I borrowed these comments from Francois Roussel and slightly altered them but I think they are extremely relevant for this game:

I am noticing a lot of messages asking for immediate solutions (More so in the Steam forums right now), and people are rushing like crazy to finish the game the day they bought it. Just like TV series with this binge-watching phenomenon, it seems there is now binge-gaming.

Maybe this can work for some games. But it's definitely not the way to play a Myst-Like game. As this genre was underrepresented during many years, I'd like to re-introduce the basic principles.

Myst-like games relies on puzzles that will challenge your mind and you will never get anything for free. This requires time and efforts to think, look for clues, make deductions, etc. The environment of the game will help your mind to concentrate on these puzzles.

If you are stuck somewhere or don't immediately understand what to do, take your time. Leave the game for a while and take a break (as long as hours, days or even weeks), and let your mind do the rest. Once you get back to the game you'll realize new things, see some others that you missed and the adventure will continue at your pace. Unless you're Einstein, you won't be able to solve the puzzles right away, that's completely normal. Like Sherlock Holmes, you'll have to think logically, look for clues, take notes and make deductions. This process can't be instantaneous and will inevitably lead to some trials and errors.

Myst-like games are also places for contemplation, tranquility, mystery, loneliness. Time doesn't matter here, the game will wait for you until you come up with a solution to one problem, and you'll get this rewarding magic moment of "oh I get it!".
Take time to really understand what's going on around you and see if there's something beneath the surface, maybe some metaphors and philosophical meanings are hidden. It's a place for your mind to escape, dream, imagine.

So please, don't ruin your experience by using the facility of looking right away at the solution. Take your time to find the answers, look at the clouds, listen to the sounds of the river and the wind.
Just enjoy your time in a calm place and let your mind breathe.

P.S. Maybe this should be pinned.

I'd agree with this. Really it applies to most, if not all adventure games.

It took me a couple of months to beat Riven, and it's one of the best games I've ever played,
looking up the answers would have totally ruined that experience.

+1

@SpeedBo
The Starry Expanse Project
Prison Island Demo

Yep I've had my eye on this for awhile, it looks really good.
I wonder how they'll handle the the live action shots.

Absolutely, good computer games are like any fine, quality wine...much better when sipped slowly and properly appreciated and tasted on the palate ...;) I'm like the OP--buying a game simply to rush through it to see if you can "beat it in one day" is certainly wasting your money and missing the point entirely. Why bother? The only people this attitude cheats are the people who buy the game and play it with this attitude.

I never "beat" games, I play them. This will be an immersion and relaxed and slow (and reams of notes and maps) - take your time, enjoy.

Lol nuance.

I've definitely felt like I "beat" a game, like when I finally got through Keepsake. I've been beaten by one (Schizm).
However you could say, I enjoyed the Riven experience. It was quite a fight, but in the end I won.

I completely agree with you, alas, I don't think Obduction falls under this category, at least not completely. Why do I say this? The reason is simple, all the puzzles in Obduction are fairly easy and can be done relatively fast, the game is so well thought that you automatically get the answers just by looking at the scenes, listening to the conversations or looking around you for a bit. Cyan has done an amazing job with the game, but it is far too easy, the only hard parts I found were
**********[SPOILER ALERT]**********
The tower code, since the clue is visually right in front of you when you're checking for the mayors; this is what made me understand that all the clues were right infront of me for obduction.
Opening the gate that gives access to the weird cube-like thing on the jungle world, it really made no sense to me that it had to be opened by looking at the faces of those two people. Yes, I understood that it had something to do with the list next to the gate, but that was a long stretch.
**********[SPOILER ALERT]**********
it took me a while for those two things, but besides them, nothing else made me think much.

And no, I'm not exceptionally gifted for puzzles, I do, however, love them. I beleve the problem lies exactly on what you stated, people want instant gratification, and thus game devs develop games that are closer to that idea, even subconsciously.

Myst took me months to beat (I was 9 at the time too...), Riven took me a whole month (10), Myst III held me for the longest time, it took me around 8 months to beat (not like I played it much though...), and Myst IV maybe about two weeks. As for Myst V, well, three days at most. Obduction took me three days too. I think that when they transitioned to 3D, they started focusing too much on the art department (it is important though) and neglected the puzzle solving, world logic and lore. Oh, and for obduction they threw out the window the paralel puzzle solving, the game felt linear from beginning to end, and that saddened me a bit, but I guess there was no point since the game is so short and the puzzles too easy to give up and attempt something else like in Myst and the rest of the saga, and I believe this also has to do with the instant gratification problem, why make alternate puzzle solving if people will beat the puzzles without too much issue?

Oh, there is a game I haven't beat yet, Uru, but I think it has more to do with how the game plays and the character moves than with the difficulty of the puzzles...