70%PC

A neat Papers Please game, but the Symes guy who is supposed to put the game into context is overbearing and very annoying, torn between if this is by design to make the player feel oppressed like the subjects of the game, or heavy handed writing. I think they could have had Symes ease off on the "Hm Interesting" on seemingly every piece of information we gather. It feels like we are being told what to think instead of sitting back and going "hmm, so this and that and then this".

70%PC

Good story told through innovative gameplay. Not exactly "fun" but it was very interesting to be immersed in a story while not exactly being a part of it

10%PC

Krótka i nudna gierka z powolnym rozwojem historii – niestety z góry ustawionej przez twórców. Bardziej przypomina grę typu point-and-click – klikamy co w materiale dowodowym jest już podświetlone...

100%PC

Ever wondered what it would feel like to be Big Brother’s favorite intern? Orwell hands you the surveillance keys to a digital dystopia and asks: how far is too far when safety is on the line? Presented through simulated internet searches, social media sleuthing, and a stripped-down but powerful interface, this game is one of the most immersive narrative experiences I’ve played!

The choices are yours: what do you report? What gets ignored? You might think you're just dragging datachunks into files, but your decisions have real consequences, shaping a gripping narrative with multiple endings and gray-area morality at every turn. It’s as if Papers Please had a love child with 1984 and that baby learned to code.

There is a catch though : this isn't really a “puzzle” game despite the label (it’s more like an interactive spy-thriller/visual novel hybrid with branching paths and big philosophical questions). That said, I devoured it across three playthroughs to 100% the game and would gladly do more. Whether you’re a dystopia enthusiast or just looking for a smart, haunting slow burn, Orwell belongs on your must-play list, especially when it goes on sale (but even at full price, it’s a steal with around 4 hours of game play per playthrough).

P.-S. Stop reading about this masterpiece and go play it yourself. You'll thank me later for stopping you from reading too much. Going in blind is the best way to enjoy it!

70%PC

I liked it!

65%PC

great concept that I liked.

75%PC

A dystopian game about online presence and privacy that touches some themes very relevant today.

70%PC

Honestly, might not be bad... I'll give it a try someday.

75%PC

Wow, such a great game and such a different genre too. Essentially an interactive computer interface. I did not really expected to engage with it as much as I did because of how the narrative is about an impartial investigator destroying people's privacy and reading everything about their lives.

But Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You (2016) managed to surprise me, not only was it well written and beautifully playing with Orwellian themes, it also was an engaging gameplay experience. I completed the game in about 8h 25m so it is a short game but the control that I felt I had in my hands to make the story go where I wanted by deciding what piece of information I wanted to submit felt just the right amount of narrative tightness and player freedom.

I can already tell it has so many little variations in it's ending that you could come and play it again after you have moved on and get something completed differently. Also, it manages to talk about privacy and information and data that is perhaps even more relevant than it was back in 2016.

Very similar to Hypnospace Outlaw another game where you are an "online enforcer" but with of course very different themes, this one is a lot serious than Hypnospace Outlaw.

I do have some complaints about the game, the major being that the computer interface and it's very aspects didn't feel as interactive and engaging as to compliment an increasingly complex story. They sort of remain the same static mechanics (you click something, it does the same thing that has happened before regardless of it's thematic value) that they were introduced as. This removes a sense of compelling intrigue in the gameplay itself and really starts to wear down on you if you try to finish it in one sitting.
Overall, a recommended 7.5/10

Do give this game a try if you're looking at your library for something different and as it requires a lot of reading, be a little patient with it in the beginning. This was given free on epic games before so I assume most gamers already have it

70%PC

Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You

--- [Player Base] ---
☑ Casual players
☐ Hardcore players

--- [Is it for mature players?] ---
☐ Everyone
☑ Mature

--- [Story] ---
☐ Doesn't have it
☐ Bad
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Fantastic

