{"slug": "return-of-the-obra-dinn", "name": "Return of the Obra Dinn", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 6, "warners": 1, "score": 3.354, "rising": -1.64, "first": "2025-11-13", "latest": "2026-04-21", "why": "similar to Return of the Obra Dinn, the whole universe story is weaved perfectly", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 1}, "spark": [2, 0, 0, 0, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "similar to Return of the Obra Dinn, the whole universe story is weaved perfectly", "kind": "game", "icon": false, "domain": "steampowered.com", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://obradinn.com", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Return of the Obra Dinn"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 765736998, "item_id": 47858562, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47858562", "by": "the__alchemist", "date": "2026-04-21", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love puzzle games", "excerpt": "Same reaction - I love puzzle games (The Witness, Talos principle, Blue Prince, Myst series, Baba is You, Antichamber, Obra Dinn, Opus Magnum etc), but haven't heard of this. I guess I should give it a try!", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "10 years: Stephen's Sausage Roll still one of the most influential puzzle games"}, {"id": 759266048, "item_id": 47454128, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47454128", "by": "augusto-moura", "date": "2026-03-20", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "similar to Return of the Obra Dinn, the whole universe story is weaved perfectly", "excerpt": "My greatest curse, and greatest bless, is that I have really good memory. 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. If you want to experience another great investigation/puzzle/story game, check out Outer Wilds [1]. It is a much bigger game (expect 60+ hours), but you can play it at your time. The ending is mind-blowing,", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game"}, {"id": 759159360, "item_id": 47447460, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47447460", "by": "GuB-42", "date": "2026-03-19", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "this is an excellent one", "excerpt": "Same thing for me, I love the technical aspect in the same way I love the demoscene. The visuals are original and very well done, so much that it is now almost impossible to talk about dithering without mentioning the Obra Dinn at some point. I am also a fan of puzzle/detective games, and this is an excellent one. Truly a masterpiece in both visual and gameplay, but together... not so much. For a game where understan", "context": "", "use_case": "Puzzle detective game", "switched_from": "", "story": "Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game"}, {"id": 734748480, "item_id": 45921780, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45921780", "by": "raajg", "date": "2025-11-13", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "play 'Return of the Obra Dinn'", "excerpt": "This was recently shared on HN: https://visualrambling.space/dithering-part-1/ For anyone interested in seeing how dithering can be pushed to the limits, play 'Return of the Obra Dinn'. Dithering will always remind you of this game after that. - https://visualrambling.space/dithering-part-1 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/Return_of_the_Obra_Dinn/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why do we need dithering?"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 759216914, "item_id": 47451057, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47451057", "by": "julesie", "date": "2026-03-19", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "the visual style made me feel physically ill", "excerpt": "Chants of Sennaar is my absolute favourite and I also really enjoyed The Case of The Golden Idol. I haven't found anything close to scratching that Chants of Sennaar itch so far but I will check out the other games you mentioned as I haven't played any of them. I also loved the conceit of the Obra Dinn but the visual style made me feel physically ill to the point I couldn't continue with the game. I'm useless with an", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["puzzle detective game"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47406160", "title": "Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45814939", "title": "Why do we need dithering?", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47814874", "title": "10 years: Stephen's Sausage Roll still one of the most influential puzzle games", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 2}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"recommend": 2, "warn": 1}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 765736998, "item_id": 47858562, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47858562", "by": "the__alchemist", "date": "2026-04-21", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love puzzle games", "excerpt": "Same reaction - I love puzzle games (The Witness, Talos principle, Blue Prince, Myst series, Baba is You, Antichamber, Obra Dinn, Opus Magnum etc), but haven't heard of this. I guess I should give it a try!", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "10 years: Stephen's Sausage Roll still one of the most influential puzzle games"}, {"id": 759266048, "item_id": 47454128, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47454128", "by": "augusto-moura", "date": "2026-03-20", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "similar to Return of the Obra Dinn, the whole universe story is weaved perfectly", "excerpt": "My greatest curse, and greatest bless, is that I have really good memory. 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. If you want to experience another great investigation/puzzle/story game, check out Outer Wilds [1]. It is a much bigger game (expect 60+ hours), but you can play it at your time. The ending is mind-blowing,", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game"}, {"id": 759216914, "item_id": 47451057, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47451057", "by": "julesie", "date": "2026-03-19", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "the visual style made me feel physically ill", "excerpt": "Chants of Sennaar is my absolute favourite and I also really enjoyed The Case of The Golden Idol. I haven't found anything close to scratching that Chants of Sennaar itch so far but I will check out the other games you mentioned as I haven't played any of them. I also loved the conceit of the Obra Dinn but the visual style made me feel physically ill to the point I couldn't continue with the game. I'm useless with an", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game"}, {"id": 759159360, "item_id": 47447460, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47447460", "by": "GuB-42", "date": "2026-03-19", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "this is an excellent one", "excerpt": "Same thing for me, I love the technical aspect in the same way I love the demoscene. The visuals are original and very well done, so much that it is now almost impossible to talk about dithering without mentioning the Obra Dinn at some point. I am also a fan of puzzle/detective games, and this is an excellent one. Truly a masterpiece in both visual and gameplay, but together... not so much. For a game where understan", "context": "", "use_case": "Puzzle detective game", "switched_from": "", "story": "Return of the Obra Dinn: spherical mapped dithering for a 1bpp first-person game"}, {"id": 734818656, "item_id": 45926166, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45926166", "by": "amiga386", "date": "2025-11-14", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "On Return of the Obra Dinn's dithering specifically, here is the original developer blog on its dithering: https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=40832.msg1363742#msg1363742 It's intended, aesthetically, to remind you of Atkinson dithering (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atkinson_dithering), a variant of Floyd-Steinberg dithering often used in graphics for the black-and-white Macintosh.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why do we need dithering?"}, {"id": 734748480, "item_id": 45921780, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45921780", "by": "raajg", "date": "2025-11-13", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "play 'Return of the Obra Dinn'", "excerpt": "This was recently shared on HN: https://visualrambling.space/dithering-part-1/ For anyone interested in seeing how dithering can be pushed to the limits, play 'Return of the Obra Dinn'. Dithering will always remind you of this game after that. - https://visualrambling.space/dithering-part-1 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/Return_of_the_Obra_Dinn/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why do we need dithering?"}]}