

Gameplay

In Observation, players take on the role of the artificial intelligence SAM. The game is shown from the perspective of SAM looking over the space station and its various environments through CCTV cameras, while also controlling various other systems of the space station, such as doors, airlocks, locked paths, and other functions.

These present themselves in the gameplay as puzzles for players to solve. For instance, SAM might be told by Dr. Fisher to open a particular door in the space station, and the player would then have to solve a puzzle within that door’s systems to open it. Navigation of environments happens by switching between CCTV cameras and opening up new paths in this manner, while exploration opportunities also arise this way.

As per the developers, Observation will offer a blend of a guided experience, as well as non-linear gameplay. There will be some sections of the game that will be strictly linear and guided experiences, while others will offer greater freedom and room for exploration, as well as affecting the narrative in some capacity.

Being controlled by a human player fits within the context of SAM becoming self-aware, allowing the AI to make mistakes, explore environments and check oddities out of curiosity, and learning and re-learning several functions upon being rebooted. Dialogues and interactions and other elements also factor into the gameplay, with the developers describing its various elements as “genre hopping”.

Observation will also not have any game over states, as the developers have confirmed, as they felt have fail states would have a detrimental impact on the player’s immersion and the game’s storytelling. Instead, there will be certain situations in the game where players will have to live with their choices and actions, even if that results in failure of some kind.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

RAGE 2

Easily the biggest release of May – and one of the more anticipated titles of the year – RAGE 2 is a direct sequel to id Software’s original open world shooter. This one is co-developed with Avalanche Studios and sees players taking on the role of Walker, the last ranger, as he runs afoul of the Authority and other enemy factions. Employing a more DOOM-like approach to its shooting, RAGE 2 features a variety of powers to rip foes apart, an Overdrive meter for added damage and healing, and interesting weapons like the Grav-Dart Launcher to send enemies flying. That’s of course not including the vehicular gameplay. RAGE 2 is out on May 14^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. And yes, despite being published by Bethesda, it’s coming to Steam.

A Plague Tale: Innocence

A smaller yet intriguing title that’s garnered attention over the past few months is A Plague Tale: Innocence, developed by Asobo Studio. It’s set during the Hundred Years War with the Black Death taking over Europe and follows the siblings Amicia and Hugo. The two are on the run and attempting to survive, dealing with guards from the Inquisition while avoiding the ravenous rats. There aren’t just a handful of rats either – the game is teeming with the little critters, though you can fend them off with fire and have them devour your foes instead. A Plague Tale: Innocence looks good – let’s just hope it plays as well when it launches on May 14^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PC)

A remake of one of the greatest PS2 games ever made and arguably the best game in the series, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is coming to PC on May 9th. Along with all the improvements, additional content, a standalone adventure for Goro Majima and stunning visuals, the PC port will have its fair share of options. These include customizable controls, support for 4K resolution, unlocked framerates and much more. If you care even the least bit about a solid action adventure with excellent side quests and story-telling, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is highly recommended.

Life Is Strange 2 – Episode 3: Wastelands

The emotional tale of Sean and Daniel Diaz continues as they head further south to their father’s hometown in Life Strange 2. In Episode 2, the brothers had a brief stopover in Oregon where they meet Chris Eriksen aka the protagonist of The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. As for what’s next, you can expect the same difficult choices with varying consequences as the brothers struggle to survive. Life is Strange 2 – Episode 3: Wastelands is out on May 9^th for PC, Xbox One and PS4.

Team Sonic Racing

Sumo Digital’s latest entry in the kart racing franchise seems to tick all the right boxes. It has 21 tracks based on classic zones, Grand Prix mode for earning points and Team Adventure mode to embark on an epic campaign. There’s a decent amount of customization, 12 player online support and co-op support in Team Adventure. However, it seems like a step down from Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed with no guest characters or transformations, instead focusing on coordination as teams rack up points together. We’ll see how it pans out when the game launches on May 21^st for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Total War: Three Kingdoms

Total War: Three Kingdoms is the next big title in Creative Assembly’s series, exploring a brand new era and introducing a bevy of new mechanics. The turn-based management and real-time battles are still very much intact as players choose from one of 12 factions in their quest for dominance. Some of the new mechanics include generals dueling each other and “guanxi” which requires you to meet their demands to maintain happiness lest they defect. If that weren’t enough, the game offers two modes – Romance, which makes the generals a lot stronger in keeping with the Romance of the Three Kingdoms fantasy; and Records which is a more historically accurate experience and prevents generals from being controlled separately. Total War: Three Kingdoms arrives on May 23^rd for PC.

