I'll say first that I've been a supporter for the original OPUS on mobile, so I am very glad to see the game got released on Steam with various enhancements, and willing to play and finish it again on my PC.

From a PC game point of view, you might feel like it is just a twist on the hidden-object genre, with some memorization elements. And if you'd bother to check a little bit more you'll also find out the game last no longer than 2 hrs for average players. But in fact that's exactly part the point of this game:

For a novel, fresh experience & gameplay in games, you don't absolutely need 50hrs of play time or super innovative, convoluted, unseen or complex mechanics to achieve those. There are all kinds of interesting short and interesting games in the indie scene right now that you won't regret paying 5 or 10 bucks on them. For 90 ~ 120 minutes of the gameplay, OPUS provides a quite touching, and even deep, philosophical experience, if you know what you are looking at.

I am an avid space-themed media junkie, so the astronomical side of OPUS also highly interests me. But there's a thin layer of somewhat deceiving sugarcoat there, if I may say so. The scientific detail or the accuracy of terms and descriptions in the game sometimes doesn't add-up, even though improvements have already been made since the mobile version. But again, that's not really the point.

I am going to boldly claim that the game's astronomical / science aspect is only there to support it's narrative, just like Interstellar (YES, THAT CHRIS NOLAN MOVIE) -- even more, the central idea of OPUS can actually draw a few parallel comparison from Interstellar directly.

You know right from the beginning of the game, that hundred of thousands years into the distant future, human race has somehow forgotten its origin, and Earth has long become a myth. And one important character in game totally doesn't believe there is even an Earth at all. Just like in Interstellar, the general public has long "disapprove" the idea that human has been to the Moon and beyond, and no one believe in any of those grand idea anymore.

Of course, I am not really claiming that a small indie team can produce something that really rivals a worldly-acclaimed award-winning Hollywood movie, nor does it take as serious an approach to science as the Nolan film to cover its philosophical / spiritual ideas, but it's already an effort very rarely seen in games, in my opinion.

To say anything more about the narrative or story about OPUS would be a huge spoiler for the game itself, so I'll stop here. I only hope that my review can help you look into the game a little bit more, before you start nitpicking its problems. The game is not expensive, it will not cost you a lot of time and energy, the gameplay is smooth and I think the difficulty curve is just right for this kind of experience. So by all means try it out for yourself!


EDIT: typo

Robotsito triste :c

Star searching + storytelling? This might be the first game that ever blend these two together!
I think I am one of the lucky ones who get to try OPUS before launch date. Definitely unexpected gameplay-wise and a little bit hard to describe, kinda like Where's Waldo but a lot more interactive, and you'll get lost in space, a lot. I like it since it neatly blends storytelling together to something different from any other games I've played before.

I recommend everyone to choose a night when none of your friends invited you for dinner, situate yourself in a dark dark room, and slowly sink into the galaxy and forget about everything else. The story is a little bit sad so you might shed some tears.

a Sci-fi Indie Adventure game that will have you exploring, and seeing, the stars differently. I found Opus today, and of course played until I’d 100%ed the game. Though there are 31 achievies, they all come pretty normally through the story. By the time I’d finished the story, I had surveyed over 500 stars, which is the achievement just before the highest of 1000. But, I still had to locate a final supernova and a moon of one of the planets, along with the last 500 stars to survey, so that final count took a little grinding.

Narrative:
Story rich in a tantalizing and sentimental mystery, you are immersed in this charming tale of dreams, or goals. The title comes from the Latin phrase “Magnum Opus,” or “Great Work.” You start in a spaceship as a robot named Emeth. I’m totally unsure if that name comes from some Easter egg, or maybe it’s an acronym. But, two scientists are aboard with you and they are searching for the planet Earth, which was the origin of the human race, according to myth. They are growing doubtful they’ll find it, if it ever really existed, before they are too late to save mankind. The story presupposes that the gene pool has decayed to the point that survival is not expected. They need to return to Earth to collect more of their original genes. The robot is motivated by the female scientist to continue searching, despite the growing pessimism of the male scientist who is aboard with them. Then a power outage occurs, Lisa and the other scientist disappear, and a hologram of Lisa guides or assists Emeth in his search to find the missing planet Earth.

