I was unaware of OFF‘s existence until quite recently, despite it inspiring a little game called Undertale, which I did play. However, I’m sure nobody has ever heard about it *irony intensifies*. However, OFF stands out, and you’ll learn how it does this by reading this review. DISCLAIMER: I have not played the original OFF, only this re-release. So, I won’t be able to compare it as efficiently as someone who has played it.
ℹ️ Reviewed on PC | Review code provided by PR/publisher. This review is the personal opinion of the writer. Got unanswered questions about this game? Get in touch on X!
| Developer | Mortis Ghost, Fangamer |
| Publisher | Fangamer |
Things I liked!
- Simple gameplay | Playing OFF is easy to learn. You’ll be mostly moving around with the arrow keys, interacting with chests, the environment, and characters with Z, which is the “confirm” button, X is the “back” button, and C is used to open the pause menu, where you’ll be able to see your items, equipment, settings and more; and ESC is used for checking your next objective. The combat is a substantial part of the game, and it is turn-based. You can defend, attack, do special attacks, critical hits, which were added in this re-release, and use recovering and damaging items; some ailments can be inflicted on the player and enemies, such as sleep, lethargy, and poison.
- Fascinating world | All you know when you start playing OFF is that the game acknowledges you as a different person from the character you control: The Batter, even asking what’s your name and never calling him by it. His mission is to purify the world from spirits. As you explore, you’ll find very intriguing books, and characters will also tell you about how strange everything in this world is, with there being important elements such as metal, which is extracted from cows instead of milk, the ocean being made out of plastic, meat flowing freely and being bottled in a different section, as well as sugar being made out of dead people. Everything is off about the world of OFF, but it encourages you to want to know more about it.
- Aesthetic | You can see by the screenshots that OFF looks simple, just like old RPGs and Undertale do, but it’s still quite interesting to look at. The characters, portraits and how enemies look in combat are a lot more detailed and sometimes disturbing than the graphics you can see most of the time while exploring. There are also backgrounds you unlock when you progress, and sometimes find somewhere in your current zone, and these are really good and help give the game more personality.
- Soundtrack | The soundtrack hits all the right places. When you are exploring this mysterious world, it’ll at first feel enigmatic, but change according to what’s taking place in the world around you and where you are. When you are fighting regular enemies, you’ll notice quite a groovy tune playing, which also changes depending on what zone you are in, to something more sinister. When fighting bosses, it’ll feel tense, epic, and even beautiful and emotional at times, even making you question what you are doing.
Mixed & disliked!
- I got puzzled | I couldn’t make sense of the first puzzle; I most likely missed a clue somewhere. But I have to say that the “dial”, think of an old cellphone keyboard, puzzles didn’t feel great. There are other puzzles, such as moving a box to a specific place, entering a number or name you saw somewhere else and one that would have taken me a lot longer if I didn’t resort to a guide of the original OFF. These other puzzles were more interesting and enjoyable.
CONCLUSION
Score: 90/100
Everything is off about the world of OFF, but it encourages you to want to know more about it, and it never feels like it’s just another game. The world and characters are memorable. If you have any interest in Undertale, Everhood, or other RPGs of the sort, I’d recommend not passing this up, as it is as interesting and worthwhile as they are.
Hi there, I’m Gabriel Colombo (Hence my reviewer name), I live in Brazil and I’ve been gaming since I was around 5 years old. Xbox became my main platform on the Xbox 360 era, before that I had played a bit on PC, Polystation (basically a skinned SNES), PlayStation 1 and 2. I really enjoy to experience immersive worlds, but I also enjoy playing silly games to have a laugh or just have fun.
