What is Omori?
Omori is an indie 2D turn based RPG where you play as a boy named Sunny and his dream alter-ego Omori. Despite its charming pixel art style, this game is a psychological horror game. Omori has an ESRA rating of M (17+) and gives a content warning every time you open the game for depictions of suicide, depression, anxiety, and may not be suitable for all audiences. This game was released initially on PC on December 25th, 2020 by Omocat, LLC. It is also available on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S&X, and Mac.
Game Review:
Omori is not a typical game for me. I don’t play many turn-based RPGs and I almost never play horror games. I am typically very easily scared and nervous about anything horror but I had heard through word of mouth how impactful and incredible this game is so I gave it a shot. Omori is an incredibly unique game that I will discuss in greater detail later in this article, but I will not be diving into any spoilers so my story section will be fairly brief.
Do not let the artstyle of Omori fool you. It may look like a cutesy pixel art game but underneath the surface it holds a lot of depth and darkness. I do love the artstyle the developers chose though, it allows them to be more creative and weird as they try to achieve their dream-like environments and atmospheres. It also helps not to overwhelm the player during the horror moments. Even though Omori is a horror game, the majority of the game does not play like one. Most of the game is cutesy and traveling through the world fighting monsters in turn based battles and completing silly quests. This helps take the bite out of the horror, especially for people like me who aren’t fans of horror. But what the game does really well is even in those cheery and colorful parts, something always feels off. Like there’s something hidden that you’re just waiting to discover as you pull back the layers of the game.
The story of Omori is excellently written. As someone that doesn’t like horror, I was genuinely intrigued by the writing showcased in this game. The writers tackled themes of grief, anxiety, depression, guilt, dealing with emotions, handling change, isolation, and the importance of friendship. The theme that I want to talk about most is the importance of friendship. Friendship is a common anime trope that somehow saves people from all their problems. Omori doesn’t treat it that way but rather highlights the importance of seeking friends and not isolating yourself when you’re going through difficult times. They do this with great dialogue and showing the negative effects of isolation, and how damaging that can be.
Being a horror game, there isn’t always a bright side to things, in some scenes it gets incredibly dark and twisted so this game might not be a good idea for people who struggle with some of the themes that I listed above. In fact, there are 5 different endings that players can achieve through their choices in Omori. I love how the writers chose to make the player’s choices influence the direction of the story. I personally got the “good” ending (meaning the one that was the most positive) but different choices may lead to other, more negative endings so be wary of that if you choose to play this game.
Gameplay in Omori plays similar to games like Undertale and Earthbound. It’s top-down in the overworld and you move your characters throughout the world to accomplish tasks. In the overworld, the gameplay doesn’t require skill but rather that the player knows where to go, listens to the dialogue and story, and solves puzzles. Some may not like how slowly it progresses but the turn-based battles are actually really engaging and fun.
In most battles, you will have four controllable characters, although that will change at different points throughout the game. What this game does with its battle system is incorporate the emotions of happy, angry, and sad as states that affect a character or enemies stats. All characters start out as neutral unless an item is equipped to change that. Once the battle is started, players and enemies can use moves that alter a character’s or enemy’s mood. If a character is made happy, they have higher speed and a higher chance of hitting their opponent. If a character is angry, they have higher attack power but less defense power. If a character is sad, they have higher defense, are slower, and lose ability power (called juice) when they are hit. These emotions are also balanced in a Pokemon style strength/weakness relationship. Happy is strong against Anger, Anger is strong against Sad, and Sad is strong against Happy. This makes managing the emotions of the playable characters and the enemies crucial to success.
Family Friendliness:
Omori is NOT a family friendly game. There are depictions of suicide, anxiety, and depression as well as a variety of disturbing imagery. The pixel art style of Omori means that the imagery doesn’t ever look realistic but it can still be frightening. There are a few jumpscares too, although most of the horror is through the tension and feeling of unease. This is definitely a game to play after the kids go to bed.
Features for Parents:
Omori has a save point system that is a bit old school. You have to save at specific save points but they are very generous with their placement of these save points so it’s never too out of the way. Dialogue is written and read at your own pace, so if you need to pause for whatever reason, it won’t change to the next line in the dialogue and you can come back to it without missing anything. There are, however, some scenes that are autoplayed and can’t be paused so that can be a little frustrating. The game also offers handy instruction manuals in the Important section of the players pocket so you can always check that if you forget how certain systems work.
Final Verdict:
Omori is an incredible game that is more captivating and beautifully executed than it is fun. The developers create a sense of dread and unease even in the bright and cheery areas of the game that really compliments its horror design. This is not a game to play with or around kids and can also be triggering if you struggle with depictions of suicide, depression, and anxiety. But if you are a horror fan looking for a great indie game, Omori is well worth your time.