Story Mechanic:
Opus takes a single game mechanic that is also present in the new Stellaris, by Paradox Studios, and does it even better. Lisa, the female protagonist, has programmed Emeth to operate Opus’s telescope. Opus is the large ship they are inside. When you turn on the telescope, you are gazing at the stars and you are able to scan in search of habitable planets matching the characteristics of Earth. Meanwhile, the hud overhead displays tabs for your target coordinates, target section/sector, target zone, & filters needed. Just beneath the display of tabs is a button for the Earth Locator, which functions to guide you to each of your missions and sub-missions, target planets & stars to explore.

The Earth Locator gives you clues to help you locate where the target star will be. You watch the display on your telescope and follow the degrees of rotation to calculate where you are, and where you need to be to find the target. This is comparable to flying an airplane by Instrument Flight Readings (IFR.) But, if you pay attention to the tabs at the top, each one lights up or turns off as you enter a zone or sector matching the description for your target, making it possible to just pilot “by the seat of your pants” as they say in Visual Flight Readings (VFR,) or flying by sight. If all the tabs are lit up, then you’ve found the right area. Also, a hint button will appear far right that will point you in the general direction, and you won’t find it too difficult.

Comparisons:
Other than the comparison to Stellaris in the way you explore the stars, I find this game reminded me very much of Firewatch. In Firewatch you were given realistic navigation tools to find your way around a map of the forest. Opus does likewise, but you’re searching through the galaxy. Also, Opus has an immersive mystery story much like Firewatch. And, it keeps you engaged until you finish the game.

The developer, Team Signal, is an indie company that has a few mobile games thus far. I checked out a couple of them myself and found both Earthworm Alchemy and Hyper Square fun and free on my phone.

Pros:
Story Rich
Engaging & fun mechanics you’ll love
Graphics are nicely done in a cartoony style, No bugs or glitches
Could be fun for any age gamer
Decent Soundtrack
Great price at $8.99

Cons:
It is one simple aspect of exploration, but it does that extremely well.
No strategy/ quite linear gameplay
Requires meticulous patience for scanning a thousand stars.
Final game section has major flashing lights that may be problematic for some

No Spoilers Here! I think the best way to play this game is to go into it spoiler free. So, I’ll leave my review at this.

I played through the story (Normal mode) in like 90 minutes, just so you know what you are getting. I think it amounted to a 70% completion from what the game told me.

I much like the theme of a robot trying to complete a task it was given by its master in the absence of said master/mother. It had a lot of potential for exploring the development of human like AI in the event of isolation. But the story left me wanting.
With the characters in question it feels like the movie "AI", only instead of facing and overcomming challenges while trying to find your mom, you sit in a room and point at numbered dots on a map while someone else tries to find your mom.

All in all it still was a nice experience though and had some good atmosphere, art and interface designs.
The price seems a bit much considering the playtime, but I have payed more money on food with less entertainment value.

Looking back to old entries of OPUS series after completing latest entry is kind of interesting. I could see the developers attempt to offer completely different gameplay and settings in order to create unique experience even some elements might not be for everyone’s taste. I appreciate the variation of OPUS series.

The Day We Found Earth (I’d call OPUS-I) is developed by Taiwan studio named SIGONO. Mobile version was first released in 2015 then PC port in 2016.

OPUS-a sci-fi adventure game with visual novel narrative set in distant future. When humanity realizes the deterioration of gene pool, the project is founded to search for Earth, the root of human which they believe as a solution and hope to survive.

OPUS-I story centers around the group of scientist Lisa, Makoto, and robot Emeth. It mainly focuses on character interaction and event in OPUS spacecraft. The writing is tight, but captures distinctive personality of each crew member quite well. The contrast between optimistic, serious, and childish tone of character might sounds unlikeable at first glance, but it slowly develop the relationship and acceptance despite some predictable element.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2706263498
The characters and spacecraft are represented in combination of basic shape cartoon form to emphasize clear visual and expression which consistently feature in sequel. The universe is full of countless unexplored planets and stars, the vibrant colors of emitting galaxies, the uncanny feel from staring dark sector. The art direction reinforces the aesthetic of astronomy and stargazing experience along with the heartfelt story.

OPUS-I gameplay mainly consists of point-and-click visual novel element and searching particular planet by matching coordinate and sector as clues. It is pretty simple and straightforward, but can get be quite challenging when the game doesn’t tell player directly or require extra filter. The game even gives an option to show exact location if player is stuck for too long. So, the difficulty is very forgiving and tends to be more relaxing experience.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2706266106
As you progress through main objective, the part of OPUS become available to explore as it reveals piece of backstory happened during blackout or information of side mission. Some objects can be interacted in post-campaign which unlock set of extra side stories.

