Released right at the end of 2020, OMORI is one of the best RPGs I have played in a very, very long time. The game draws clear inspiration from Earthbound and maybe even a little bit of Undertale. However, this is 100 percent its own thing and it is the kind of game that once it starts and once it gets its hooks into you, there is no stopping!
How to Download OMORI
To download the game from Steam, click on the Download button located below this review. If you like psychological horror games, check out also our review of Doki Doki Literature Club!
The Game Review
Talking about the story of OMORI is tough as I do not want to spoil it. The game warns you at the start about some of the themes that it has and I think calling the story a bit of a psychological horror is the way to go. There are different routes and endings for you to explore and anyone who gets into this will probably want to see them all.
The basics of the story are that we have this guy called OMORI who went through a very traumatic experience a few years back. He pretty much shut himself out from his friends, but a few years later things change. One of his friends goes missing and he ends up on a bizarre adventure of self-discovery in a strange world which gets more and more sinister as you play.
That is all you can really say about the story without spoiling it. I will say that the story is very character-driven and the writing is amazing, these actually feel like real people with real personalities and you get to know each one very well as you progress through the game. The character development for me was one of the best things about this game.
The presentation is amazing, this is one of my favorite looking games from 2020. The main RPG-style gameplay is done with some truly amazing sprite work, but it is the use of color that really catches your eye. Then the game has these hand-drawn sections for the combat which is possibly the best-looking combat section I have ever played in an RPG.
To go along with these unique and fantastic visuals is an amazing soundtrack. The soundtrack is done very well, it is slow when it needs to be, sad when it needs to be and harder hitting when the poop is hitting the fan. I am actually glad there is no voice acting as you get an idea in your head of what these characters would sound like.
While OMORI has a great story and looks and sounds phenomenal, the gameplay is no slouch either. You will be exploring the strange and scary land completing quests, finding items, and solving puzzles. You will also be getting into many fights with some rather interesting enemies.
The battles are a lot of fun and each character has their own abilities. Your four-party team can use team-up attacks for extra effects which is neat. There is also a very interesting emotion system at play where the characters can feel normal, happy, sad, and angry with each one kind of being a different “status” that can change things in a battle.
My only issue was with the puzzles. On a couple of occasions, the game would throw a very convoluted puzzle your way that felt like it was just there to bring your progress to a halt. This does not spoil the game or anything like that, but it was something that I certainly noticed.
I cannot praise OMORI highly enough. This is my favorite RPG of 2020 and one of the best I have played in a very long time. Do not let that art style fool you, this is one very dark and disturbing game and it will 100 percent keep you thinking about it as you try and sleep at night.
