Omori

[Casualfanboy16]

A lot of the stuff here I've seen has largely been reviews on movies or books; but since I'm a gaymer, I thought I might as well throw in my own review of a game I played way back in December of 2020 called Omori. This game has meant a lot to me and I encourage people to play/watch a playthrough of it because I have been forever impacted by this game, and it has inspired me in a number of ways. I'm going to break apart certain aspects of the game into categories (e.g. story, art direction and music, etc) and rate them individually. I'll try to keep this review spoiler free since this game has a lot of story. If you decide to check it out, just be warned that this game contains themes of depression, suicide, trauma and other such things that may not be suitable for everyone. It also has bright/flashing images, so people with photosensitive epilepsy proceed with caution. Alright, with all that said, on with the review...

 

Section 1: Story

For this first section I will remain as spoiler free as possible. The game's story is personally one of my favorites. I will say, it has its flaws, but first I have to talk about the positives: the emotional rollercoaster this game gave me fucked me up for weeks. One moment things are fine, the next one it's like oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. And then it makes you cry tears because holy shit it sure made me cry. The game has multiple endings, and I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't comment much more on this.

 

One small complaint I have is the pacing can be a bit odd at times. Most of the game is pretty-well paced, but there are sections that feel like they overstay their welcome at times, at least in my opinion. I'll give this first section an 8 out of 10.

 

(I literally just omitted the entire story for this part because I know I would ramble too much lmao).

 

Section 2: Gameplay

The gameplay has your standard role-playing game (RPG) mechanics with a party system, turn-based combat, and other typical RPG elements. There are a few twists, like using an emotions mechanic in combat to have an advantage (or disadvantage) in battle. It's relatively easy to get the hang of, in my opinion at least.

 

However, there are some gripes I have. Occasionally the game will kinda drop you into a situation and be like "fuck around and find out". I can't exactly explain where this happens because spoilers, but if you play you might get what I mean. This problem went away for me as I got used to the game and how certain situations worked. I did admittedly get stuck on some parts and had to look up a guide on it, trying my best to avoid spoilers, of course. For this reason, I'm giving this section an 8 out of 10. 

 

Section 3: Art Direction

I adore the art direction in this game. As an artist myself, I aspire to have art as phenomenal as the art in this game. The art is of a multi-media style, with elements of largely pixel art, hand-drawn animation in certain cutscenes, and the occasional photorealistic or grotesque and disturbing visuals. Even with the various styles at play, Omocat and her team managed to put it together harmoniously and made it stand out rather well. There's so much to appreciate about it. For my rating, I give this section a 10 out of 10!

 

Section 4: Music/Sound Design

This last section I'm also going to sing praises for because oh my God I can't stop listening to the soundtrack. I even have some of them saved as ringtones on my phone lmao. The music direction in this game is fantastic. I would recommend steering clear of listening to the soundtrack to avoid discussions of spoilers. However, I will say without a doubt that the music is so good. Like, I love it. Wether I'm listening to it on it's own or when it's accompanied by the visuals and gameplay, the music is so well done. Each soundtrack in the OST is masterfully done, this is especially apparent with headphones.

 

As for the sound design, the game does well in that aspect too. I especially find the sound effects when mercilessly beating your enemies in combat quite fun. 10 out of 10 would viciously kill a sprout mole with the power of friendship again!

 

Total Rating: 9 out of 10 (I based it on a rounding of the numbers of the various sections)

 

*End Notes

This game has a very special place in my heart, but I'm not letting my love for this game blind me to it's flaws. I adore it, as you can see, but it still has it's imperfections. Not that it matters to me though. I will cherish this game for the rest of my life. I couldn't go into too much detail with the story, but I saw myself in some of these characters and related to them, not exactly in what they went through, but I understand their feelings even though they're just lines of code. I recommend people to play or watch this game because I loved it so much and it inspired my art a little bit too. Anyways, if someone read through all of this, I encourage you to go check it out. It was a wonderful game.

 

Edit: Might as well drop in the trailer because people might run into spoilers when searching for it. You can find it on Steam (PC) and Console (Xbox One, PS4, Switch). Console editions do have some exclusive features as well.