OmegaBot – PS5 Review

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Over time games have become more complex and take more people to make. Indie developers increasingly find it hard to get their games into the limelight and earn returns on their hard work. OmegaBot is a 2D action platformer that harkens back to the days when games were made by much smaller teams, in much shorter time, yet still captivated us with the most important element – Gameplay.

OmegaBot – Mankind’s last hope

Developed by solo indie developer Simon Carny and initially released on PC in June 2022, the game arrives now on home consoles. Available digitally on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch the Red Art Games published title also has a physical release on PlayStation and Switch.

Gameplay

When a mysterious plague turns all living creatures in the world into mindless robots, OmegaBot is tasked with battling across the lands to save the world. The adventure will take you to fight legendary warriors and unravel the truth behind the origin of this plague.

A measure of a good platformer is always how good the jump feels. Players have got to be able to navigate tricky sections with absolute confidence in the jumping, otherwise gameplay always just feels off. OmegaBot nails the jump with a perfect balance of weight, height and distance. It really feels great.

The boss "Numitor, the hunter" levitates at top center of the screen while firing projectiles downwards. OmegaBot stands at bottom firing upwards towards the enemy
The First Legendary Warrior

The depleting energy meter is a clever mechanic as it heightens the sense of tension and adds some strategy to the combat. Drain this and you will be rendered quite immobile with slowed movement and no ability to jump or shoot.

Mastery of shooting downward to defy gravity is a must in both traversal and combat. This mechanic is really reminiscent of Downwell (a fantastic game check it out).

upgrades area where you can purchase upgraded health and energy. The upgrade on show is for health with costs 3,000 of the in game currency

The collected in game currency can be redeemed for Health or Power upgrades and there are also different OmegaBot skins to acquire. As you progress through the adventure you unlock key new abilities like double jumping and dashing. The design of how these are spaced out is really well done as it allows the player ample time to get a handle on each. Before long you are combining abilities like its second nature as you strive to be the savior of the world.

You also open up access to new weapon types as you advance through the world. Cycling the available weapons is done simply with the tap of the R2 trigger. This further adds to the strategy you have to consider as the weapons have different range, damage and bullet spray.

Graphics & Audio

It has a unique psychedelic neon kind of look that makes this game stand out from the crowd. With multiple layered backgrounds paired with a parallax effect there’s such depth to the world. Everything from enemies, to projectiles, to the environments are all brilliantly animated. There are little details and touches here that are not always seen in indie titles, a testament to the passion and hard work of a solo developer.

a Mario Bros style secret area with currency to collect, health pickups and collectibles
Mario Bros inspired secret area

The soundtrack seems to progress in its sinister tone as things progress, starting really playful at the beginning and getting darker along the journey. Sound effects for weapons are all different so you know which weapon you are using just by how it sounds. The sound throughout is great and sounds familiar plucking at nostalgic strings in the brain.

Longevity

The legs this game will have will depend on you and your platforming prowess. It will also depend on your dedication to hone and master the games mechanics. Often you will come across a section or boss fight that at the outset feels impossible. Perseverance will have you mastering these and you’ll marvel at how you then handle them with ease.

OmegaBot dashes between vertically moving platforms while trying to evade flaming cannonballs that are being fired from top to bottom in between the platforms

For trophy hunters it’s got 1 bronze, 4 silver, 10 gold and a platinum. Most of these seem straight forward enough.

Final Thoughts

OmegaBot has no qualms about kicking your ass and telling you to GET GOOD. There’s no hand-holding here.

If you’re on the look out for a tightly controlling, challenging game that has perfectly paced mechanic unlocks and varied boss fights then you’re in for a treat here.

This one takes home the Thumb Culture Gold Award.

Thumb Culture Gold Award

Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.

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