Return of the Obra Dinn

A mystery set aboard a lost ship. PC | $20 OBRADINN.COM

This is a first-person puzzle game from Lucas Pope, creator of Papers, Please. It’s rendered with a bold art style that recalls the dithered visuals of Macintosh adventure games. But Obra Dinn is no less atmospheric for it. In fact, the sense of place created by its hard lines and limited palette is quite remarkable.

You’ll find bones of the former crew, and using the watch near them will whisk you away to a detailed vignette of the seconds before they died – be it an unfortunate accident, a brutal murder or something weirder.

Return of the Obra Dinn is a stunningly clever thing, and one of the best puzzle games on PC. It not only presents you with a complex mystery to crack, but trusts in you enough to let you do it yourself with almost no markers or guides. Few games have this much confidence in the player, and it’s a satisfying experience, even if I did occasionally feel like I’d hit a dead end. Andy Kelly