Episode 177 - Respect Water - Omori

Welcome to cast space. Welcome back (finally!) to the podcast.
Today, we’re going to be talking about Omori, a turn-based RPG with
a unique art style and dark themes. Though, as we discuss in the
episode, don’t think too much of Omori based on its genre, because
it’s really putting its worst foot forward. Omori has rich
characters, relatable themes and effective comedy. It’s a silly
game in the same vein as Earthbound where you fight cartoon sharks
and your happy characters will deal more damage against angry foes,
but it’s real strength is in making you learn more and more about
your party members and their associated friends before stabbing you
right in the heart. The game is billed as having psychological
horror elements, and those are there, but the game is also
profoundly sad and surprisingly moving. And on top of that, it has
a combat system that has some depth to it, but takes a long time to
come into its own and adds a level of tedium to a game that
otherwise keeps you wanting to move forward. We’re going to be
talking about the slow build of the combat and where it shines, the
tonal differences and how much of it we think was intentional, and
we tell you how not to discuss Chrono Trigger. We’ve been pretty
busy, so we apologize for the extremely long delay between
episodes. Omori is at least a bit of a gem, so hopefully you enjoy
the episode. We still have two more games for Halloween to cover,
so we’ll be staying in the genre over the next couple weeks despite
the scheduling issues. Did you participate in the Omori
Kickstarter? Is it a game you heard about later and checked out
based on the art style or the themes? Let us know in the comments
below or over on our Discord! Next time, we’re going to be talking
about Cryptmaster, so we hope you’ll join us then!