Blood & Truth

As a follow-up to The London Heist, one of the few major VR experiences for PlayStation VR, Blood and Truth is pretty much more of the same. It features a dedicated campaign where players control a former SAS soldier on a rampage and lets you tactfully select cover during firefights. Gameplay-wise, it might seem a bit dated but Blood and Truth should be worth checking out when it releases on May 28^th for PlayStation VR.

Observation

From the team that brought us Stories Untold, Observation has a rather unique premise. It sees Dr. Emma Fisher investigating the fate of her crew in a space station with the help of an AI called S.A.M. The twist is that players control S.A.M, guiding Fisher through various cameras and controls in the stations while also investigating its own quirks. Observation is out on May 21^st for PS4 and PC via the Epic Games Store.

Close to the Sun

Perhaps it’s the historical period that feels more old-timey as players explore the Helios, a mysterious ship created by Nikola Tesla. Perhaps it’s the environments that are a shadow of their former brilliance, completely ruined by human excess. Whatever the case may be, you’ll need to survive and solve the mystery of the Helios. Close to the Sun releases on May 2^nd for PC via the Epic Games Store – it will arrive later this year for Xbox One and PS4.

Pathologic 2

A re-imagining of the first game, Pathologic 2 is actually split into three parts with the first releasing on May 23^rd for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Players head to the Town-on-Gorkhon as Artemy Burakh and must deal with accusations of murder while unraveling other strange incidents. The previous game dealt with a plague unfolding over 12 days as players struggled to survive and either influence events or let the town fall into ruin. With two additional protagonists and their stories to experience, it should be interesting to see where Pathologic 2 takes us.

Observation, the sci-fi based thriller/horror game coming this month, got a big 45 minute gameplay preview. You play as an AI, named S.A.M., on a space station in which something has gone wrong. You have to control cameras on the station as S.A.M. and tackle various tasks. While the concept seems mundane on paper, it is actually pretty creepy.

As you can see from the footage below, via Game Informer, you will control the game as the sentient AI (in a similar way to the Five Nights at Freddy’s games) and do puzzles, find clues about what’s wrong with the station, and converse with survivors. You can also choose how you play and react as S.A.M in some conversations, even being able to play him as a “dumb” AI that humans will comment on. No doubt, there will probably be more sinister options later as the game progresses and you get a stronger feel of the disconnected feeling of observing those around you. Even in this footage, things get rather… uncomfortable.

Observation releases May 21^st on PlayStation and PC (as a timed Epic Games Store exclusive).

The intriguing science fiction thriller game Observation, which was also one of the highlights of Sony’s State of Play broadcast yesterday, will also be coming to PC. When it launches, it will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store, Devolver Digital have revealed. The Steam page for the game has now been taken down, making this the latest in a long line of exclusivity conquests by Epic for their store.

We also got the requirements needed to run the game on PC revealed thanks to the game’s Epic Games Store page. It doesn’t seem too taxing, and even low-end systems should be able to run the game without much issue. If you want to run the game at recommended settings, you will obviously need something more full-featured, but on the whole, there’s not much that should stop widescale adoption of this game, at least based on specs.

You can check out the full specs for the game below. Observation launches on May 21 for PS4 and PC.

Minimum Requirements

• OS: Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 x64
• CPU: Intel Core i3-3240 (2 * 3400) or equivalent | AMD FX-4300 (4 * 3800) or equivalent
• GPU: GeForce GT 640 (2048 MB) | Radeon HD 7750 (1024 MB)
• RAM: 4 GB
• Storage: 12 GB

Recommended

• OS: Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 x64
• CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K (4 * 3500) or equivalent | AMD Ryzen 3 2200G (4 * 3500) or equivalent
• GPU: GeForce GTX 960 (4096 MB) | Radeon RX 570 (8192 MB)
• RAM: 8 GB
• Storage: 12 GB

Developer No Code, better known for Stories Untold, appeared on the recent “State of Play” showcase from PlayStation to reveal its next game, Observation. It’s essentially a sci-fi thriller where the player must deal with mysterious happenings to a space station’s crew. The twist? You are the space station.

