Omori

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.)

Easily the saddest game I ever played after finishing the game I really just couldn't get rid of this emptiness inside of me and always find myself thinking about playing it again even though I played about a month ago.

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.

This game is a brilliant depiction of mental illness and trauma; but do not ignore the warnings. This game is beautiful and wholesome and fun and nostalgic and creative, but dark nonetheless. If you're a fan of the silent hill series, earthbound, or Yume Nikki; there are tropes it shares across them all and it pulls all these dissonant tones together in a wonderfully paced, harmonious experience.

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 :)