I was first drawn to this game by scrolling through the store, and its resemblance to games like Undertale (RPG Maker games) caught my attention, despite not having played any of them. Looking at the store page, I saw the tag "Psychological Horror" and the "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews and decided to instantly purchase the game.

I have played way too many games to count over the course of my 22 year life span, and nowadays I mainly play games to simply pass the time. Many games, from AAA single player titles to fast-paced multiplayer shooters, were certainly fun. However, not many games really stuck with me after putting down the controller. For the vast majority of games I would fall into a certain listlessness, wherein I would mindlessly "follow the quest marker" or "shoot the bad guys", but would rarely ever be emotionally engaged. OMORI is not one of these games.

When I reflect on the games that have had the biggest impact on me, the things they all have in common are that they made me truly feel connected to the characters, and made me care for them. OMORI follows the story of the protagonist, "Omori", and his childhood friends Aubrey, Kel, Hero, Basil, and Mari. The dynamics between this group of friends almost made me feel like I was a part of the group, and had me recalling the fondness of my own childhood. Each character in this group felt truly real and alive to me, as I have met similar people like them myself throughout my life. The world itself carries a certain charm to it that had me smiling the whole time as I spoke with the various silly side characters and the sort of "self-awareness" the game has that you would find in Undertale or LISA.

Of course, no game is for everyone. The game itself will probably take you anywhere from 15-20 hours to complete, depending how much of the content you choose to engage with. This may dissatisfy some players, who like to get more hours out of a game. The main gameplay system of OMORI is turn-based JRPG style combat, which in itself is fairly simple compared to larger titles. Furthermore, not everyone is a fan of pixel art or anime-style artwork. However, setting player preferences aside, I had 0 issues with the game when it came to the enjoyability of combat, story pacing, performance, etc. This is a perfect game on paper in my eyes.

That being said, I am not afraid to say that of ALL the games I have ever played in my life thus far, OMORI is my favorite of them all. With the unforgettable cast of characters, the beautiful art design, fantastic music, and entrancing world, OMORI is a game that I will hold dear to my heart until the day I die. I pretty much never write reviews for anything, but this game was so special to me that I felt compelled to spread the word and let the whole world know how much I love OMORI. If this review can sway even one person to give this game a shot, then I will be satisfied. Please buy this game, I promise it is worth your time.

I was first drawn to this game by scrolling through the store, and its resemblance to games like Undertale (RPG Maker games) caught my attention, despite not having played any of them. Looking at the store page, I saw the tag "Psychological Horror" and the "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews and decided to instantly purchase the game. I have played way too many games to count over the course of my 22 year life span, and nowadays I mainly play games to simply pass the time. Many games, from AAA single player titles to fast-paced multiplayer shooters, were certainly fun. However, not many games really stuck with me after putting down the controller. For the vast majority of games I would fall into a certain listlessness, wherein I would mindlessly "follow the quest marker" or "shoot the bad guys", but would rarely ever be emotionally engaged. OMORI is not one of these games. When I reflect on the games that have had the biggest impact on me, the things they all have in common are that they made me truly feel connected to the characters, and made me care for them. OMORI follows the story of the protagonist, "Omori", and his childhood friends Aubrey, Kel, Hero, Basil, and Mari. The dynamics between this group of friends almost made me feel like I was a part of the group, and had me recalling the fondness of my own childhood. Each character in this group felt truly real and alive to me, as I have met similar people like them myself throughout my life. The world itself carries a certain charm to it that had me smiling the whole time as I spoke with the various silly side characters and the sort of "self-awareness" the game has that you would find in Undertale or LISA. Of course, no game is for everyone. The game itself will probably take you anywhere from 15-20 hours to complete, depending how much of the content you choose to engage with. This may dissatisfy some players, who like to get more hours out of a game. The main gameplay system of OMORI is turn-based JRPG style combat, which in itself is fairly simple compared to larger titles. Furthermore, not everyone is a fan of pixel art or anime-style artwork. However, setting player preferences aside, I had 0 issues with the game when it came to the enjoyability of combat, story pacing, performance, etc. This is a perfect game on paper in my eyes. That being said, I am not afraid to say that of ALL the games I have ever played in my life thus far, OMORI is my favorite of them all. With the unforgettable cast of characters, the beautiful art design, fantastic music, and entrancing world, OMORI is a game that I will hold dear to my heart until the day I die. I pretty much never write reviews for anything, but this game was so special to me that I felt compelled to spread the word and let the whole world know how much I love OMORI. If this review can sway even one person to give this game a shot, then I will be satisfied. Please buy this game, I promise it is worth your time.