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PUZZLE

Return of the Obra Dinn

2018 · Lucas Pope

Reconstruct a ship's fate by connecting frozen scenes, identities and evidence through careful deduction.

PLATFORMS

macOSPCNintendo SwitchPS4Xbox One

GAMEBOX SCORE

94

Provisional GAMEBOX editorial ratings. These are not verified facts or aggregate review scores.

/ 100

Retro Score88
Hidden Gem85
Revival Potential75

GAME DNA

experience
Discovery-led · Experimental · Strategic planning
genre
Puzzle
mood
Thoughtful · Mysterious
gameplay
Puzzle · Exploration
difficulty
Medium
era
2010s
pacing
Slow
perspective
First-person
structure
Interconnected

DISCOVER BY GAME DNA

Game DNA is GAMEBOX editorial classification; era comes from the sourced release year. Ratings are separate editorial judgements.

ThoughtfulMysteriousPuzzleExploration

ABOUT THE GAME

Reconstruct a ship's fate by connecting frozen scenes, identities and evidence through careful deduction.

Reconstruct a ship's fate by connecting frozen scenes, identities and evidence through careful deduction.

WHERE CAN I PLAY IT?

Availability information will be added to the GAMEBOX database.

We only list legal and officially available platforms and services.

RETRO HISTORY

First listed release: 2018. Explore the cited source for the game's release and development history.

ORIGINAL RELEASE
2018
Developer
Lucas Pope
Publisher
3909 LLC.

DISCOVER MORE

SIMILAR GAMES

Explore what makes games feel like Return of the Obra Dinn

GAMEBOX algorithmic assessments of editorial Game DNA. Confidence describes overlap strength, not a probability of enjoyment.

2007

Portal

72% SIMILAR

STRONG MATCH

Experimental · Discovery-led · Mysterious · Thoughtful · Puzzle

WHY IT'S SIMILAR

Both games share Experimental experiences (engaging with unconventional forms of play or narrative presentation) and Discovery-led experiences (progressing through curiosity and finding new knowledge or spaces); Mysterious / Thoughtful mood; Puzzle genre.

Similarity breakdown
  • experience: Discovery-led · Experimental64% distinctive overlap · 54.5 / 85.6 points
  • mood: Mysterious · Thoughtful100% distinctive overlap · 52.4 / 52.4 points
  • genre: Puzzle100% distinctive overlap · 40.1 / 40.1 points
  • gameplay: Exploration · Puzzle100% distinctive overlap · 19.8 / 19.8 points
  • structure: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 23.0 points
  • pacing: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 11.1 points
  • perspective: First-person100% distinctive overlap · 8.0 / 8.0 points
  • difficulty: Medium100% distinctive overlap · 2.7 / 2.7 points
  • era: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 4.2 points

2011

Portal 2

61% SIMILAR

GOOD MATCH

Mysterious · Thoughtful · Puzzle · Discovery-led

WHY IT'S SIMILAR

Both games share Mysterious / Thoughtful mood; Puzzle genre; Discovery-led experiences (progressing through curiosity and finding new knowledge or spaces).

Similarity breakdown
  • experience: Discovery-led23% distinctive overlap · 17.8 / 75.8 points
  • mood: Mysterious · Thoughtful100% distinctive overlap · 52.4 / 52.4 points
  • genre: Puzzle100% distinctive overlap · 40.1 / 40.1 points
  • gameplay: Exploration · Puzzle100% distinctive overlap · 19.8 / 19.8 points
  • structure: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 23.0 points
  • pacing: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 11.1 points
  • perspective: First-person100% distinctive overlap · 8.0 / 8.0 points
  • difficulty: Medium100% distinctive overlap · 2.7 / 2.7 points
  • era: 2010s100% distinctive overlap · 4.8 / 4.8 points

2019

Outer Wilds

37% SIMILAR

PARTIAL MATCH

Experimental · Discovery-led · Mysterious

WHY IT'S SIMILAR

Both games share Experimental experiences (engaging with unconventional forms of play or narrative presentation) and Discovery-led experiences (progressing through curiosity and finding new knowledge or spaces); Mysterious mood.

Similarity breakdown
  • experience: Discovery-led · Experimental46% distinctive overlap · 40.7 / 88.3 points
  • mood: Mysterious30% distinctive overlap · 19.2 / 62.9 points
  • genre: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 38.0 points
  • gameplay: Exploration · Puzzle53% distinctive overlap · 11.8 / 22.3 points
  • structure: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 25.7 points
  • pacing: Slow100% distinctive overlap · 10.1 / 10.1 points
  • perspective: First-person100% distinctive overlap · 8.0 / 8.0 points
  • difficulty: Medium100% distinctive overlap · 2.7 / 2.7 points
  • era: 2010s100% distinctive overlap · 4.8 / 4.8 points

2002

Metroid Prime

33% SIMILAR

LIMITED MATCH

Mysterious · Discovery-led

WHY IT'S SIMILAR

Both games share Mysterious mood; Discovery-led experiences (progressing through curiosity and finding new knowledge or spaces).

Similarity breakdown
  • experience: Discovery-led22% distinctive overlap · 17.8 / 80.0 points
  • mood: Mysterious31% distinctive overlap · 19.3 / 61.9 points
  • genre: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 36.7 points
  • gameplay: Exploration13% distinctive overlap · 3.0 / 22.1 points
  • structure: Interconnected100% distinctive overlap · 25.7 / 25.7 points
  • pacing: Slow100% distinctive overlap · 10.1 / 10.1 points
  • perspective: First-person100% distinctive overlap · 8.0 / 8.0 points
  • difficulty: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 3.6 points
  • era: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 4.2 points

2002

Arx Fatalis

33% SIMILAR

LIMITED MATCH

Mysterious · Discovery-led

WHY IT'S SIMILAR

Both games share Mysterious mood; Discovery-led experiences (progressing through curiosity and finding new knowledge or spaces).

Similarity breakdown
  • experience: Discovery-led15% distinctive overlap · 12.3 / 82.7 points
  • mood: Mysterious36% distinctive overlap · 19.9 / 55.9 points
  • genre: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 33.7 points
  • gameplay: Exploration13% distinctive overlap · 2.9 / 23.3 points
  • structure: Interconnected100% distinctive overlap · 25.7 / 25.7 points
  • pacing: Slow100% distinctive overlap · 10.1 / 10.1 points
  • perspective: First-person100% distinctive overlap · 8.0 / 8.0 points
  • difficulty: Medium100% distinctive overlap · 2.7 / 2.7 points
  • era: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 4.2 points

1998

Shadow Tower

30% SIMILAR

LIMITED MATCH

Strategic planning · Discovery-led

WHY IT'S SIMILAR

Both games share Strategic planning experiences (weighing resources and planning consequential decisions) and Discovery-led experiences (progressing through curiosity and finding new knowledge or spaces).

Similarity breakdown
  • experience: Discovery-led · Strategic planning43% distinctive overlap · 34.9 / 81.6 points
  • mood: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 68.8 points
  • genre: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 41.9 points
  • gameplay: Exploration8% distinctive overlap · 2.2 / 27.4 points
  • structure: Interconnected100% distinctive overlap · 25.7 / 25.7 points
  • pacing: Slow100% distinctive overlap · 10.1 / 10.1 points
  • perspective: First-person100% distinctive overlap · 8.0 / 8.0 points
  • difficulty: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 5.9 points
  • era: No shared values0% distinctive overlap · 0.0 / 4.6 points