When comparing Observer vs Gears of War 4, the Slant community recommends Gears of War 4 for most people. In the question“What are the best sci-fi PC games?” Gears of War 4 is ranked 26th while Observer is ranked 34th. The most important reason people chose Gears of War 4 is:
Nowadays, some titles tend to exclude local multiplayer, focusing primarily on online play but Gears of War 4 is an exception. You can play both the campaign and all multiplayer modes with your friends via splitscreen.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Terrifying, mind-bending story presentation
Observer's detective story sounds simple, with you tracking down protagonist Daniel Lazarski's missing son, but the way the game presents this narrative is what counts. As you follow leads on his son's whereabouts, you'll analyze crime scenes mostly by searching through horrifying, psychedelic memories from the neural implants of dying or dead victims. These are unstable displays of augmented reality, with broken visuals filled with psychedelic colors, eerie hallucinations, and rattling jump scares. They manage to distort your own consciousness in the game, making you question the reality around you. Through these terrifying experiences, the game poses philosophical questions on the true nature of reality, such as what point technology can take over and shape what we believe is real.
Pro Hacking into peoples' memories is an engaging way to investigate crimes
While solving cases, you can hack into a subject's memories through their augmentations, creating a new reality as you physically explore their thoughts. You'll then proceed through the scenes of their memories, listening to conversations that reveal more about the story and the world. The psychedelic visuals as you progress through these memories are unique and mind-bending, making these sequences even more exciting. These sections of Observer go above and beyond the other, more standard investigation mechanics in the game, making each crime mystery unique and exciting.
Pro In-depth environmental storytelling
As you search around apartment buildings and office spaces with augmented vision, you'll come across emails, video sequences, and notes that flesh out the story. You can take your time to find out about now-extinct religions from the past, learn about the lives of the many people who died from the digital plague, and interact with each piece of evidence lying around at crime scenes. Scanning items, computers and blood stains to solve these crimes can lead you down a rabbit hole of discovering more about the world through environmental storytelling.
Pro Intriguing cyberpunk world
The deserted, rain-slicked streets of the gritty city at night, filled with unsettling displays of government advertisements fits right in with the themes and media that inspired Observer's cyberpunk world. A dystopian future where augmented humans were killed off by a mysterious disease is a fascinating, if familiar concept for cyberpunk enthusiasts. It's interesting to explore this technologically-advanced world where the government has collapsed and a mega-corporation has taken over, making you wonder how you might survive in this type of setting.
Pro Local splitscreen multiplayer
Nowadays, some titles tend to exclude local multiplayer, focusing primarily on online play but Gears of War 4 is an exception. You can play both the campaign and all multiplayer modes with your friends via splitscreen.
Pro Really fun horde mode
Horde mode is a multiplayer co-op mode where up to 5 players try to survive against waves of enemies. It features regular combat and allows you to build fortifications, which you can do by collecting resources from killed enemies and using the fabricator. This allows you to build blockades, sentries, and various other defenses, giving it a very tower defense-esque feel, which is also a lot of fun.
You can also choose between 5 classes with each class being better at something different. For example, the Engineer can build and repair defenses much faster than others and the Heavy uses stronger weapons that allow him to kill large enemies much faster. As a result, teamwork is very important, so when your squad is co-operating like a well-oiled machine, it just feels incredibly satisfying.
Pro Exciting gameplay
In Gears of War you and a squad of several other soldiers fight against the enemies of humanity, using various weapons such as rifles, a shotgun, and even a weapon that fires saw blades. It's very fast paced and a lot of fun, rewarding not only effective use of cover and accurate shooting, but also quick decision making on when to charge your enemy and take them out with your knife or your chainsaw bayonet. This leads to a lot of very intense, sometimes brutal, and always satisfying battles, making Gears of War 4 a really enjoyable ride.
Pro Excellent visuals
Gears of War 4 has some really outstanding visuals with high quality textures, great lighting, and excellent shadow mapping. This makes all of the armored human characters, monstrous lizard-like enemies, and the various lush landscapes filled with ruins look especially good. All of this is turned up a notch with the help of excellent weather effects, such as rain, lighting, and gusts of heavy wind that carry massive objects over your head, giving Gears of War 4 a very cinematic feel.
Cons
Con Some frustrating, out-of-place chase sequences
Some segments of Observer force you to stealthily avoid a menacing enemy lumbering through a dark workspace or a dilapidated set of hallways, but they don't quite fit with the game's overall freedom of discovery and exploration. If you're discovered, it's game over. These parts ruin the pace and flow that you're used to from the gameplay.
Con Gameplay is limited to mostly walking around
As a "walking simulator," Observer is appealing to players who enjoy taking their time to explore and take in the environment, but it may not have enough gameplay for those looking for a more involved experience. Hacking into minds, analyzing crime scenes and moving from place to place makes up the bulk of the game.
Con Poorly done story
The story has some cool moments, but it mostly focuses on pointless drama and issues that end up feeling like filler because they have no real impact on the story or character building. This coupled with a few plot holes will make you want to press the skip button and just get back into the action.