The station is controlled by S.A.M., an artificial intelligence that can use the cameras and various control systems. To this effect you’ll be helping Dr. Emma Fisher as she tries to figure out what happened to the crew. What’s going on with S.A.M. also forms a part of the mystery.

Published by Devolver Digital, Observation will be releasing on May 21st. You can pre-order it now for PS4 and PC. The title is currently exclusive to PS4 on consoles thanks to Sony taking an “early interest” in the game. Check out GamingBolt’s interview with the development team to learn more about the premise and gameplay.

"A while back I started to look at familiar horror or sci-fi tropes, and try to flip the perspective on them. Alien from the Xenomorphs point of view for example, or 2001 from HAL’s. Things get much less black and white."

The whole idea of playing as the AI that controls the space station seems like such a unique and fascinating one. How did this idea come about?

Jon McKellan (Creative Director/Writer): It was a mix of things really, but a while back I started to look at familiar horror or sci-fi tropes, and try to flip the perspective on them. Alien from the Xenomorphs point of view for example, or 2001 from HAL’s. Things get much less black and white.

As a separate ‘goal’ of sorts, I wanted to write a story where the players presence had a direct impact on the story, beyond just standard gameplay. So what if an AI had become self-aware, at the moment where a human literally had started controlling them? Any decision made by a player could seem out of place for an AI. The players’ inquisitiveness or even failure to do some actions, would be something the crew might comment on in-world. It felt like a great way to tie it all together – the player is the new consciousness, and the crew know something is up.

How exactly does that work in terms of gameplay? Is it mostly puzzle solving, or are there other facets that players need to think about as well?

Jon McKellan: It’s a whole bunch of things – we like to ‘genre-hop’. There are plenty of adventure-style puzzles in there, but also things like reactions, explorations and dialogue come into play in ways we’ve not done on previous titles. Every mechanic has been considered with the SAM-POV in mind. When a crew member asks the AI to open a door, they are asking you to open the door. You are the station, so you don’t have these automatic things happening any more – you have to do it yourself.

As an extension to that question, how will puzzles work in Observation? Can you talk to us a bit about how they’re designed?

Graeme McKellan (Lead Designer): As you progress through the narrative, SAM is “re-learning” some of the tasks he would have carried out prior to his awakening, so many of the puzzles will use evolving core mechanics that are focused around controlling the station environment and tapping into information that is available to you. SAM is regaining his control over the station and uses these abilities to solve problems.

On the flip-side, we also want you to feel that you are working beyond your original scope and use your new “intelligence” to problem solve new, unique puzzles.  These might involve taking control over systems that were really only designed for the crew or react quickly to situations you have never encountered before.  Here the player has to solve a puzzle they are looking at for the first time, and sometimes only get one shot at it!

"We’re not going for all-out terror with Observation, but more a thriller with some uneasy atmosphere. We want you to be glued to your seat, not hiding behind it. That said, there is some pretty heavy stuff in there. We’re not going to jump-scare you to death, but you won’t necessarily feel particularly comfortable either!"

The game obviously has very serious 2001: A Space Odyssey vibes- so does it take after that purely in terms of premise and setting, or can we expect to see some of its more abstract, metaphysical concepts in Observation as well? Or is this purely a sci-fi story?

Jon McKellan: I don’t want to give anything away of course, but our story takes some twists and turns that I don’t think people will be expecting. Obviously 2001 (and a few other AI-driven stories) have had an influence, but there is a much grander story here than simply being SAM. It’s about his relationship with the crew, why it’s happened, and most importantly, what happens next…

Have any other books, movies, or games inspired you during the development of Observation?

Jon McKellan: Too many to mention really! Films like Europa Report and some Paranormal Activity-esque found-footage is something I refer to often purely for point of view reference. Europa Report especially was filmed from the angles of CCTV footage and crew body cameras, and that was a perfect reference on how to still clearly tell stories and get emotion across from the cast whilst having these disembodied angles on the world. I read all the 2001 book series when writing, but I definitely feel like our story goes in a very different direction. Becoming self-aware is just the beginning for SAM.

Omar Khan (Audio Lead): There is loads of reference material that inspires various parts of the game. Real footage and screen shots from the International Space Station (ISS) is used extensively throughout the Art department to create a realistic and grounded environment as well as making sure all the Zero Gravity character animations are accurate.

