Omori

Omori is half turned-based RPG, half Psychological Horror. It has uniquely animated cutscenes, a beautiful 179-track soundtrack, and a story that will make you ball your eyes out. It's terrifying, silly, funny, emotional, and amazing all at the same time. If you haven't played Omori I HIGHLY recommend it.

My Favorite part was when hanged out with Mari Before the Recital.

I have played many video games in the past, but there has never been one that could close the gap to my heart as effortlessly as OMORI has. The first hour or so of this game is misleading, probably intentionally so. I thought this was going to be a cute lo-fi aesthetic RPG with some, quite frankly, sluggish combat, or something along these lines. But as I progressed through the game and the first major plot point, I realized: I wasn't playing OMORI for the gameplay, no, there are clearly better RPGs than this. But the story, the world, the characters... now this is something worth exploring. And believe me when I tell you that in the end of it all, I regret even thinking of doubting this game at the beginning.

I can't say much without getting into spoiler territory, but I can tell you this: OMORI has so, so many powerful ways of gripping your heart, tightly so. One moment you'll find yourself with a glowing grin and watery eyes, then moments later you'll be feeling the painful chills down on you as you slowly explore the horrible truth. You CARE about what is happening, without the game making you do so. It is the most meaningful game I've ever played in terms of presentation... the world building is meaningful, the horror aspects of this game are meaningful. Everything matters, and this game will make you realize this thoroughly.

What is even more astounding, is that such a brilliant game was made in RPG Maker. It just shows that a bold vision can shine adamantly even on restricted environments. Five years of rough development that paid off tremendously. A tiny group of individuals that wanted to create something beautiful. Even on RPG Maker, this game looks amazing. The little details in every level, the gorgeous pencil-drawn animations, the expressive character portraits, complementing each other to deliver a bizarre, colorful world... and let's not get started on the soundtrack of this game.

OMORI is sad, it is happy, it is terrifying, it is a macabre ode for young people, it is a message of love and forgiveness. OMORI is a warm smile in the cold fog, in the endless void. It is a reminder. A reminder to look ahead, past the overwhelming darkness. There, somewhere, you'll find the smiles and love of the ones waiting for you. So don't keep them waiting :)

This game damaged my mental state. It's the most emotionally impactful game I've ever played.

The gameplay is great. The battle system is fun. The Humprey section was awful, I just skipped that part with cheats.

BUT the lore and characters geniunely made me feel like I was a part of the friend group. I felt shared emotions with the characters, and the Mari's, Basil's, Hero's and Aubrey's lore (the game literally has 6 main characters and 4 of them just destroyed my heart) impacted the way I look at things. I now keep questioning life a lot, and I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing. But it surely was an experience that I believe many others should have. It is definitely, without question a psychological horror game.

DO NOT GIVE UP ON THIS GAME BECAUSE THE BEGINNING SECTION IS BORING. THE GAME QUICKLY BECOMES DARK.

(open your sketchbook and look at the pages, look at stuff on your laptop and close it until a knife drops, it's on the left side of your room. Now you can open the stupid beginning door.)

I recently bought Omori for the switch and God am I happy I did. I'll start with the easier stuff. The graphics are very pretty and downright fantastic in some sections, however it's not going to blow you away or anything. The main use of the graphics is to enhance the storytelling of the game, which they do masterfully. On the other hand, the music not only enhances the storytelling of the game to an insane degree, but is also just amazing in its own right, likely the best (indie) ost since Cuphead three years before it. Just like the graphics, the gameplay is not going to blow you away with its completely unique and different battle system, but that doesn't mean it's not incredible(even more so than the graphics I think). It's classic turn based combat for the most part, but with fantastic rpg elements and a wonderful little "emotion gimmick" that gives the game its own spin on turn based rpg combat. When not in combat, you get to enjoy an amazingly rich world of cities, hotels, planets, whales, and more. Two of my favorite parts about exploring are how there are items to pick up everywhere, making all exploration worth it, as well as how each item has its own little unique description, giving the game so much personality and charm(a lot like undertale). Still, even with all this, I would probably only give the game an 8 or maybe an 8.5. What takes it up to an easy ten is the downright terrifying beauty of its storyline. It has easily one of the best storylines I've ever seen in a game, telling a story of loss, grief, guilt, depression, and memory. I don't want to spoil it but just know it's beautifully(and arguably perfectly) paced, written, directed, and drawn. If you have not given this one a go, I would highly recommend that you do; you will not regret it.