If you are insufferable like me and occasionally try to get people outside of the medium into video games then this might be the best one to get them genuinely interested.
Solving a well-thought-out 17th-century murder case by gathering evidence, understanding contextual clues, and identifying suspects, all behind the accessible comfort of using only a mouse, makes true-crime jennys giddy.

The way some of these vignettes tell a story, pieces scattered across the scene with the right amount of context missing is brilliantly executed, rewarding to put together and sometimes genuinely beautiful.
The pixilated art style toes the perfect line between readable and crude, almost mad magazine-esque adult cartoon. The pixels look like they all stink.

Tbh while playing I wasn't sure if the ending and the main plot are trying to say something specific because the only message I got felt pretty dumb. So I kinda just chalked it up to gameplay ideas informing the story. Then after finishing the game, I read Epiglottis review who said it better than I ever could when they called the place the story ends up in "soft-brained 'tyranny of forced equality' territory". And yea, I got the same vibe.

One of the things Obra Dinn undeniably has above the golden idol is its interesting use of audio and sound design (hearing the victim's last moment). You can play the golden idol with the sound muted and it wouldn't make a difference (except atmospherically of course). That felt a bit disappointing to me, but I also have to admit that I don't see a good possibility to further implement sound without just ripping off obra dinn ideas or changing how the game feels in general. So maybe it's good they didn't.

Next time you want to get your adult friends or family members into video games pull out this one and play a chapter with them.