TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 1,957
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
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Sam, the grizzled detective protagonist of Obsidian Moon, spends most of his time moving little bits of paper around on his desk and worrying about whether he's got enough money to afford whiskey and beans. As a former magazine editor, I find it all very relatable.
The stakes are a bit more serious in his case, however—if he misses a deadline, it could foul up a murder case or, possibly, unleash cosmic horrors.
Loading up Obsidian Moon's demo, I'm impressed how quickly it draws me into its world. The intro sets the scene with atmospheric music and a few tense conversations about Sam's tenuous position on the force, and then I'm right into an authentically furnished 1930s office to peruse some case files. It all screams noir, and there's just no setting that puts me in the detective mood faster.
Essentially, I'm piecing together the details of a case by reading through reports and taking actions that can then unlock more documents—things like inspecting a piece of evidence, sending a body for an autopsy, or surveilling a suspect. The catch is, everything I do eats up time, and there's only so much in a day.
When a day ends, I've got to pay for the bare essentials of life—you know, things like gas and water bills, tins of beans, and strong booze—and I only get paid when I a case. So my funds are my ticking clock, and the emphasis is on not just solving each mystery, but doing it quickly and efficiently.
It definitely adds a layer of tension as I piece together the disturbing murder of a man found literally gutted like a fish at the docks. It's a pleasingly free-form system. As I uncover new pieces of evidence, I can analyse them in combination to make further deductions—such as showing a potential murder weapon to a suspect, or taking a note in a foreign language to someone who can translate it.
Sometimes it's almost too freeform—you're free to try pretty much any action with any piece of evidence, but many of them simply won't have any results, which can lead to a lot of frustrating dead ends. The time limit discourages pure trial-and-error, but with so many options in front of you it can feel unavoidable at points. Or maybe I'm just not a very good detective.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
In the end, though, I muddle through to a solution—and the interesting thing at the end of the case is that it's very much up to me when we're done. As long as I have evidence pointing to the correct killer, I can the case. And...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Sam, the grizzled detective protagonist of Obsidian Moon, spends most of his time moving little bits of paper around on his desk and worrying about whether he's got enough money to afford whiskey and beans. As a former magazine editor, I find it all very relatable.
The stakes are a bit more serious in his case, however—if he misses a deadline, it could foul up a murder case or, possibly, unleash cosmic horrors.
Loading up Obsidian Moon's demo, I'm impressed how quickly it draws me into its world. The intro sets the scene with atmospheric music and a few tense conversations about Sam's tenuous position on the force, and then I'm right into an authentically furnished 1930s office to peruse some case files. It all screams noir, and there's just no setting that puts me in the detective mood faster.
Essentially, I'm piecing together the details of a case by reading through reports and taking actions that can then unlock more documents—things like inspecting a piece of evidence, sending a body for an autopsy, or surveilling a suspect. The catch is, everything I do eats up time, and there's only so much in a day.
When a day ends, I've got to pay for the bare essentials of life—you know, things like gas and water bills, tins of beans, and strong booze—and I only get paid when I a case. So my funds are my ticking clock, and the emphasis is on not just solving each mystery, but doing it quickly and efficiently.
It definitely adds a layer of tension as I piece together the disturbing murder of a man found literally gutted like a fish at the docks. It's a pleasingly free-form system. As I uncover new pieces of evidence, I can analyse them in combination to make further deductions—such as showing a potential murder weapon to a suspect, or taking a note in a foreign language to someone who can translate it.
Sometimes it's almost too freeform—you're free to try pretty much any action with any piece of evidence, but many of them simply won't have any results, which can lead to a lot of frustrating dead ends. The time limit discourages pure trial-and-error, but with so many options in front of you it can feel unavoidable at points. Or maybe I'm just not a very good detective.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
In the end, though, I muddle through to a solution—and the interesting thing at the end of the case is that it's very much up to me when we're done. As long as I have evidence pointing to the correct killer, I can the case. And...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?