Alright, I've got a lot to say about Omori since I beat it in early February 2021. It's got a lot of strengths and a lot of issues too, but I really loved what it did ultimately.

I think as I've been through this game through other peoples' eyes I've definitely taken more awareness into what exactly is wrong with it. It's really long for one thing. 20 hours is kind of asking a lot, and there's a lot of shit, especially in the dream world that really should've been cut. And the other elephant in the room is the twist. The more I think about it, yeah I think it doesn't make that much sense. Yeah someone would've noticed Mari has bruise marks on her corpse. And the game really tries to pull you into that horror of the situation, so the plot hole takes you out of it a little bit.

And I need to say; why the fuck is there an entire alternate route to this game? What a waste of resources. No, I did not bother to go through the route where I never opened the door to Kel. Is there really a reason to? I just played 9 hours of Yume Nikki months later and I think that gave me infinitely more mileage than anything that would've provided. More fluff to account for that 20 dollar price tag I suppose (and those grossly ambitious Kickstarter goals). But I digress.

This is one of the most emotional games I've ever played. Seriously had me choked up multiple times on my first playthrough. I felt for each of the characters, and although Basil was my least favorite I could even understand his struggles. I mean I've not killed my sister, can't imagine too many have, but I've felt some kind of familiarity with Sunny's condition. I think the way they tackled that was pretty powerful and really helped me see myself in him.

But I don't think I'd like this game nearly as much if it wasn't for the music. It kinda carries the game if I'm being honest, it's phenomenal. Final Duet is probably the most emotionally powerful sequence in any game I've played and that's strictly because of how integral the music is to it. When you first open the game you hear the duet song on the title screen; it's been there the whole game and it all builds up to that moment. That scene broke me.

They really drive home that theme of self-acceptance. It's not about having everyone tell you how great you are, or being there for you. It's about accepting yourself. When the game ends with Sunny confronting his friends, we don't see how it goes, and it doesn't matter. Sunny already accepted his own reality. And he was gonna leave town anyway, so who cares. He made the choice to continue living in spite of his mistake, whether or not his friends actually forgave him.

I think before the climax at the end of the game, you almost question your own morals. Should Sunny end his life over the guilt? To be brutally honest, at one point I thought yes. I'm not one to wish death upon others, but this is a video game character we're talking about. One who thoughtlessly took his own sister's life, one that loved him dearly. He's done nothing with his life but waste it in his bedroom for four years. If his life is miserable, why sustain it? Does he deserve redemption for what he did? Did Basil deserve redemption for upholding the lie? I suppose for anyone who thought no on either, we have endings that provide the demises of each. But I like to think that the true ending, the one I experienced, is the intended one. Sunny finally decides to confront Basil after so long, faces the side of him that neglects his past, and survives.

To sum things up, this game is kinda shit but has master's work embedded. I would recommend it but I kinda spoiled the whole point of playing. Have a good evening, whoever's reading.