Omega

1988 computer games Amiga games PC games

There were many RPG games in the history, and this is one of them. And it is full of RPG... stuff.

I can’t say that I really enjoyed any of the retro RPG games, mostly because fantasy-themed games never really appealed to me. And also because of the boredom. I know, there are people who love the genre and spent their childhoods walking around the worlds and wielding their swords, but I’m definitely not one of them. Except for Omega, because that one really changed my mind. And for quite surprising reason.

When you take a hard look at Omega, you might just spot the one thing that drew me towards the game - the graphics. Yup, there are none. I mean, there are the ASCII characters representing different objects and characters, but that is it. There were also later versions with coloured ASCII characters and even the versions with actual basic graphics, but the original game had just the ASCII characters to show the whole world to you.

I know what you’re thinking, if the non-existent graphic side drew me to the game, how bad the rest of it was, right? Well, actually, the lack of graphics was the reason the creators could spend more time building the world itself. You start in the Rampart City, where there is everything you need, from the castle full of guards, to the cemetery full of... well, bodies. And this is where your adventure begins. No, not at the cemetery... although it could start there. Because in Omega, you basically are put in the open world environment, you can go wherever you want and do whatever you want.

You can start by taking part in some fights in the arena, trade some goods, break into the houses and steal things... you know, the usual. Despite the very crude outlook, Omega had all the hallmarks of an open world RPG - you choose your own future and improve your character while exploring the world around you. Some parts of the world were randomly generated, so each game was slightly different.

Like I said, RPGs were always one of the genres that I tried to avoid, because I could not see the appeal of it, but Omega changed my mind completely. The simplicity of the graphics left a lot to imagination, and the world had enough details to keep me occupied for a long, long time.

Our rating
★★★★☆

Video
★☆☆☆☆

Audio
☆☆☆☆☆

Playability
★★★★☆