Opening Omno opened many worlds. Try saying that three times fast. The game by solo dev Jonas Manke, AKA Inkyfox Studios, brings us into a lush, serene world filled with alien life and bright colours. It is reminiscent of Journey in how the light within the player powers their movement, and their journey (pun very much intended) towards the Light.
You are on a planet, and dotted throughout the various biomes within are monuments, whose shadows tower over the creatures beneath. There are journal scraps hidden throughout these biomes, and in them you find a story of a civilisation that left behind these structures. Of a lone traveller moving one last time towards the light β in hopes that it would grant them the peace they were searching for.
Omno is a light platformer puzzle game β there is no timer, no hostile creatures β just a panorama that stretches as far as the eye can see. Approaching creatures triggered journal entries, and hints to their connection to the light and the energy of the planet. Each world has you gaining a power that assists in traversing over mountain peaks, through bamboo forests, and into the skies.
I soon gained a friend that would accompany me, and throughout my journey they were a constant companion β their white, glowing eyes a comfort to see. Many other creatures glow white themselves β the turtles on their heads, and the little hermit crabs give up their stash of light with a little tap of my staff.
My staff is my main mode of transportation β as I advance further, the ability of the light is more evident to the people that came before me β and myself. I am soon able to teleport, float, dan dash as I solve puzzles to pick the orbs of light scattered throughout each world. Sometimes, I even get a hand from a passing creature β a large turtle, or even a dragon soaring above snowy peaks.
Reaching the end of the game meant a sense of passing on, and my little friend was with me all the way β through the deserts, as I soared with abandon, and as I made my final steps towards the light. I will never forget the final moments, and the experience that Omno had brought to me.
Maybe, just maybe β the light is within us all.
Get Omno on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PS4! Follow the dev on Twitter.
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