It’s no secret that Cyan’s latest magnum opus Obduction has been beset with controversy since the Kickstarter ended. However, most of that has been due to development issues. Despite that, the game has been met with pretty positive reviews. However, the latest issue isn’t with the game itself. The problem we’re seeing now is with regards to the physical copy that backers have started to receive.

In the rewards section, anyone who pledged at least $75 was promised “an exclusive Obduction special boxed edition containing the game for Windows or MacOS”. What backers understandably expected was an actual box. What we got was little more than a jewel case with a flimsy cardboard slip cover. You can see my deconstructed copy in the image below. It wasn’t even sealed.

Obduction

Discs, Paper, and Cardboard

If you are to take a peek into the comments section, you’d find the place in an uproar. Pretty much everyone who’s commented in the past couple weeks are not happy with what they received. Considering they expected a box and got a case with two discs, a single sheet, and a slip cover their anger is easy to understand. I’m not particularly happy about it myself, to be perfectly honest.

Apparently, the people at Cyan were taken aback and surprised by the backlash. After a long string of comments by pissed-off backers, the developers finally stuck their heads in and left a comment. They promised to release an update addressing these “concerns”, but that was a week ago. The last update was on April 11. Making backers who are angry wait this long is almost certainly a death knell for them from a PR perspective.

Cliqist

Here’s the thing. If backers were sent an actual box, even if it was a small one, things wouldn’t have blown up as much as they have. If Cyan didn’t promise a box for Obduction, but rather just a “physical copy”, things might have gone smoother, too. Hopefully, the upcoming update will help quell some of this fire. Unfortunately, Cyan has already lost the faith of a lot of fans.

Serena Nelson

Serena Nelson

Editor
Serena has been a gamer since an early age and was brought up with the classic adventure games by Sierra On-Line, LucasArts, and Infocom. She's been an active member on Kickstarter since early 2012 and has backed a large number of crowdfunded games, mostly adventures. You can also find her writing for Kickstart Ventures and evn.moe.
Serena Nelson

@Intendant_S

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Serena Nelson
Serena Nelson

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