Game Review--Omen Exitio: Plague (Switch)

"The drawings all lead to the far end where you see a much larger picture.  It looks like an altar surrounded by men, wearing what you recognize as a stylized version of the cult's masks and kilts."
--Onscreen text, Omen Exitio: Plague


A highly non-traditional video game, Omen Exitio: Plague is a text-based "gamebook" that allows players/readers to input dialogue and action choices which can impact how the story handles some of its most pivotal moments.  The tale is one of disease, conspiracy, and Lovecraftian themes that slowly but steadily blossoms into a grander philosophical tale about the protagonist's existential struggles with the horror of a pandemic and a cult.  Central character Jake Huntington finds himself navigating a world plagued by "new" type of affliction called a virus and an extensive conspiracy that involves elite members of various public classes.

Production Values

The illustrations are presented as black sketches on the right page of a book, very much at home on the brown page.  On the left of the images, the other open page displays the story's text, including dialogue and any player choices.  Although Omen Exitio does not even have character models, a camera system, or other common features of video games, it has a distinct soundtrack that accompanies many of the story panels.  Sounds, such as those of a ship at sea or of gunshots, also add to certain pages.  The only noteworthy problem with the presentation is the occasional punctuation or capitalization error.  Thankfully, these are genuinely rare, and the most common of the punctuation problems is missing commas that do not clearly mark the end of parenthetical phrases.

Gameplay

As players read through the story, they are given numerous chances to make decisions, some of which can be seemingly bypassed by other choices.  Making certain decisions gains Jake experience points, which can be used to strengthen attributes like "Speechcraft" and "Fighting."  In turn, these attributes let players successfully attempt specific actions, sometimes earning additional experience points.  The unusual nature of Omen Exitio means that there are very few gameplay mechanics, but they are executed well.  Just as important to a gamebook as the "gameplay," of course, is the story itself, and the narrative of the game is neither shallow nor so brief that it can be rushed through within only a couple of hours.

Story

Some spoilers are below, but the plot is far too detailed and serpentine for the description of the premise to reveal major twists and events.  Moreover, while the overall trajectory of the story seems to remain unaffected by certain player choices, it is possible to read through optional sections and parts that exclude other choices, meaning the exact details of the story could be different for different players.

Jake Huntington, a soldier who abandoned the professional practice of medicine after he failed to cure his wife Helen of a lethal disease, becomes part of a small British expedition to investigate a rumored disease that turns out to be far more dangerous than initial reports suggested.  He is approached by a representative of a group concerned with global disease and is eventually offered a very generous sum of money for research purposes.  However, he begins suffering from relentless nightmares, seeming hallucinations, and a sense of panic as he is targeted by members of a mysterious organization.  His experiences leave him uncertain as to whether he has contracted the novel disease or if he is being stalked by some metaphysical entity served by a network of cultists.


Intellectual Content

As it progresses, the story develops clear themes that are heavily steeped in epistemology, cosmic metaphysics, and decision-making.  These three elements become more and more intertwined as the slow burn plot starts to boil.  The epistemological limitations of sensory perceptions and memories of past events are repeatedly alluded to or even directly acknowledged, even if only for the sake of storytelling ambiguity.  Although the Lovecraftian imagery appears moreso in the latter half of the game, it is consistent with all of the major hallmarks of the author's universe--although the idiotic Lovecraftian theme of reason's lack of universal governance of reality is fortunately far less prominent than it is elsewhere.


Conclusion

Omen Exitio: Plague is not a grand test of the player's combat skill, observational abilities, or puzzle-solving talent, even if Jake Huntington himself can use these attributes.  Little about it resembles traditional gaming at all.  Nonetheless, the game is deep and thoughtful.  It is an atmospheric story driven by text and illustrations, combining the urgency of a pandemic with the cosmic scope of existential matters of perception and certainty.  Omen Exitio is a very niche game, but it is one that is well worth playing for anyone who finds cosmic horror, book-style storytelling, and deeper themes appealing.


Content:
 1.  Violence:  Blood appears in some of the illustrations, and the onscreen text sometimes describes physical fights, stabbings, and gunfights.
 2.  Profanity:  The text rarely uses words like "goddamned."
 3.  Nudity:  Jake's buttocks are seen in an image for a story path where a shaman's daughter has sex with him while he is drunk, meaning that she sexually exploits him to some extent.  Male and female cultists are shown shirtless in later illustrations, and an image of a female cultist shows her exposed breasts from the front (of course, this is not nudity any more than male shirtlessness is, but it is treated as such by ratings boards).
 4.  Sexuality:  If certain choices are made, Jake and a woman named Lorraine have sex when he visits her village to learn about the new disease.  The same can happen later in the story after Jake gets to know a woman named Ayata.