Osmos by Hemisphere Games is different than the typical games found on mobile devices, which is what attracted me to it in the first place. In the game, you start out as a little mote in a big void with a bunch of other motes of varying sizes. The goal of most levels is to become the biggest mote by absorbing smaller motes. The motes change from orange to blue as your motes grows past them in size, which is very helpful in determining if it is safe to go after them. In addition to the dumb motes that just float or orbit, there are also specialized motes that add additional challenges — sentient, repellent, antimatter, etc. To move around the void, you must eject a small piece of your own mote in the opposite direction like a propellant. With each tiny piece ejected, your mote shrinks in size. There were many times when I was chasing a mote that was just slightly smaller than my own mote, only to find out when I reached it that I had become too small to absorb it and subsequently got absorbed myself.
Osmos is mediocre. I think it was made to be a relaxing game, but it is anything but that. There were multiple occasions where I would need to frantically move my mote to avoid getting absorbed. The music and visuals of the game are probably the best or near best that I’ve seen on a mobile device, but I don’t play games for those things. I play games to be entertained and have fun. While the game was mildly entertaining, it was not nearly as fun as I had hoped. I tried the demo version first and liked it enough to buy the full version at $2.99. I wished I hadn’t bought the full version though. After a few (total) hours of playing the game, I found myself bored with it.
There are quite a few glowing reviews for Osmos out there and it has even won awards, but the game just isn’t for me. For anyone that is considering purchasing the game, I suggest trying the demo version first and keeping in mind that the game is just a whole lot more of the same.
Rating: 6/10
Published: May 10, 2012 04:54 pm