There were two games this year that I requested review codes, but I didn’t write about them. To make sure I got both covered before the end of the year, I started this blog with the plan to post a combined “Quick Looks”. But as I got to writing, I had enough to say on both to justify their own dedicated posts. While both blogs start with this same introduction, the rest of the content is specific to each game.
This blog focuses on Onirism. If you’re interested in reading what I had to say about Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, click here.
An arena shooter masked as an adventure game
The story behind Onirism centers around a girl named Carol. She gets transported to a magical world where someone has stolen her bunny, and she wants it back. The story aspect of the game, at least early on, isn’t fleshed out. You arrive in this magical world, and you begin your pursuit of the mysterious character who has taken it.
The world you explore is vast. The first few areas are massive. These are not only wide, but in one area, it’s very high. That’s one thing that this game has going for it: the levels are massive. They feel more like levels designed for an arena shooter than for an adventure platform.
Onirism gets compared to Serious Sam. I don’t have any direct experience with that franchise, but I get the similarities. There is an enemy in this game that bears a striking resemblance to a well-known foe in the SS series. I suspect that there are other things that this takes homage to, which I’ll leave others to highlight.
Carol will find a lot of different weapons along the way. These are ‘kiddy’ versions of weapons you’d be familiar with in any shooter. They all have quirky effects that resemble their more vicious counterparts. The weapons are the best part of this game.
Strange design choices
My gripes with Onirism start with the design choices. While the levels are large, they don’t feel designed for a single-player adventure game. They don’t have anything of value for the player to explore. There are very few things to discover. In most cases, you might come across one or two enemies, but that’s it. It’s a section for you to travel through to get to the next spot.
Then, you have sections where you’ll get into a combat sequence. The size here makes sense, but it also makes it hard to keep track of where enemies are coming from. These sections throw hordes of enemies at you, and you’ll be fighting them for a few minutes. I had fun trying to survive these sections. Unfortunately, once you complete the sequence, the room is empty,y and there is no reason to come back.
What’s worse is that there is no real sense of pushing you through a story that’s worth following. Sure, we’re looking to retrieve our bunny, but I never felt any sort of connection to the world. There is an attempt early on to befriend some characters and gain some knowledge. But even early on, I couldn’t recall a name or a notable character.
This lack of direction is notable after boss fights or locating new items. After finishing a particular fight, I got a new ability. But after unlocking that new ability, I wasn’t told what to do next. Even though at this point, I did encounter a character who was communicating with me. The “Objective” screen was blank, and I had no idea what to do next. I began wandering around, hoping something would trigger. Nothing did, so I left the area.
The controls are awful
Strange design choices are even with the game’s controls. At launch, it felt like controller support was lacking. Two months later, and it’s still a problem. This game doesn’t recognize controllers. Yes, you can play the game with a controller, but the game doesn’t differentiate that aspect while playing
For example, all on-screen prompts reference their keyboard commands. While you’d interact with something using the “Y” button, the game says “Press F” instead. There are these stations that can give Carol temporary boosts. If you interact with these, you can’t select the one you want with your controller. Yup, you have to use your mouse to select the one you want. With the game out for more than two months, they are still addressing many controller issues. It’s also why the game is not supported on Steam Deck.
As an adventure game, the controls feel too loose. Getting across platforms can be problematic. I found that Carol’s jumping is unresponsive at times. It doesn’t help that you can get stuck in environments and other areas that you shouldn’t be able to access. I never bothered trying to play the game with a mouse-and-keyboard. Again, with how many people now play games with a controller, this is a glaring omission.
Wait to see if things get better
Onirism should still be in early access. Or, if you’re curious about getting this, wait for it on sale. It’s already 50% off during the latest Steam Winter Sale. For around $10, this might be worth checking out. At the same time, this game needs a lot of work, and I don’t know if the devs will be able to address them. If they do, it might be worth revisiting this in the future.
