TLDR: Game good, 20/10, stellar soundtrack, insane art direction, moving story NEED to play blind, and at least once in your life.
Omori is a game that is best experienced blind. do NOT look at the community tab, do not look ANYTHING up, do not even THINK about looking at characters you like for potential profile pictures and do NOT listen to the soundtrack UNTIL you've finished the game, because Omori is not a game, as cheesy as it sounds, it is a life lesson disguised as a turn based RPG. One with incredible art, passionate music, and a lesson that I personally feel more people should follow, and for those of you (so maybe two people max..) who know me know that's a big statement.
I am writing this review DIRECTLY after finishing the game, a full playthrough of the "good ending" with a moderate amount of side content is roughly 20 hours, and the game base is 20 dollars. I believe I got it on sale for 10-15 but I would gladly spend another $20, and I have, thrice that in the form of the collectors edition on switch. (it was well worth the money by the way.)
The Combat - Turn Based RPG, so if you like the older Final Fantasy games, Clair Obscur, or the like, then this game will click. The unique gimmick Omori brings to the table is Emotions, Angry, Sad, and Happy in a sort of rock-paper-scissor hierarchy, simple to understand and fun to play around with!
The Story - You and your friends need to find your friend who went missing. That is all you need to know. that is all you SHOULD know before you play the game. Just play it.
The Soundtrack - One of the most beautiful scores I have ever had the fortune of hearing.. from start to finish every area has music that perfectly encapsulates how mysterious the world is.. I don't know any other buzzwords I could fit without sounding full of myself so I'll leave it at that.
Just know that Duet is my favorite song in all of gaming as of 8/13/2026 at 9:23PM. I WILL be back to change it if there ever is a change.
The Art - If Hylics is known for it's strange and out there yet unique and capturing art design, then Omori sits at the table right beside it. Every frame of this game is hand drawn, LITERALLY hand drawn. (as hand drawn as pixel art can get as well.)
SPOILER ZONE/RANT SECTION - DO NOT ENTER IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON PLAYING THE GAME OR DO NOT CARE ABOUT ME (no hard feelings ;)
[SPOILER ZONE/RANT SECTION - DO NOT ENTER IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON PLAYING THE GAME OR DO NOT CARE ABOUT ME (no hard feelings ;)]
The Message - Changed me. Genuinely changed me. While yes, if you've paid attention to my previous review of Clair Obscur, you'll know that game also changed me, but not in the way that Omori has. You see, Clair Obscur changed me at a point where I was afraid of the end and the unknown. Omori makes me want to embrace it, as well as learning to forgive yourself for your hardships. I am someone who is deeply rooted in self hatred, my entire life I've spent hating every fiber of my being. I hate the way I look, the way I dress, the way I act, who I am at a fundamental level. I hate every thought I have on a daily basis. I spend most of my time having an argument with myself when I'm not listening to music or drowning out my sorrows with competitive games which do not blend with my nature of wanting to be the best of the best for nobody else but myself, but even then I think about how selfish I am. "okay okay solar! we get it! what does this have to do with Omori?" well, Omori's message, or my take away from the "good ending" is to learn to forgive yourself. I am only 19, I will be 20 this October-less then two months away, and I had a rough childhood. For my own safety, I will not get into it, but I always wanted to be the person who people could look towards for help, to smile, to forget how cruel the world is, and In doing so, for convenience sake we'll say post-covid, I noticed that everyone does not want to talk to me. I had a handful of friends who due to the aforementioned self hatred and projecting problems, I no longer have. This has sat with me for roughly four years. I have but two people I can confidently call "friends" (one of which I plan to propose to in a few years, don't know why I felt the need to include that but oh well my backspace key doesn't work half the time) and one friend group consisting of roughly seven people. These people have stuck with me through *everything.* Every hardship, every bad day every mental breakdown and most importantly, every self hatred spiral. Omori has taught me that I need to forgive who I am to forge who I will be. After all, that person who just wanted to help others was just a kid who didn't know any better, and this man who STILL doesn't know any better doesn't hold him to it, it was not his fault things turned out the way they did, and he should stop thinking as such.
