A world opens in silence, and it will explain nothing to you.

The gut verdict is harsh: Obduction only edges out about one game in five when the community picks with no criterion at all. The detail backs that up. Fun sits at the bottom, ahead of barely 6% of games, and controller feel lands just as low, on very few votes so hold that one loosely. The art style does not land either, and attachment stays low. One line lifts its head, and it is the telling one: rediscovery, ahead of two thirds of the field. Translation: this is not a game people love playing, it is a game people wish they could meet again fresh. Its whole soul lives in the moment before the puzzle cracks.

Set against the big names of modern adventure, the heir to Myst pays for its slowness, its refusal to guide you and its contemplative pace, which is exactly what its fans asked for.

So, who is it for? For you if you like sketching diagrams in a notebook, circling for two hours and celebrating a single door that finally opens. Much less so if you want pace, controller thrills or a game that holds your hand.