I've been checking in on this game every now and then since the first trailer for it released back in 2014. Since then, it seemed like a very uniquely stylized Earthbound/Yume Nikki-inspired game. (Which turned out to be correct!) I've always had an interest in this game, but due to its increasing dev cycle and lack of updates, I would forget about it for like a whole year before hearing about it again. When I heard it would finally release on Christmas, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the game was finally finished. I downloaded it within minutes of it unlocking. It took me 30 hours across 7 days to complete this game from start to finish, but bear in mind I tried by best to complete every side quest and inspect everything in the game, so I imagine it took me longer than most people would take. The thing is, normally in games like this I don't care too much about completing every tiny little secret/side quest, but this game made me want to do it. I suppose I will divide the body of this review into two sections: Positives and Negatives.

THE POSITIVES: Where do I even begin? This game is INCREDIBLE! It exceeded my expectations in every single way! The turn-based combat is unique and engaging with all the unique skills, follow-up attacks, and the emotions dynamic. As someone who doesn't tend to enjoy turned-based combat games albeit with a few exceptions (Mother series, Undertale, etc.), this game's combat is surprisingly fun to learn and master, although it does take a little bit to get used to it. The game LOOKS AMAZING! Both the pixel artstyle and the drawn artstyle look so visually appealing and absolutely terrifying when it needs to be. All the enemies and bosses are so creatively designed, each with different expressions for the various emotions they can have. The most powerful part of this game is certainly its story and its characters. Truly, if you allow yourself to immerse within this game's story and connect with its characters, it will deliver an experience like no other game you've ever played. A game's storytelling has not moved me in such a way since Undertale, which it miraculously surpasses in that regard (and by a long shot! I know those are big words but play the game for yourself and see.) This game has a great sense of humor that could be called quirky, but thankfully it doesn't go too far on that quirkiness like a lot of other mother-inspired games do. It’s not too memey like a lot of Undertale's humor, so most of the jokes will still land 10 years from now. This game pulls off the best foreshadowing, symbolism, and subtlety I've ever seen in a game BY FAR. Everything is connected in this game. This game gives you just the right amount of info as you continue to play that allows you to gradually put the pieces of its story together. The twist near the end was truly the most powerful and unexpected one I've ever seen in a video game.

This game is an emotional roller coaster. It explores depression and anxiety better than any other game I've played. The finale moved me to tears, which is something very difficult to do mind you. I should inform those who are reading this, however, that the warnings about this game's graphic depictions of depression and suicide are not to be ignored. There were certain scenes that bothered me quite a bit, and I'm totally desensitized to most things. Please be aware that while this game can be silly, make jokes, and have bright colors at times, it is also the darkest and saddest story I've ever seen in a video game by quite a margin. It is utterly ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up at times. But to me, it is those graphic moments that make this game so much more emotionally impactful. The music in this game is excellent. It isn't the best I've heard, but there are still plenty of excellent bangers here. The does a great job at conveying the proper emotions it needs to. (This is one regard in which Undertale is much better tbh).
Contrary to what many are saying, this game is quite content-rich. There are multiple routes with even more possible endings. There are tons and tons of characters to talk to, side-quests to complete, and secrets to find in every area; so much so that even after trying my best to complete everything for 30 hours, I found that I had missed a ton of things. I had missed 2 entire areas, several secret bosses, and tons of optional side-quests. Don’t let anyone tell you this game is lacking content-wise, it certainly feels like it took six years to make.

THE NEGATIVES I am going to frame this section in the context of things I would like to see the devs address (for the most part). Most of the issues with this game are inconveniences and lack of QoL options. The main issue in terms of QoL is the slow text speed. There is no way to speed up text bubbles! They only go at one speed, and that's really bad considering there are many NPC dialogues that are quite lengthy. This game desperately needs more options to speed up the dialogue. Inventory management could be a lot better. When you get a new item, it is difficult to know exactly where to find it in your inventory. The color-coded item names help a little, but they only go so far. For instance, when you get a new equippable, it’s not always clear which party member it is for, so you must search the inventories of each party member to find that item. Not every segment of this game is created equal. I will say that, for me personally, the initial 2 or 3 hours of the game are a little slow (Things didn't really pick up and hook me until I got to Otherworld). Not to say they aren't good, but it is very dialogue heavy. The Humphrey section dragged on a bit too long as well. One thing I wish Omori would take from MOTHER is the mechanic where if you are a certain number of levels above an enemy, running into them instakills them or their overworld sprites evade you. Backtracking is a big part of this game, and it gets annoying when you are trying to do something, but you keep getting sucked into battles against enemies that die in one hit. The combat system is excellent, but it does REALLY take some time to understand it fully. The game does attempt to ease you into it, but I still felt quite overwhelmed once the full combat system was let loose onto me. Once you understand it though, it is very engaging, even for someone who typically doesn't prefer turn-based combat!

CONCLUSION Nobody knows it yet, but Omori just made history in terms of video game storytelling. Omori is the most emotionally impactful game I have ever played. I couldn't have ever imagined this game being this good. It surpassed my expectations of it a thousand-fold. I really, really hope this game gets the attention it deserves. If you loved the gameplay of MOTHER and Yume Nikki and the storytelling of Undertale and Night in the Woods, this game may surpass all of them for you. This game is an experience like no other. I beg you to play it and see for yourself. 10/10.

