Oniro

Hey guys, sorry to be so lax about the blog lately, but I've had my hands full with a really big family event.  Anyway, I'm here now and I'm going to try my best to give this game the review it deserves.

Oniro is, far and away, the most emotionally moving game I've played so far.  Not a single word of dialogue is uttered in the entirety of the experience; the game relied solely on gameplay mechanics to tell its story.  "Mechanics as metaphor" is the big word of the day.  I'm not going to say any more than that for fear of spoiling the experience, but I'll just say that this game is a perfect lesson on how to use the game itself to convey not only instructions, but an immersive and fleshed out narrative.

If there's any game that deserves the title "Poetic Experience," it's this one.  Normally, that title is associated with overly artistic pretension, but I really don't get that vibe from Oniro.  The levels show quite a bit of variety and the central mechanics are very easy to learn.

Actually, let me talk about the central mechanics for a second.  I honestly couldn't describe them to you.  Objects that are close together can have their sizes manipulated, but, in line with the laws of alchemy, one block must decrease in size proportionally to another block's increase in size.  Again, it's tough to explain, but I've honestly never seen a mechanic that both teaches itself to the player flawlessly and reinforces the narrative.

All right, I'm starting to sound like a broken record here, so I'm just going to let you chew on what I've said so far.  I do have some problems with the game.  It's one of those "beat it in one go" games, which isn't horrible considering how short and sweet the experience is, but come on, guys.  It's not that hard to program in a save feature.  Also, it's way too easy to put yourself in checkmate; whether that means falling down a hole or pushing a block a little too far, you're going to be pressing the "redo" button a whole lot.  It's not a bad method of punishment, but it wears on the nerves after a while.

Speaking of wearing on the nerves, there is a 5-year old gnawing at my ankles at the moment, so I'm going to leave you for now.  This game definitely earns my seal of approval.  It definitely takes its place among my favorites.  If you like a well-told and clever story, you'll like Oniro.

That's all I got for now.  Until next time, stay subtextual

Links
Oh, Nero: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26730