In the game, players take on the role of SAM (“Systems Administration & Maintenance”), an artificial intelligence system installed on the Low Orbit Space Station “Observation”, just a few years from now, in 2026. On beginning this adventure, a mysterious event has caused the station to lose power and forced SAM to reboot.

Observation takes players on a suspenseful journey to the outer reaches of space to uncover what exactly happened to astronaut Dr. Emma Fisher and the crew of the space station Observation. The captivating narrative unfolds through the lens of the station’s artificial intelligence S.A.M. Players assume the role of S.A.M. by operating the station’s control systems, cameras, and tools to assist Emma in discovering what is happening to the station and the vanished crew. 

With most of his systems offline, SAM must work with the only crew member he can find, Dr Emma Fisher, and attempt to restore his systems and discover the fate of the station and its crew.

The game is played visually from the perspective of SAM’s networked CCTV-style cameras around the station, as well as the various systems and connections he has, to fulfil his role as the station AI. Players use these systems to solve puzzles, navigate environments, uncover the story and assist Emma in finding out the true nature of the mission, the station, and himself. It’s a unique setup and allows the player to really put themselves in the shoes of an assistant AI.

One of the key pillars of the game was the player’s presence in the story. SAM, following this initial black out, has become self-aware. You aren’t sure how or why, but the very fact that a human player is now controlling SAM’s actions has an impact. Curiosity, exploration, even making mistakes – these are traits that AI should not exhibit, but the player’s actions add that human element; they are SAM’s self-awareness.

The setting and presentation, based on contemporary space technology and ‘science-fact’, gives us opportunity to showcase our attention to detail, building a lived-in world for the crew, and immersive and believable technology for players to interact with, complete with the fuzziness of stripped back and almost industrial user interfaces.

Observation debuts on PS4 starting May 21, 2019, however the previously announced PC version seems to have been removed from Steam/the official website.