Nostalgic but unknown is maybe a great way to explain OU upon first look. It’s a sport clearly designed to imitate the image guide creativeness of childhood with its hand-drawn visuals and the harmless silent presence of its protagonist, a younger boy named OU and his opossum good friend. Even its music is paying homage to some misplaced, unknown childhood as we’re lulled into the unusual world of U-Chronia with the sleek instrumentation of a single guitar and its occasional percussion. Yet it’s clear with the presence of beasts that threaten your security and a shadowy clone that this isn’t some peaceable retreat into childhood.

Still, these comparisons aren’t fully unwarranted. The sport takes inspiration from the youngsters’s books of German author Michael Ende, whose escapist worlds are world-renowned due to works akin to The Neverending Story. In a second of cross-cultural pollination, this sport is the product of Kyoto-based developer room6 and writer G-Mode, who’re hoping to create a sport that may additionally share classes of knowledge to the youngsters and adults who encounter it.

Our silent protagonist awakens in a riverbed void of reminiscences of his previous and the way he obtained there, slowly wandering the land in seek for solutions. On the misplaced seashore is the place they run into Sally, the opossum with a flaming tail, changing into quick pals as you search around collectively to your misplaced reminiscences. Yet that doesn’t imply you must make haste; throughout my fingers on demo with the sport, Sally stopped me on the seashore at one level to catch taking pictures stars, asking what number of I obtained on the finish of it. The second itself did not have a lot bearing on the story, however these quiet moments of pause give OU area to breathe, letting gamers work together and create reminiscences with the world round them.

The true nature of this world is stored imprecise, nevertheless. It’s introduced just like the pages of an image guide – you enter water to show its pages and sketch out the following a part of the story. You’ll encounter creatures and inhabitants each good friend and foe in your journey, though you will not be combating with anybody who crosses your path. Instead, OU has nothing greater than sticky notes to accompany him right here, and past interacting with numerous animal inhabitants, these notes are your solely approach of interacting with the world round you. You’ll primarily be sticking them on objects to unravel fundamental puzzles, however it’s also possible to paste them to common objects like timber to be taught extra about their historical past. Again, it is all about giving the participant area to take an curiosity of their setting, perceive the place they’re and perhaps make some extra reminiscences alongside the best way.

OU might really feel powerless when all they’ll do is throw out post-it notes, however throughout my demo, they by no means felt like they have been at risk. True to the sport’s intent and the Ende tales that impressed it, this feels purposeful. You’re left to soak up the world round you fairly than rush via it or destroy it, attempting to grasp fairly than beat down what stands in your approach. Accompanied by the easy but soothing music of composer Shiiba Daisuke, extra just lately concerned within the far-different expertise of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, it is like being transported again to a childhood state of innocence and obliviousness, with a lot to be taught.

Based on my Bitsummit demo, OU is an interesting if mysterious title. It’s an expertise that intentionally purges itself of distraction, letting gamers be aware of the little issues and luxuriating within the second, whether or not that be a small band, a plant, or a taking pictures star. It has been described as a sport about ‘something’, however that no less than appears like one thing value looking for out. Maybe its scheduled 2022 launch date on Steam will deliver us some solutions.