There are over thousands of star scattering across the space, but 95% of them don’t impact the story aside from Steam achievement and leaderboard. Main story can be completed in 1-2 hours if player only focus on main objective. Does its length justify the price? It depends on how people value stargazing experience and impact of story.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2706258392
This is very subjective opinion and probably it’s all about feelings. I personally enjoy what game offers, even spend majority of time scanning over 4,000 stars and planets. Yes, it sounds repetitive and pointless, but something keeps me going in cycle. Sense of endless exploration and discovery; hoping for unexpected reveal and naming particular planets like you’re very first owner. It makes me realize the ambitious and determination of human races to pursuit something by strong purpose. It’s kind of strange feeling and realization which the game holds something special at least for me.

It’s quite surprised for small game that offers decent post-credit contents. The free roaming mode allows player to continue where player lefts off (side mission, review scene, developer commentary). Moreover, there are 6 episode packs that expand side stories and fill the gap of character motivation and event in OPUS. It’s a welcome addition that is worth to experience more.

Audio and music tracks are well composed by Triodust. Each theme really captures the feel of isolation, sadness, sorrow, hope, and relief. OPUS-I music plays a major part in emotional drive and propel narrative without voice acting.

The game is powered by Unity engine (current version 2019.4.30). The game is capped at 30 FPS which I don’t think high FPS does impact to OPUS gameplay. In term of technical aspect, the port is well optimized and no game breaking bugs. However, the lack of keyboard remapping and unable to adjust game volume manually (only on/off option) is kind of odd design for the game that features beautiful soundtracks.

The First OPUS title is kind of an interesting experiment from 2015 mainstream. It’s project of cool idea and big passion that seems very simple on the surface which I appreciate the way it is. Even I might overdo stuffs in my playthrough, couple hours of main story and extra content are worth every penny and meaningful for me. Recommend for people who love short sci-fi story or appreciate stargazing experience!

You can also checkout my review of OPUS: Echo of Starsong.

If you found this review helpful, please consider and give a thumb up. Any feedback / exchanging idea are appreciated.

Logbook - Entry 40

It’s been 40 hours now that I’ve been searching for Earth… And still no trace.
It seems like I’m left with two possibilities: either I’m really bad at this, or some part of me refuses to accept that one day, I’ll have to finish this journey… and uninstall this game.

But deep down, I know what’s holding me back. It’s not just the thought of finishing the mission. It’s the fear of abandoning Emeth, like the doctor did.
Leaving Emeth alone, drifting in the cold, endless void of this universe, is unbearable.
So, I keep scanning... Not just to find my way home, but to give him a reason to believe that I’ll always be by his side.

End of entry.

This is one of those games that have a lot that most AAA doesn’t: A solid story, charismatic characters, simple playability and a goal that you share with your digital self. Each gameplay is short, about 2h, but work as intended. The game is surprising, pleasant and has an awesome sound-track.

This is one of those games that make me proud of having a PC and being allowed to have this experience.

Enjoy ;)

OPUS is a wonderful experience, and I highly recommend it. The story isn't flawless, but it did succeed in nearly bringing me to tears, which is still something only a few games have accomplished - and it achieved that in under an hour and a half. If you're not someone who inherently hates iOS ports, you'll find something to love in OPUS.

That being said, I'm much better at writing criticisms, and I do have a major gripe with the game. When starting the story, you are prompted to choose between "Normal Mode" and an easier "Story Mode": Normal Mode promises to hold your hand less, while Story Mode promises to carry you through the story as painlessly as possible. So I chose Normal Mode, of course, but then it never actually felt like the game let my hand go. The story progresses by scanning specific planets, which the game points you directly towards - it points you to a general area where the star can be found, and the star is always the brightest one there. Even when those areas become larger, the game provides you a means to narrow the search down to a handful yet again, meaning you can realistically complete the game without ever scanning a "wrong" system, even on your first playthrough.

As soon as you scan one planet, you are immediately told where the next one is. First, this raises a lot of serious questions about the plot - how did they ever have trouble finding Earthlike planets when they're so helpfully mapped out for you? But even purely as a gameplay mechanic, I believe it genuinely detracted from my experience. More than anything, it actively discouraged me from exploring the actual map: the characters are constantly pattering about how they desperately need to scan the next planet, and the next planet is always right in front of you, so what kind of jerk would make them wait so you can go look for that supernova you just found out about? It also makes the whole scanning mechanic seem completely pointless; if you ever scan an incorrect planet, you feel like you've only wasted your time (more on that in a moment). I would have much preferred a mechanic where you would be told an even broader area to scan in, and you would need to randomly scan planets in the area to find clues to the next candidate - a reason to actually make you want to look around. As it stands, by the time the story gets to the "we're now desperate so we need to look fast" section, I didn't really feel much pressure, since I had felt pressured to rush the story scans from the very beginning.