--- [Graphics] ---
☐ Really bad
☐ Bad
☑ OK
☐ Good
☐ Beautiful
☐ Masterpiece

--- [Difficulty] ---
☐ Easy Peasy
☑ Easy to learn but hard to master
☐ Medium
☐ Hard
☐ Dark Souls

--- [Timelength] ---
☐ Really short ( 0 - 2 hours)
☐ Short ( 2 - 8 hours)
☐ Average ( 8 - 12 hours)
☑ Long ( 12+ hours)
☐ Endless

--- [PC specs] ---
☐ Toaster
☑ Average
☐ Solid Medium
☐ High end
☐ Unoptimized

--- ---
☑ Full price
☐ Wait for sale
☐ Don't do it
☐ Free

--- [Bugs] ---
☐ Game itself is a bug
☐ Lot of bugs
☐ Few Bugs
☑ Nothing

Gameplay
Orwell allows investigations into the private communications of people of interest, but doesn't allow any one person full access. Instead, Orwell's operation is run by two groups; Investigators, persons outside of the Nation working for the government who search through the communication of target persons and upload items of interest (represented as "datachunks"), and Advisors, people inside of the Nation who use the received datachunks to determine the course of action and to recommend actions to the authorities.

Review
This game really grabs your attention from the get go, there's plenty of paths for you to take throughout the game. Most lead to the same solution but there are at least 4 endings to go through, I can imagine the game gets pretty repetitive once you've completed the game once or twice though.

They may be watching as we speak 7.5/10

50%PC

Morality 9 - 5 desk job simulator. I think it is paced well and does not overplay its hand, letting you get into the story. Unfortunately, I simply do not want to play something so similar to actual work (looking at you Eurotruck Simulator).

90%PC

A short, but incredibly fun and rewarding game about solving a giant web of mysteries. Many interesting characters, captivating world building, and unexpected plot twists. Very glad I stumbled upon this gem

80%PC

Thats pretty good so far

100%PC

Me gusta

80%PC

Um excelente jogo que aproveita muito bem alguns conceitos de George Orwell!

85%PC

I am big brother.

75%PC

Regt zum Andenken an. Wer Spiele wie "Her Story" mag wird das hier auch cool finden.

70%PC

Cool narrative and gameplay but the agent interrupting you every time you get a new piece of information is annoying

90%PC

Great detective game with a nice twist since we're (arguably) the "villain" now.

Unfolding the story and seeking out every possible scrap of data really makes you feel like you're actively hunting down anyone who dares commit wrongthink, which helps sell the idea of the game.

Even if you haven't played a detective game before (like me), I do recommend checking this one out. You might even spot some references to Orwell's works.

80%PC

Intriguing concept, immersive and thought provoking. Something I think should be played to better visualise the problem of invigilation.

90%PC

he game has a pretty good story, and it if you like ethical dilemmas, you will probably like it.

Pros:
+ game style/genre helps to give a feeling of "distancing"; for me that increased the doubt (and dilemma) when making decisions
+ this is one of those games that try to "feel like work", and in this case it is part of the immersion
+ interesting plot twists
++ interesting ethical points, makes you wonder about some stuff in real life

Cons:
- sometimes it can be a bit hard to grasp what is happening in the story
- [minor spoiler] ================================IFeltTheEndingCameVeryAbruptlyWhichLeftMeABitUnsatisfied============

General tip: if you play it, I recommend going through chapters entirely. I felt I forgot important details when I split chapter in different gaming sessions.

