Omensight (PC) Review

This follows a stoic, demigod-like, silent protagonist known as the Harbinger, who will have to avert the upcoming end of the world by revisiting the final day again, and again, trying to learn what led to that very end, and how it will be possible to change things. This, of course, means that Omensight has to deal with the "curse" of those videogames that deal with endlessly repeating time-loops, which is how most players will soon end up feeling that they are going in circles. Sure, some, like the legendary Chrono Trigger, have pulled that off gracefully but, sadly, the same can't be said about this.

On the one hand, the concept here is quite intriguing. The Harbinger is playing the role of a detective who, in order to stop the end of this Disney-like, animal-inhabited fantasy land, has to gather clues by going back to the past, and then use these clues to follow the next crumb along the trail. The problems with the execution of this, otherwise, fine idea? First of all, choice is an illusion, as, in essence, the only freedom you have is whether to follow path 'One' before 'Two.'

The main reason, however, is the fact that this scenario pretty much requires replaying the same bunch of levels, and since this is not an open-ended RPG where the entertainment stems from exploration, but an extremely linear hack 'n' slasher, the levels themselves aren't that interesting to begin with. Even worse, the vast majority of time, replaying a stage means that the enemies that one will have to confront will be the same.

Oh, sure, some minor changes will ensue. The next time the Harbinger pays a visit to a level, she will probably have a nice little key to open that annoying door that previously she could not, and something slightly more powerful will make an appearance, amongst all the cannon fodder - but it doesn't really matter because the Harbinger eats enemies for breakfast. Long story short: she is way too powerful, to the point that those experienced with this kind of action will feel as if they have enabled the autopilot cheat, or whatever. What's even sadder is that the battle mechanics are awesome, but just won't get a chance to shine due to the mind-numbingly low difficulty.

This sword-wielding heroine is basically Bayonetta… minus the 'killer bod,' of course. She can hack, she can slash, and she has magic abilities that range from slowing down time, to grabbing enemies like a magnet, and throwing them like a catapult. Most of all, however, she can dodge, and while this isn't an issue per se, the game is too generous when it comes to evasions, to the point that it makes the enemies nothing more than beginner-friendly speed bumps.

Sadly, Omensight repeats the mistakes of its predecessor - action that's great, but repetitive and not really that challenging, and a decent story, that just doesn't really know how to feel compelling. Is it bad? No, but it's more like a jack of several trades, yet master of none, with the only thing that really stands out being the amazing, low-poly/textureless art style… with even that losing its spark after repeating the same level for the umpteenth time.