I've been checking in on this game every now and then since the first trailer for it released back in 2014. Since then, it seemed like a very uniquely stylized Earthbound/Yume Nikki-inspired game. (Which turned out to be correct!) I've always had an interest in this game, but due to its increasing dev cycle and lack of updates, I would forget about it for like a whole year before hearing about it again. When I heard it would finally release on Christmas, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the game was finally finished. I downloaded it within minutes of it unlocking. It took me 30 hours across 7 days to complete this game from start to finish, but bear in mind I tried by best to complete every side quest and inspect everything in the game, so I imagine it took me longer than most people would take. The thing is, normally in games like this I don't care too much about completing every tiny little secret/side quest, but this game made me want to do it. I suppose I will divide the body of this review into two sections: Positives and Negatives. THE POSITIVES: Where do I even begin? This game is INCREDIBLE! It exceeded my expectations in every single way! The turn-based combat is unique and engaging with all the unique skills, follow-up attacks, and the emotions dynamic. As someone who doesn't tend to enjoy turned-based combat games albeit with a few exceptions (Mother series, Undertale, etc.), this game's combat is surprisingly fun to learn and master, although it does take a little bit to get used to it. The game LOOKS AMAZING! Both the pixel artstyle and the drawn artstyle look so visually appealing and absolutely terrifying when it needs to be. All the enemies and bosses are so creatively designed, each with different expressions for the various emotions they can have. The most powerful part of this game is certainly its story and its characters. Truly, if you allow yourself to immerse within this game's story and connect with its characters, it will deliver an experience like no other game you've ever played. A game's storytelling has not moved me in such a way since Undertale, which it miraculously surpasses in that regard (and by a long shot! I know those are big words but play the game for yourself and see.) This game has a great sense of humor that could be called quirky, but thankfully it doesn't go too far on that quirkiness like a lot of other mother-inspired games do. It’s not too memey like a lot of Undertale's humor, so most of the jokes will still land 10 years from now. This game pulls off the best foreshadowing, symbolism, and subtlety I've ever seen in a game BY FAR. Everything is connected in this game. This game gives you just the right amount of info as you continue to play that allows you to gradually put the pieces of its story together. The twist near the end was truly the most powerful and unexpected one I've ever seen in a video game. This game is an emotional roller coaster. It explores depression and anxiety better than any other game I've played. The finale moved me to tears, which is something very difficult to do mind you. I should inform those who are reading this, however, that the warnings about this game's graphic depictions of depression and suicide are not to be ignored. There were certain scenes that bothered me quite a bit, and I'm totally desensitized to most things. Please be aware that while this game can be silly, make jokes, and have bright colors at times, it is also the darkest and saddest story I've ever seen in a video game by quite a margin. It is utterly fucked up at times. But to me, it is those graphic moments that make this game so much more emotionally impactful. The music in this game is excellent. It isn't the best I've heard, but there are still plenty of excellent bangers here. The does a great job at conveying the proper emotions it needs to. (This is one regard in which Undertale is much better tbh). Contrary to what many are saying, this game is quite content-rich. There are multiple routes with even more possible endings. There are tons and tons of characters to talk to, side-quests to complete, and secrets to find in every area; so much so that even after trying my best to complete everything for 30 hours, I found that I had missed a ton of things. I had missed 2 entire areas, several secret bosses, and tons of optional side-quests. Don’t let anyone tell you this game is lacking content-wise, it certainly feels like it took six years to make. THE NEGATIVES I am going to frame this section in the context of things I would like to see the devs address (for the most part). Most of the issues with this game are inconveniences and lack of QoL options. The main issue in terms of QoL is the slow text speed. There is no way to speed up text bubbles! They only go at one speed, and that's really bad considering there are many NPC dialogues that are quite lengthy. This game desperately needs more options to speed up the dialogue. Inventory management could be a lot better. When you get a new item, it is difficult to know exactly where to find it in your inventory. The color-coded item names help a little, but they only go so far. For instance, when you get a new equippable, it’s not always clear which party member it is for, so you must search the inventories of each party member to find that item. Not every segment of this game is created equal. I will say that, for me personally, the initial 2 or 3 hours of the game are a little slow (Things didn't really pick up and hook me until I got to Otherworld). Not to say they aren't good, but it is very dialogue heavy. The Humphrey section dragged on a bit too long as well. One thing I wish Omori would take from MOTHER is the mechanic where if you are a certain number of levels above an enemy, running into them instakills them or their overworld sprites evade you. Backtracking is a big part of this game, and it gets annoying when you are trying to do something, but you keep getting sucked into battles against enemies that die in one hit. The combat system is excellent, but it does REALLY take some time to understand it fully. The game does attempt to ease you into it, but I still felt quite overwhelmed once the full combat system was let loose onto me. Once you understand it though, it is very engaging, even for someone who typically doesn't prefer turn-based combat! CONCLUSION Nobody knows it yet, but Omori just made history in terms of video game storytelling. Omori is the most emotionally impactful game I have ever played. I couldn't have ever imagined this game being this good. It surpassed my expectations of it a thousand-fold. I really, really hope this game gets the attention it deserves. If you loved the gameplay of MOTHER and Yume Nikki and the storytelling of Undertale and Night in the Woods, this game may surpass all of them for you. This game is an experience like no other. I beg you to play it and see for yourself. 10/10.