At their best, these portions approach the charm of their inspirations. NPCs here also spout that same whimsical and nonsensical dialogue one can expect from an indie Mother-like. Headspace is where the bulk of the game takes place, and the time spent here is quite reminiscent of the Motherseries with its zone-based structure and first-person, turn-based battles initiated from running into an enemy sprite in the field. The friend group also features Omori’s sister Mari and his best friend Basil, who are central to the plot but are not playable. We’re introduced to the carefree and athletic Kel, the hardheaded and passionate Aubrey, and the more mature and endlessly talented Hero (also Kel’s older brother), who together make up the game’s main four-member party. The first is Headspace, a fantastical and colorful imaginary world where we play as the young, straight-faced Omori and his friends. Omori makes this pretty clear to the player off the bat, but the way it unravels is slow, gripping, methodical, and only sometimes a bit indulgent in its own morbidity.

It’s the intimacy of buried secrets, psychological trauma, and coping mechanisms. This isn’t really a cozy or romantic kind of intimacy, mind you it’s a profoundly dark and twisted intimacy. The word intimate describes a lot of what makes this game interesting. Omori aims to do exactly this, succeeding through its intimate storytelling and the evident love poured into its soundtrack, characterizations, and original art. At the same time, there are few JRPGs (or games in general) that follow a group of established friends and actually explore the complex and shifting relationships, impactful events, and the expressed and suppressed emotions that can define and destroy a group of youths as they develop out of childhood innocence into mature independence. This review does not contain any graphic details on this subject matter.Ī common theme found across JRPGs is along the lines of ‘the power of friendship.’ Considering JRPGs are often built around accumulating a varied and colorful party of characters and taking on epic (often god-killing) quests together, a focus on companionship and teamwork comes naturally to these games’ narrative arcs.

If you are currently experiencing mental health issues, it may not be a good time to play this game.

Disclaimer: Omori deals with heavy themes including trauma, depression, and suicide.

Dark darker yet darker undertale