80%Linux

Orwell is only getting more relevant in the years since it’s release given it’s subject matter of government surveillance. It is kind of a visual novel puzzle game where you navigate different platforms finding bits of info that you can tag to the database which in turn can find you more info. As you go on you start to unravel a story of who was behind the bombings. The bits of info are highlighted so you can’t miss them and you also don’t always have to tag them. This is because some info is out of context. For instance someone saying that they are being tortured by cupcakes is obviously not actual torture but you can still tag the person involved as a torturer. Having the discretion is nice but there are other times where you have to tag certain data to progress that I don’t feel was data that must have been tagged or as relevant as the game made it. I also don’t like how you can’t untag data. I also felt that at the end of the game there was supposed to be multiple ways to handle the outcome but I could only see one or possibly two. I don’t know why the other ways weren’t available to me as I can’t think of a story reason that I shouldn’t have been able to pull off what i wanted. The story was good but the twists near the end were simply fantastic. The UI for the game was easy to get used to and had a good design. I also liked how new parts of the software were revealed as they became needed. The game has no voice acting but that wasn’t an issue wand made sense given the fact that outside of recorded calls this was all just you at a computer. The puzzle aspect was that you have to scour the various blogs; calls; emails; etc to find info you can use to further the game as well as provide additional depth details and context.

I played Orwell on Linux. It froze on me once but other than that I encountered no issues and noticed no spelling errors. There are no graphics options and the game has a 60 FPS cap. You can save on exit but there is just one save slot so you can’t undo choices or have multiple save files. Performance was good with no noticeable lag. Alt-Tab Didn’t work.

Graphics Engine: Unity
Graphics API: OpenGL
Game Version Played: 1.4.7479.33238
Disk Space Used: 639 MB

CPU Usage: 16-43 %
RAM Usage: 3.5-4.6 GB

I enjoyed Orwell both for the way the game play was used as well as for the story and characters. I wish the ending had have been more open but as it was it’s still a great game. I finished it in four hours and 13 minutes and can say it is easily worth it’s current price tag of $11.49 CAD.

My Score: 8/10

My System:

Intel i7-6700 | 16GB DDR4-3000 CL15 | Intel HD 530 | Mesa 21.2.6 | Trisquel 10.0.1 | Mate 1.24.0 | Kernel 5.18.4-gnu

60%PC

"Click and drag" is boring, but the story and the idea are cool. I hope such a system does not exist and it will not appear.

80%PC

Really cool and unique game. Very political.

40%PC

Уникальный геймплей, но слишком искусственная и ограниченная игровая область, а сюжет линейный и простенький. Игра - шанс почувствовать себя падонком, следящим за людьми во благо власти.

80%PC

Fun mystery game that is eerily closed to what can be accomplished by current day social engineering. The art design tends to be pretty hit or miss, but it is not enough to sour the overall experience.

90%PC

Nice playing as the British government

50%PC

I'm only scoring it for the idea, but it was executed rather poorly. The writing wasn't interesting and the dialogue was grating. It also held your hand far too much to the point where you could play without reading 99% of it and just clicking what they tell you to.

80%PC

[URL=https://abbysblog.net/blog/orwell]https://abbysblog.net/blog/orwell[/URL]

60%PC

6.5/10

80%Mobile

A fun mobile game about being a government investigator keeping tabs on people through their activity online. I do wish that the screen wouldn't keep turning as I lay in bed or whatever. I have my phone set to where it shouldn't do that without my input but I guess the game overrides that for some reason?

80%PC

internet is scary for sure

80%PC

A thought-provoking point-and-click game

80%PC

Played it with my sister. Way longer than expected.
Nice twists, characters and gameplay (with few flaws).
Really liked it!

80%PC

Made me question my existence.

50%PC

Another of a growing "interactive storytelling" experiences where the player choices affect the outcome, therefore reflecting in some ways on the players' views and beliefs. In "Orwell" you are an investigator in charge of a digital system that allows you to peek into people's life to uncover illegal activity.

The mechanics of the game are simple. When a person becomes a suspect – a few publicly available resources about them are identified. As the investigator - you can read through those, and upload relevant section to Orwell, where another human legal entity decides if the information warrants further access to new and more personal resources such as email or phone records. If you find enough incriminating information, the same legal entity can decide to send the police in and detain the suspect. As the game progress, you discover new individuals that are a part of the plot and have to bring the whole house crashing down on them.

