Plot: What’s it about?
The story of Oblitus is simple, you will die – a lot. A voice calls out to you, telling you to seek out someone in the woods, then you try to find said someone. There is more to the narrative, but the main focus of Oblitus will be your death. You have a spear and a shield and you’re set loose in a dangerous world, with minimal direction and countless treats to your survival. Even if you somehow crack the code of success, you will find yourself right back at the start unless you also unlock the secrets to obtain a true end. But to even come close, you’ll need to learn the basics of combat. You can wield your spear in any direction, in both melee and ranged fashion, so you have some nice options. And you need those options, since you face heavily armored foes and enemies that are on fire, to mention a couple. The combat has a “any enemy is a lethal threat” angle, so you will most often need to make use of all of your skills, including blocking and dodge rolls. This was a wise choice, as it makes each battle an important one and sends button mashers to an early demise. This isn’t the most complex combat I’ve seen, but it does have some depth and you’ll need to use some strategy to gain the best results.
As I said above, you will die a lot in this game. The battles can be brutal, especially as you learn the mechanics and with little that carries over between runs, you have to learn from your mistakes. If you try to spam your way through even the weakest foes, more likely than not you’ll be dead in seconds. But the mechanics do allow you to turn the tide in the favor, as enemies have weak spots and are more vulnerable to certain attacks. So remember these powerful strategies and you might still end up dead, but you’ll have a much better shot at survival. You can also find upgrades from killing bosses or exploring secret areas, which are optional but can provide great benefit. So yes the combat is hard in Oblitus, but it is also fair for the most part and if you learn from your deaths, you leave a trail of corpses in your wake. While combat is fair, some elements aren’t at all, as most even epic falls are harmless and others are randomly lethal. I also think the visuals can trick you at times, but that could be my poor depth perception. I love the challenge of Oblitus, but I also wish there was a little more persistent progression. Other games of this kind have shown that even minor persistent rewards can be treasured, so I wish there was more of that here. Even so, the game is a lot of fun and sure it is hard as nails at times, but that only makes your eventual victory all the sweeter.
Video: How’s it look?
The visual design here is simple at a glance, but has a lovely, hand painted texture. I wouldn’t rank it with the best indie PC games, but it is on par with the better mobile games in terms of visuals. I especially enjoyed the backgrounds and environments, which help pull into the game’s world. I sometimes tried to interact with elements on a separate plane, which speaks to the visuals, but perhaps just my lack of depth perception. I’m sure some will dislike the simple approach, but the look is a good one and I think most will be satisfied here.
Audio: How’s it sound?
I loved the music in this game. I’m not sure it suits the game all the time, but it was well crafted and sounds great. The other audio elements are much less of an emphasis, with basic combat and movement sounds. The sound design doesn’t seem to have been much of a priority, but it doesn’t really detract from the experience either. The music is terrific and shores up whatever other concerns remain.
