"Ambient games" (flOw, Crayon Physics, Everyday Shooter) are becoming more and more popular as the casual genre works to balance out gaming as the other side of the spectrum has become more and more frantic. There is something alluring about relaxing after a long night of explosions, land mines and laser beams in your favorite shooter with a casual, no stress game. Osmos is the first offering from Montreal’s Hemisphere Games and definitely fits the bill. The owner of the studio, Eddy Boxerman, cut his teeth with Ubisoft Montreal on the Splinter Cell franchise before opening up Hemisphere. Osmos was originally meant to just be a development hobby, but turned into much more; Osmos recently won IGN’s Direct2Drive Vision Award this past year at the Independent Game Festival and was chosen as part of the “PAX 10” at PAX 2009.

Gameplay

The general idea of Osmos is to become the “big fish” you do this by moving your “mote” about your area absorbing other motes that are smaller than you until you are the largest. If it were that easy though there wouldn’t be much of a game to it would there? In order to move about the area you much expel part of your mass behind you to give you forward motion. Think of this like a thruster, you aim it at the opposite side of the direction you wish to go, and click to expel in a jet like manner to propel you along. The trick is getting to where you need to be, and still being large enough to absorb your target – because if you aren’t, you yourself get absorbed and its game over for you.


You start out in Osmos simply learning the ropes so to speak, learning how to navigate, to absorb and how to avoid being absorbed. Later levels feature new challenges including attempting to absorb a “biosphere” which will attempt to avoid you in the same manner you operate (interestingly enough making you bigger as it expels mass in your direction to get away from you!) There is also the “repulser” mote which will push you away from it, forcing you to expel greater amounts of mass to reach it and absorb it.

Osmos offers enough challenge that you want to continue playing, with not so much challenge that you get frustrated or annoyed and want to quit playing. The game keeps you walking that fine line of strategy and fun throughout the entire time you play. While the game isn’t very long and can easily be completed in one sitting without feeling like you spent a lot of time – there is definitely a lot of replay value. You generally never experience the same conditions twice, even though the concept to winning is absolutely the same every time.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics are about as good as you would expect from a small crew working on their first game. Casual games like this aren’t expected to have all the bells and whistles of other games; that being said if the game looks horrible, people won’t play it – and won’t buy it. Thankfully Osmos has a very soft feel to it graphically and is easy on the eyes, going along with the entire idea of not having you invest too much mentally, while still having fun. While there is nothing in Osmos that makes it stand out graphically, there is certainly nothing that detracts from it and overall in its genre it is better than average.

What really stands out about Osmos is the music, and it truly takes this game to a completely different level compared to other games in its genre. The music in Osmos fits the game perfectly, keeping with the overall ambient theme. I enjoyed listening to the various songs as I was playing and found it really added to the feel of the game, inviting you to sit back, relax and enjoy.

Value

At just under $10 on Steam and Direct2Drive, Osmos is competitively priced in its area. While the game is short it certainly has a great deal of replay value, no game will ever be exactly the same in Osmos. This is a game you can come back to anytime and find a light challenge and a relaxing time. If you are looking for an ambient/casual game to enjoy, Osmos would be a great option.

Conclusion

Osmos is a very good game in its class. The music, the idea and gameplay and pleasing graphics all make this a complete package for any fan of ambient/casual games. Considering the price point is reasonable, and there is a decent amount of replay value, Osmos is a good option to buy and enjoy.

** NOTE ** We had a few technical issues with the game but nothing major that could have stopped us from completing our review.