The game attempts to ask questions about our right to freedom and privacy and the role of fair and accurate evidence. Many of the resources available to the investigator would not be considered reliable: pieces of questionable journalism, a conversation between people who are not always 100% honest and so on – but uploading them into Orwell makes them a fact. This is also where the player can affect the outcome for specific individuals: when two contradicting pieces of information exist, deciding which one to upload has consequences.

Yet, the game simply did not work for me. Its entire action is reading through large pieces of text and finding information to upload to Orwell, for a rather weak story to progress a bit further. This was a daunting and not very interesting task. I can think of a large number of books I rather read instead.

I heard the second instalment of Orwell is better but based on this experience, I don't think I’m picking the next game up at all.

80%PC

Very engaging story with lots to discover and decent consequences for your choices.

80%PC

Neat idea, with a good narrative to keep you going. It is a game that you will remember after you play it.

80%PC

Fantastic game that takes a look at the darker side of governments spying on their civilians. Not overly difficult but a couple of moments where it wasn't obvious what to do next. Highly recommend playing this game and I'll definitely be playing the sequel!

60%PC

It seems there is a great message behind this "game", but its not a game really, its just virtual web browser, chat simulator. The game is on topic, but its not "gamey" at all. Its devoid of any real gameplay. Basically, your read web articles, select text from web pages, soc networks or people chat rooms, and just clicks on already highlighted text elements with rudimentary choice whether to take info into consideration or not.

As I said, there is a message to be delivered and fraction of that NSA spying atmosphere, and very little real simulation but that's it. Game devs took the bare elements of the idea, simplified them to the maximum, and in the end you are ended just reading web articles and peoples soc net posts and private chats, based on which you decide whether to arrest them or not! Too much simplified, but visually slick representation of some kind of spying tool of which you are an operator.

90%PC

This game gave more thrill than A LOT of action games I've played in recent times. It's done wonderfully and regards the problem that persists in today's society. Very educational, thoughtfully done and very fun to play. I've enjoyed this game very much.

Absolutely recommended. I'm looking forward to the second part!

80%PC

Well that was good, although not particularly difficult. At no point was I thinking "omg I'm helping a terrible government agency", mind you, and I cheerfully had Thought arrested at the end.

70%PC

A pleasant simulation and investigation game focused on crushing undesirables and invading privacy. Gameplay consisted of investigating and discerning which information is important and how all the pieces fit together. The story is a bit pulpy, especially towards the end, but it drew me in through the mystery. It feels like you're an evil, government cyber-detective.

The game isn't perfect on the presentation front. It lacks sound effects and voice-overs could add a bit of character to otherwise sterile soundscape. Still, Orwell accomplishes a lot with text. I liked the sequel a bit more since it was more thematically focused and better presented but this was still a good experience, I recommend giving it a go.

60%Linux

Game is without any voice acting. You have to read a lot it's a little annoying.
It's just reading and clicking in the sentence in articles/messages etc.

It has some story, but it's not very good story imho.

Runs native on linux.
Has achievements and different paths (at least few, but independence lul).
Short.
65%

90%PC

Would have been a perfect score with dialogue skipping for replays

100%PC

This was fun. Wanna replay it in the near future, mostly because of Steam achievements :D

70%PC

Interesting idea, but not that interesting gameplay-wise.

60%PC

Interesting game with heart, but pretty boring and transparent in how it works. Too linear for what it's about. Lots of typos and writing is generally not great. Non-American dev team though, so giving some credit.

90%PC

Orwell is more like an interactive novel than an ordinary video game – the game is wholly centered around reading text for about four and a half hours, and while it has more meaningful interaction than most visual novels, the actual gameplay itself is very simple and not very action-oriented. It is a very cerebral experience, and if reading lots of text isn’t your cup of tea, this is not the game for you. If it is, though, this game is very engrossing, and does a surprisingly even-handed job at showing why people might actually like surveillance states, how people might be naive about them, and how information can be dangerous and misleading.