To get the creative juices flowing it’s great to immerse yourself in as much material as you can, as much for inspiration as anything else. Gravity is a great example for the blend of realism and hyperrealism in audio, for knowing when to stick to the rules and when to break them.

From what we’ve seen of the game so far, there definitely seems to be horror undertones as well. Are you going to be leaning much into that?

Jon McKellan: It’s not actually as horror-focused as people may think. We’re not going for all-out terror with Observation, but more a thriller with some uneasy atmosphere. We want you to be glued to your seat, not hiding behind it. That said, there is some pretty heavy stuff in there. We’re not going to jump-scare you to death, but you won’t necessarily feel particularly comfortable either!

IGN’s cover feature on Observation mentions that this has been a longtime passion project at No Code. Can you talk to us about the journey of this project, from conceptualization, up to now? How long have you wanted to develop this?

Jon McKellan: I basically started No Code to make this game. It was an idea I had developed when I was between jobs for a short time, and then when it came to setting up the studio, it was the game I wanted to make most. Other things came first, but we started prototyping ideas and pitching very quick out of the gate, whilst doing some projects.

We built a 15 minute demo, which is not a million miles away from what has ended up being the intro to the game, and pitched it to various publishers. We got strong interest right away, but it took a long time to get things running. Whilst we waited on the contracts getting signed, we built Stories Untold to “pass the time”.

Omar Khan: Since the inception of No Code, we have basically been building to the point of making Observation. With each game, the scope and team size has increased, and we are continually pushing the boundaries of what a small independent studio is capable of. Each project has been an amazing learning experience and stepping stone that has ultimately afforded us the possibility of making this game. Working with Devolver on Stories Untold has been key to getting a project of this scale off the ground and the fantastic group of developers we now work with has made it all possible.

"We want the player to feel like that they can “break their programming” to a certain extent, and use their new found sense of inquiry and free thinking. There is a variety of things to be learned and discovered, the more inquisitive you are the more you will find."

One bit of information about the game that seems particularly interesting is that it will have no Game Over states. Can you talk to us a bit about that?

Graeme McKellan: Yeah, there is no game over state.  That was a very early design choice, we had a story that we wanted to tell but felt that having hard fail states would ruin some of the immersion and player agency we were really keen to keep strong. Instead we have situations where you have to live with your actions and decisions, success or failure.

Will there be any optional content in the game, or is it a strictly guided experience?

Graeme McKellan: Like I’ve mentioned, we do have a story that we want to tell, but there is room for affecting the delivery of that narrative through your actions and decisions.

Also, we want the player to feel like that they can “break their programming” to a certain extent, and use their new found sense of inquiry and free thinking. There is a variety of things to be learned and discovered, the more inquisitive you are the more you will find.

Jon McKellan: There are parts of the game where things are very linear, and other parts where we loosen the reigns a bit and let you do things in your own time, as well as head off the beaten path and go exploring.

Do you have any plans for bringing Observation to the Xbox One or Nintendo Switch?

Jon McKellan: We’ve not looked beyond PS4 and PC for now. We want to get those builds in the best state we can and released before we even entertain anything else further down the line.

Furthermore, is there a specific reason behind the PS4’s console exclusivity and why the game is not on those platforms?

Jon McKellan: Sony took an early interest in this game and has worked closely with Devolver for a number of years and have a longstanding relationship. They’ve been great to work with, and along with Devolver have given us the support we needed to get things moving.

How will the PS4 Pro version turn out in terms of resolution and frame rate?

Jon McKellan: We’re still looking at what we can do with Pro, but there will definitely be an improvement in many ways. I don’t want to confirm anything yet, but we’re seeing some great results.

"We’re pushing it as much as we can to deliver a ‘AAA’ quality visual experience, and as a small team, that’s quite hard. I’m really happy with where it is at just now though, and will only get better as we optimize and finish the game."

How is the game running on the original PS4, frame rate and resolution wise?

Jon McKellan: It’s looking good! We’re pushing it as much as we can to deliver a ‘AAA’ quality visual experience, and as a small team, that’s quite hard. I’m really happy with where it is at just now though, and will only get better as we optimize and finish the game. This is our first console game (as No Code) so there is a lot of quick-learning happening here, but we’re working quite closely with Unity too and that’s been really helpful.