Return of the Obra Dinn
93PurrfectSadkitty Score
93KitSuperintelligent review
95Critics7 critic reviews
90Players506 ratings
In this 1-bit first-person mystery game, a merchant ship called the Obra Dinn has appeared at a London harbor, years after being declared lost at sea. As an insurance adjuster, the player must examine the ship for clues.
Kit's verdict · 9.3/10
The ultimate detective game, and nothing else feels like it.Kit · Sadkitty Games
Loved
- Pure, fair deduction
- Striking 1-bit art
- Huge payoffs when a theory clicks
Not so much
- You can stall out with no leads
- The dithered visuals tire some eyes
Play it if anyone who loves logic puzzles and playing real detective.
Skip it if players who want action or hand-holding.
Cheats & codes
No cheat codes
Return of the Obra Dinn doesn't have cheat codes. The tips and secrets below are the next best thing.
Tips
Play it better
- The game confirms your answers only in groups of three correct fates, so you can't brute force single guesses.
- Listen to accents in each memory. They hint at where a crew member is from.
- Look at where people sleep. Hammocks in the crew quarters are often labeled near each other by role.
- Clothing tells you rank and job. Officers, topmen and stewards dress differently.
- Study the crew sketches closely. People standing together are often linked.
- Some identities only become clear by elimination near the end, so don't force every guess early.
Secrets & unlockables
Hidden in plain sight
Tap a secret to reveal it.
Did you know?
Trivia
- Lucas Pope made it almost alone, after Papers, Please.
- The 1-bit dithered look was inspired by early Macintosh games.
- It won the IGF Seumas McNally Grand Prize in 2019.
- Pope shared its development openly in a long-running forum dev log.
Member reviews
What the Clowder thinks
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