Return of the Obra Dinn
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 6 of 45 puzzle games by recommenders
Praised for its original detective puzzles, story and distinctive dithered art style. Common caveat: the visual style causes eye strain, motion sickness or discomfort for some players.
Praised for its original detective puzzles, story and distinctive dithered art style. Common caveat: the visual style causes eye strain, motion sickness or discomfort for some players.
32 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 25
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 25 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Original detective puzzles
“It's truly the perfect detective game. There are so many original ideas brought to life here”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” “An incredible kind of puzzle, oozing with its own weird style.”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” “Original, phenomenal games covering damm near every genre”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “PlayStation 2 Recompilation Project Is Absolutely Incredible” - Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game”
- Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game”
Striking unique art style
“I was really impressed by the art at first, taking joy in exploring that as much as the scenes themselves.”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” “Obra Dinn's in-game dithering is also a cool entry for clever, tailor-made dithering in general”
Comment from 4 Jan 2026 in “Exploring Dithering on Spectra 6-color E-Ink Displays” “how dithering can be pushed to the limits”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Why do we need dithering?” - Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game”
Strong story and characters
“watching most recorded Let's Plays of Return Of The Obra Dinn. The game uses a couple of very "game logic" contrivances to enable the writing to focus on very organic, real world logic.”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Are you stuck in movie logic?” “All of these games tell a story, each of this game does it in its own, magnificent way.”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “PlayStation 2 Recompilation Project Is Absolutely Incredible” “the story and the characters”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” Loved overall, often bought right away
“Incredible game, I am saving it for a few years from now.”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” “I appreciated it so much I instantly bought the game.”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” “One of the best games I've ever played.”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Art style hurts gameplay
“the art style got in the way of the gameplay for me”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” “the visual style ruined a great game”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” Visual style causes motion sickness
“the visual style made me feel physically ill to the point I couldn't continue with the game”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” “the art style gave me motion sickness during and after each session”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” Flicker and eye strain
“flickering not of the dithering pattern but of the edges, which feel”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game” “playing it require me to strain my eyes too much”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game”
Other puzzle games people recommend
The four most recommended other puzzle games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outer Wilds | 65 | 7 | 90% | 9 | — | Approved |
| enclose.horse | 64 | 10 | 86% | 4 | — | Approved |
| The Witness | 60 | 19 | 76% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Braid | 36 | 5 | 88% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Return of the Obra DinnThis page | 25 | 7 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
30 of the 35 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Return of the Obra Dinn is a solid add to that list”
“it's absolutely unplayable for me”
“Incredible game, I am saving it for a few years from now.”
“I could never re-experience this game the same way I experienced it first. It is a shame really, since games like this are not very common.”
“It's truly the perfect detective game. There are so many original ideas brought to life here”
“One of the best games I've ever played.”
“I really liked the unique style.”
“the visual style made me feel physically ill to the point I couldn't continue with the game”
“The final dithering effect appears to be mis-sampled and is no longer 1 bit per pixel”
“the visual style ruined a great game”
“An incredible kind of puzzle, oozing with its own weird style.”
“I appreciated it so much I instantly bought the game.”
“For a game where understanding every detail of the scenes is critical, it felt I was fighting the game engine.”
“just don't enjoy the core loop enough to finish”
“the "aha" moments are so worth it”
“amazing if you enjoy detective style puzzles!”
“the story and the characters”
“wasn't terribly bothered by it, but that may have changed if I had done it on large screen (TV)”
“In the game it's pretty great.”
“I was really impressed by the art at first, taking joy in exploring that as much as the scenes themselves.”
“flickering not of the dithering pattern but of the edges, which feel”
“playing it require me to strain my eyes too much”
“the art style gave me motion sickness during and after each session”
“the art style got in the way of the gameplay for me”
“All of these games tell a story, each of this game does it in its own, magnificent way.”
“Original, phenomenal games covering damm near every genre”
“Obra Dinn's in-game dithering is also a cool entry for clever, tailor-made dithering in general”
“watching most recorded Let's Plays of Return Of The Obra Dinn. The game uses a couple of very "game logic" contrivances to enable the writing to focus on very organic, real world logic.”
“Give me an experience that is thoughtful and enjoyable over one that is intended to frustrate any day”
“how dithering can be pushed to the limits”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.