When I first saw Philips’ “Ambilight” technology for LCD TVs, my initial reaction was that the feature was pretty garish. The system basically generates light effects from behind the TV corresponding to the video displayed on the set, making the video “glow” around the edges. Philips claim that watching a television using “Ambilight” technology results in a much more immersive experience than watching a television without. After having played Osmos for the first time, I can only think of one thing when I hear the word “Ambilight”: “I really, really, really want to play Osmos on a high-def Ambilight screen.”
You see, Osmos’ charm isn’t purely in its soothing electronic soundtrack, challenging gameplay and wonderful simplicity, but also in its beautiful visuals. Coming from Canadian (thanks for the correction, Dave) indie developer Hemisphere Games, Osmos puts players into the shoes – er, nucleus – of a single-celled lifeform, which must absorb other small lifeforms to stay alive. With over forty-seven different levels with slightly different scenarios such as “absorb this particular mote” or “become the largest”, it’s one of the most original games I’ve played for a long time.
Pictured: Absorb the smaller motes, which are helpfully tinted blue, to survive.
When played in a decent resolution, Osmos isn’t just fun to play, but a delight to watch. Large circular cells moving around in a near-random fashion, colliding and combining while pacifying music plays, is a wonderful thing to watch, even in a mere 2D simulation. I was actually disappointed to discover there was no demo mode where I could simply watch without taking part, a real rarity these days.
The player’s cell can be propelled by ejecting some of its mass in the opposite direction of that in which it wants to move. Momentum plays a large role here, as you cannot continually eject your mass and expect no consequences; your jet propulsion fuel will soon be absorbed by other motes and you’ll be left drifting. Your only hope is to consume as many motes as possible as soon as you can just to have a chance at winning.
Pictured: My mote (centre) surrounded by four larger motes and four smaller motes.
More innovation strikes in several levels where all the motes orbit around an impossibly huge one, where the emphasis is not just on consuming other motes, but fighting the gravitational force long enough to win before being sucked in. There are also levels utilising matter and antimatter as a gameplay mechanic. Motes of any size can absorb antimatter of any size, but instead of growing, they shrink. Thus begins the interesting strategy of pushing larger motes into smaller antimatter motes to size them down enough to consume.
There are a few extra features thrown into Osmos for good measure, such as a zoom tool, which makes the game a little less challenging and a little more awe-inspiring, and a nifty little speed up/down system which lets you watch the motes absorb and be absorbed in slow motion or super-speed. There are many ways to experience the game, and that’s one of the great things about it.
Pictured: The awe of the zoom function. It’s amazing to think that this is really very small.
It’s slightly disappointing that Osmos lacks a level editor. The forty-seven available levels are great, and thanks to the “randomize level” function which changes the starting positions of the motes, along with the seven Steam achievements, there’s a lot of room for replaying; however, it’s the kind of game that would really succeed with more community involvement. There is no form of scoring seen in the game, so there are no online scoreboards, and since there is no level editor, there are no custom levels. There’s not even room for a custom soundtrack.
Still, Osmos is an amazing game. Creative, original, and very calming, just watching somebody else play is a treat. Since you can pick Osmos up via the digital distribution service Steam for only £6.99, I highly recommend buying this piece of digital nature.