And about scans being pointless: why on Earth is there an achievement for scanning 1000 systems? As mentioned, you'll probably get through the story with barely over 25 scans, and extra scans up to that points were already a waste of time; what's the point in asking players to sit around for 2.5 hours clicking on star after star, just so they can see the "that's not Earth, stupid" message pop up hundreds of times? I really wish developers would stop adding achievements that may as well read "do a boring and repetitive task over and over and over for us."

Closing statements on OPUS: Did you miss the first paragraph? Go buy OPUS, it's a beautiful, if brief, title. I only criticize it so much because I'm an obnoxious prick, and I believe giving games a free pass on critique just because they're indie or because they're iOS ports is fairly patronising.

I am honestly confused with the design of this game, and I figure that many positive reviews are because people love the little robot, Emeth, as well as the graphics style.

But in terms of this being a game, well... there's nothing really about it that makes it a good game. The actual exploration of space is done in such a simplistic and easy manner that there's nothing interesting about it, nor does it feel like you are actually "exploring" at all. The graphics of OPUS may make everything look really nice, but that doesn't mean I felt like I was really on a big adventure.

The game's title gives away the point of the plot: "The Day We Found Earth." Well, for some reason, there are 2 scientists on a spaceship, along with a little robot, Emeth, trying to find Earth because apparently some gene pool for humans is running low and the scientists need to get back to humanity's origin. Needless to say, the scientists disappear, and Emeth wakes up to continue his little adventure to find Earth again.

The rest of the game boils down to the following:

1. You open up a map of the universe you are in, which contains a handful of specific "Zones" that are number according to the map. Within the Zones are various galaxies and places labeled as "Sectors." The Sectors are labeled either with an English alphabet letter like A or Z, or a Greek symbol/letter. Some other Sectors are marked as "Unknown" and add just a tiny bit of difficulty to the navigation.
   
2. After opening up the map, you choose a planet from a list of objectives, and you find that planet in hopes of finding Earth. The game is linear and has you explore Zone 1, then Zone 2, etc., and you only go to a handful of places in each Zone to progress the story. (I had scanned less than 150 stars by the time I finished the game, and there is an achievement for scanning 1000 of them, which is ridiculous.)
   
3. When you choose a planet, the game usually tells you the Sector and some (x,y) coordinate. Navigation is in 2D to move NSEW on the map, then clicking to scan a star. Later in the game, it stops giving you coordinates, and sometimes will send you to Unknown Sectors. Nevertheless, finding the location is extremely easy for 90% of the time, especially because the planets obviously stand out from the other stars, and the game even helps you find them with certain radars later on.
   
4. Once you find a planet, you are told that it doesn't fit to Earth, then you are kicked back to the spaceship for some story cutscene, which is usually dialogue and sometimes new rooms on the ship opening up where you can read small journals or see pictures.
   
5. After the above scene, you literally open the map again, and start the same process over. Word for word, repetitive actions.

What I found extremely annoying is how linear the "exploration" is, because you essentially know exactly where to go, and also the fact that the game keeps going back to the spaceship every single time that you find the planet you are currently looking for. Literally, it was taking me ~30 seconds to 1 minute in certain places to find the planet being asked for, and then it would trigger a 3-5 minute cutscene. Rinse and repeat. Extremely boring gameplay.

You can technically scan every single star in the game if you want, but it's almost pointless. Besides the main planets that you scan for in the story, along with ~20 other places that are sort of collectibles for achievements, every single optional star in the game triggers the same generic text message that it is scanned and found to be incompatible with the specifications of Earth.

There are no extra cutscenes if you explore on your own. There are no enemies or other characters or events to encounter. Literally the only reason to move around the entire map would be to see the graphical drawings one time, and after that, simply go down the linear path of the game.

OPUS is more like it wanted to be a small-scale novella about Emeth, the robot, and the scientists, filled with some senses of sorrow and love. While I did feel a little attached to the rather persistent robot, I do not think that the game really impacted me and it surely bored my time with the way "exploration" was done. The ending of the game also gives you no conclusion, and I have no real desire to continue with this if there is a sequel.