I surfed a spherical mound of snow on Monday morning, weaving a string of big stone hoops together. The hoops were buried in the ground, giving them the appearance of arches. As I passed through each one, a light above illuminated the path to the next in the series. Wave of fabric, gust of wind: everyone was aware of my presence. The last arch illuminated a mystical panel on a rock – a massive rock, I would later learn, but it seemed to be a little object from a distance. I saw movement as I peered at the rock. As I approached, I saw that a mechanism had been activated; an odd, unseen force was now selecting and positioning stone platforms across the void of a nearby chasm, creating a road for me with the carefree ease of a stranger dealing cards.
Many of the individuals I’ve spoken to about Omno lately have said that it resembles Journey or other similar games. Spaces left empty, you and the surroundings alone, sweeping soundscapes and the different far-off cries of artfully designed nature. You’ll get epiphany and a good light show as a reward for meeting your goals and making progress. In fact, the introductory tale I just described sounds a lot like Journey or other similar video games. You may angle between arches while surfing over the ground. Enchanted panels and prehistoric rock!
Strangely, I never gave those types of games a second consideration when I was really playing Omno. What was it I was thinking about? Omno is a game of whispering thrills, a hazy day spent lounging on the velvety green grass under a tree. The breeze is playful and delightful, the sun is beaming, and everything has a rich, gently prospective vibe to it. You portray an amiable figure with a head that resembles a garlic bulb and a staff in your hand. Throughout the game, you will traverse stunning landscapes, solve easy riddles to advance to new areas, decipher glyphs to uncover more of an intriguing narrative, and come across both huge and little species. There’s no fighting. If you do not interact with the tale, it does not exist. Simply areas with activities inside them. Wed me!
It’s lovely, yet in a really delicate way. You see a beautiful spectrum of colors leading your eye, from rich gold to purple to silver, while the surroundings shift from marshes to woods to ice to beach. With their smooth, gray surfaces, rocks pierce through patches of grass, giving out an almost palpable solar radiation. There are historic structures in artistic disrepair, such as a partially submerged stairway and a tower. And the fauna! tiny mushrooms that have the ability to grow to amazing heights, tiny wasps that have lights in place of stingers, balloon animals, walking spoons made of celery, and enormous dinosaurs with three legs. Wed me!
This area’s nature is interesting without ever being scary. It exists for two reasons: first, it provides you with the dazzling diamond fragments you find along the way, and second, it exists for no other reason. The names of the species you encounter can be checked off, but even in the absence of a list, a checking system, or a completion % for each location, you would still study them. While some of the animals are helpful in solving problems, the greatest ones are glaringly unusable. Aside: did you know that bats are more closely related to camels than mice? This was one of my favorite scenes in Omno. Last week, I discovered that it lowered its majestic head to allow me to take a piece of something dazzling out of its mouth.
As you go, all of this is accompanied by the sound of small footfall, the flap of fabric, and the whistling of the wind. Omno is a platformer, meaning you may leap and rapidly learn how to expand your reach with an air-dash. However, it’s also a very gentle pull at the brain’s ability to solve problems and a gymnastic puzzler. Everything works together. In order to access the ultimate, more complex problem that guards the doorway to the next location where the pattern repeats, you must locate three light orbs in each place you visit. These puzzles are individually mild puzzles. And the ways to get these orbs are riddles as well; they require observing your surroundings, comprehending your skill set, and developing an awareness of Omno’s preferred modes of thought.
By the halfway point, you possess a few skills, such as the ability to sprint, surf, teleport, and float down from a height. You may combine these skills to go to far-off locations in the environment. I think Omno truly shines in this situation. There is enormous freedom in every aspect! To advance, you must collect three orbs, which may be buried behind a string of difficult maneuvers or dispersed over challenging areas. However, each region has more than three orbs, giving you options. Do you want to do everything, or just the bare minimum and be done with it? Would you want to put the orbs down for a while and simply wander, enjoy the scenery, try your hand at surfing, and hang out with the animals?
Omno gradually develops a personal grammar via its puzzles, which are often excellent due to their simplicity. You discover new methods to use and conceptualize skills. How can I reach the sphere on the far-off rock? How do I reach the orb on a far-off rock when there are no neighboring rocks to climb? How can I reach the orb on the far-off rock when a wandering light would kill me if it catches me? As the variants appear, this turns into one of those rare games where you get the impression that the creator was actively considering their options and making decisions while creating the environment you’re in. It reminds me of the designer’s notepad, which is something I associate with games like Grow Home and Hohokum.
to have the freedom to explore a stunning natural world on my own, one in which nature functions as a kind of machine! This stands out as something really unique because of the feeling of space and the assurance that a player can get what they want from a game. I want to finish Omno, even though I’ve already done it. All the creatures, all the orbs, all the thoughts, all the views—I want to see it all. I’m returning inside.