As games progress they’re not changing, as much as evolving. One of the most common ways is by combining one genre with another. For a while this was adding RPG mechanics to anything, even puzzle games, in hopes of creating an engaging experience. For many this worked, resulting in more daring choices. One of the most interesting is Omensight, which combines action adventure with choose your own adventure and/or mystery. With such conflicting genres, does Omensight make for a thrilling experience or is it another boring gimmick?
On a basic level, there isn’t much to Omensight’s story. You control the Harbinger, a mysterious character tasked not with ending the world but preventing it. However, due to war and an untimely death, you’ve been summoned to prevent the end from happening. With all hope lost, the Harbinger lands in a special land where you can go back and prevent the world ending event from occurring. The only problem is, figuring out how to do it.
This is a common problem in time travel stories, since it is never as simple as changing one event. In the case of Omensight, it’s about helping various people, unlocking powers and gaining information used to discover the correct path. This means it might take a while to figure out the correct path, especially on higher difficulties where players are given fewer resources but it makes for an interesting ride.
Between trying to solve the mystery is gameplay segments. These are what you’d expect from an action adventure game, so simple sword attacks, a couple skills, breakable objects and a simple leveling system. Sadly, there really isn’t much to the system.
For the most part, Omensight comes down to paying attention to the enemy, knowing when to attack and how to defeat your foe. This largely means pushing a single attack until you’re forced to dodge or take a hit. Neither are particularly difficult, as the dodge window is pretty large and enemies aren’t aggressive enough to matter.
In addition to lackluster combat, the controls are on the stiff side. Some sections, especially when jumping between platforms, isn’t as fluid as they should be. Thankfully, there aren’t many of these sections but the few are enough to discourage more.
With so little going on, most of the adventure boils down to trial and error. One run will result in failure, but give you the ability to unlock a new path, and that path will give a hint, ultimately leading to the end goal. It’s enough to keep those interested playing but not enough to sell an experience.
Verdict:
Omensight is certainly an interesting experience, one that comes down to how much you like story driven adventures. With each of the characters having their own goals, motivations and thoughts, there is so much more to the world than the gameplay might suggest. With only so much to do and a pretty straightforward combat experience, it quickly becomes all about the adventure, then the journey. For some this might be enough, where as those looking for better combat likely being disappointed.
[Editor’s Note: Omensight was reviewed on PS4 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
