Omori Review
need to know
What is it? A turn-based RPG that combines cute adventure and creepy restlessness (emphasis on creepy).
Expect to pay 15 GBP / 20 USD
Developer cat
Publisher cat
Review date AMD Ryzen 5 3600, AMD RX 5700 XT, 16GB RAM
multiplayer game? No
Associate Official website
Games built around RPGmaker have a strange reputation. The game engine is known for mixing classic RPG and cult horror games (such as Yume Nikki, Lisa: The Painful, Mad Father, and The Witch’s House), which appeared on the edge of game forums and quietly accepted Steam and gained an overwhelming positive Evaluation.
Over the years, the RPGmaker scene has been reduced, which is why Omori almost feels like the ghost of a bygone era. Although seeing the blocky visual effects of the game is like the explosion of the past, this psychological role-playing game has all the characteristics of becoming a modern cult classic.
Omori followed the childhood antics of a group of children during the summer vacation, but instead of discovering the miracles of the real world, they explored a dream world created by a sleeping boy (nominal Omori). Most of the game takes place in this fantasy world. The team is looking for their missing friends, but there are also real parts, especially in a quiet suburban community where all the children live.
(Image source: Omocat)
It doesn’t sound like a horror game, does it? There are no terrible monsters and horrors of existence in the colorful fantasy world, but this is the point. Unable to control or face certain events in the real world, Omori summoned this fantastic headspace escape, like a safety blanket. I intend to bypass the horror of the real world to avoid spoilers, but an event that happened a few years ago brought the whole team together. Every character can’t get rid of the influence of what happened, and soon these fears began to spread to Omori’s dream world.
When these horror elements show their twisted heads, it is a very scary thing, but in most cases, you are exploring a fantastic fantasy world full of jokes and puns. In this respect it is very similar to Undertale, and most of the comedies come from quirky characters.
The boss character also provided some laughs, such as Sweetheart, a nasty pop star who wields a huge heart-shaped mace, giggling like an anime super villain.
Pluto is a super buffed planet, it likes to bend and teach you powerful fighting abilities. Then there is Life Jam Guy, an impromptu performance of the Kool-Aid mascot. His passion for health products is endless. The boss character also provided some laughs, such as Sweetheart, a nasty pop star who wields a huge heart-shaped mace, giggling like an anime super villain.
In addition to the main task of finding missing friends, Omori is full of little secrets and rewards for exploring all parts of the world. Surprisingly, this is a beast of a game. Despite completing 20 hours of the game, I feel that I hardly touched all the extra side quests and the surface of mystery. Due to the large number, I missed a lot, but I ignored the others, because the visual effects of RPGMaker make them hard to find.
Talkative characters, shattered objects, and elves that can read notes are often lost in visual translation, and look like background decorations rather than things I can interact with. For this reason, I almost missed one of my favorite lines in the game, a friendly ghost in the corner of the library thinking aloud: “Are ghosts gas?”
Interestingly, in this vibrant world, you play the nominal Omori, our silent protagonist, whose indifference is creepy.Things are serious Leave With his children, this is the source of the psychological horror of games. His attitude is really understandable, and if I am troubled by metaphorical ghosts, there is nothing ridiculous for me.
This will run through the battle of the game. Although Omori’s tattered team uses dodge balls and shovel as weapons against rabbits and bean sprouts, Omori’s weapon of choice is a sharp, slender knife that can cut and stab enemies, which is more “boom” than the frying pan comedy. The sound is even more disturbing.
(Image source: Omocat)
Emotional manipulation
Leaving aside the children wielding deadly weapons, the battle is similar to other turn-based RPGs, but with a clever twist. Fighting has an “emotional system”, and the emotional state of the characters affects their fighting style. Happiness, sadness, and anger are similar to rock, paper, and scissors, each of which enhances the team’s strength in different ways. A character can increase their defensive power by reading poetry to make them sad or naively annoy another person to make them angry, thereby enhancing their offensive power.
Except for the healer, I often find that there is very little interaction between the characters in RPG parties, but in Omori’s emotional state, the team feels like a whole, always honing each other in a fun and interesting way. In addition, when a member dies, their avatar will turn into a piece of toast, which is very interesting.
There are many classic RPGmaker horror moments, such as looking in the mirror and seeing other things looking at you.
Fighting is also your only chance to observe your character up close. Before that, they were just a few pixels, but in battle, you can see them in the complete artwork. Whether it’s the first time to learn more about a character you’ve known for a few hours, or to observe a terrifying monster up close, this reveal is really impactful.
Approaching a mass of black pixels may not look so scary, but in battle, you will suddenly face their true appearance. It feels too close and uncomfortable. Face-to-face with these horrors made me linger on the “run” option a few times. But in the classic horror game format, the run option is useless and there is no escape. Monsters are a mixture of open smiles, eyes peeking at you from the dark, open arms, and clenched hands-everything is very creepy. They are also a hodgepodge of artistic styles. Rough pencil drawings, realistic limbs and strange clay blocks all give the monsters a disturbing feeling that they do not belong to Omori’s world, which really aggravates the horror.
Although I enjoyed the menacing encounters with Omori’s various monsters, the horror element did get involved in the dark waters of mental health, and the story became a bit harsh at the end of the game. Certain decisions made during the climax of the game also ruined some of the main story beats of the game.
(Image source: Omocat)
That’s just a dream
Throughout my playing of Omori, I couldn’t help but regard it as the spiritual successor of Yume Nikki. A boy sleeping with troubles and a girl sleeping with troubles both have surreal images and countless secrets hidden in their dream spaces. There is even a section in Omori where you try to pass through a series of doors leading to surreal memories and pay tribute directly to Yume Nikki. There are many classic RPGmaker horror moments, such as looking in the mirror and seeing other things looking back at you.
These effects are obvious, but Omori doubles down on what makes the mysterious Japanese RPG so iconic. It has all the fears and secrets of its predecessor, but it wraps it in a huge, overall story, with multiple worlds, a large number of characters, excellent works of art, a 100-song score, and a mature RPG combat system.
(Image source: Omocat)
It almost fell into the metaphor of using the “power of friendship” to solve all problems, but fortunately, its heartfelt moments are supported by wonderful storytelling and characters you really like. Omori was developed by the Omocat team (initially only one person) for six years, and you can feel the enthusiasm of the team.
Omori is a child who can’t sleep at night, afraid of facing the reality and consequences of the real world. It is a childlike reaction to want to lock yourself up and hide, but this reaction can easily continue into adulthood. The need to escape from anxiety to another world is a universal feeling, and Omori’s reasons for wanting to protect himself are understandable, even if he is a bit creepy. The important thing is to choose to take the first step, hope is the first step, Omori cleverly captured this emotion.
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