Dabbling With… Omno

The first episode of a short series on games I discovered at EGX Rezzed 2019.

First up is Omno by Jonas Manke. Literally so, as this was the very first game I played at Rezzed today. Omno is a work-in-progress but everything points to it being an easy-going exploration adventure game.

The graphics and sound are solid, I really liked wandering around. Stomping, dashing or teleporting is delicious. You stomp to get energy from rocks or creatures – fortunately, the creatures aren’t hurt by this, but they get so frightened they drop white blobs of energy. Although I have to admit to feeling a tad cruel.

There’s a faint collectible aspect to the game – it tells me when I’ve discovered creatures, explorer rocks or new areas. I don’t mind this too much provided it doesn’t power the action or overpower the experience.

It’s part discoverable systems because I was a little lost for a couple of minutes, but it was good lost. From what I gather this is not representative of the full game however what there were a lot of jumping puzzles which involve having to go back to the start if you’ve made a mistake. The dash jump takes some of the pain away. However, I was getting better at knowing whether to jump or dash jump as I moved through the demo. Maybe a little muscle memory is all that is needed.

No evidence of narrative at this point but apparently we’ll be able to read glyphs in the real game.

I didn’t see anything here that was brand new but I’m in. Looks like the kind of game you’d chill out with at the end of the day.

Blurb from the presskit:

OMNO is an atmospheric adventure about a journey of discovery through an ancient world of wonders. Taking players through lush forests, across a sun blasted desert, over a frigid tundra, the power of a lost civilisation will even carry the hero to the clouds. Along the way there will be creatures great and small to observe and interact with – shy rock-like crabs, helpful turtles, maybe even a friendly dinosaur to ride?

The world of OMNO is filled with puzzles, platforming challenges and hidden secrets. The player’s magic staff is the key to powering forgotten relics, and will allows players to dash lighting fast across platforms, glide over land, sail above the clouds and more.

Check out the game’s site or look it up on Steam.

Interested in other games I’ve dabbled with? Check out the series index!