Omikron: The Nomad Soul

I had this on dreamcast and PC. Before DC took a poop, I had the pleasure of playing through the story of this game. I loved near about every aspect of it except for the extremely terrible controls at some parts (Combat and 1st person shooter styles). The combat i remember being very choppy and bland, but it still had you cheering for a win. The FPS style was just ridiculous to control and I played inverted so I remember you could not invert just the vertical, it would invert both so I just did it without inversion. The PC version was much more tolerable, as I could set my own controls. The story was so strange. It was the first game I experienced where they break down the fourth wall and address you. I didn't know how I felt about it, but I felt like since they admitted they were a different world, they were excusing for the lackluster graphics (haha, but they weren't that bad for 99). This game got weirder and weirder as you got deeper and only more interesting. You really started to feel the dark and lone presence around you, knowing that anyone could be against you. You questioned your motives and as you figured out your goals, things became more sincere. One of the greatest features was that there are a few different pathways where you will see different cutscenes and have access to different characters. Every time you died, you would take over a "new body". I would give 5th star, but those god awful controls.

I really loved this game back then (I played it on my Dreamcast), but I must confess it was a bit too pretentious. I mean, TODAY they could have a concept as this one sorted out properly, and they could re-create the whole setting while polishing the game mechanics that had (MANY) flaws. It was daring, and it was ahead of its time: due to the technical limitations of late 1999 Quantic Dreams had to come down to terms with their ambitins, with identical and almost empty buildings, similar looking characters and an environment which was way too big to feel alive. They should re-create this game now, and they could really nail it down. As it is, the game was a great experiment, and is much more free than its successors (Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain), but couldn't focus on any particular aspect.

The good: David Bowie. The bad: Everything else.

This game is a three in one: 1) A puzzle adventure. 2) A fighting game. 3) An FPS. All of them are utter crap. 1) has terrible puzzles, tedious progression and a lame story. I kid you not, a demon from hell is breaking the fourth wall and you have to beat the game in order to save your soul or else the Devil will rule the universe for a million years! Wow, that's really mind-blowing. The setting is the most forgettable young adult dystopia I've ever seen and I've seen them all. A big, but empty and samey world to explore. Lots of cringy written lore if you're into that kind of stuff. 2) is random (you do the exact same thing and get very different results) and controls terribly. It is based on stats: if you don't have the stats, the AI will block all of your damage and there's nothing you can do about it. How fun. Did I mention the fact that you lose your stats every time you switch bodies and you have to switch bodies several times during the game? Yeah, I hope you like pointless grinding. 3) again controls like ass. Enemies use projectiles, but you move too slowly to avoid them. Unavoidable damage is the name of the game, even in the AWFUL final fight. That's how the game works when it works. BUT WAIT! THERE'S LESS! Have a look at this (decade old) forum discussion to learn what else is in store for you when you soldier your way through this amateurish bugfest: https://www.gog.com/forum/omikron_the_nomad_soul/bug_in_the_tetra_factory During my joyless time with this spaghettiware I disbelieved myself, so I consulted two separate walkthroughs to see if I'm doing everything right or if maybe I'm missing something. NOPE. The fights are really stat-based, the progression and puzzles really are illogical and the FPS section really has unavoidable damage that you just have to deal with. It is B E Y O N D my comprehension how an adult gamer who knows what good design is can enjoy this. I strongly suspect it's the power of misremembered nostalgia at work.

This is Quantic Dream's best game. The story, characters and atmosphere are so unique and memorable, so much so that I keep coming back to this world every 5 years or so (I've been playing Omikron since 2000). I wish David Cage would remaster his magnum opus, it most certainly deserves to be experienced by a new generation of gamers. NOTE: As of 2024, you can play The Nomad Soul in true widescreen through a fan patch and there's also ReShade to enhance the graphics (you'll need dgvoodoo and DirectX 11).