Omen of Sorrow Review for Xbox One

When I saw that Omen of Sorrow was described as a “classic, four-button-style fighting game,” I thought that I would be treated to a remastered gem of the fighting genre from quite some time ago. I booted up the game and began the campaign, which sees the player progress through a series of 1v1s with the rest of the game’s cast. I was immediately met with incredibly fuzzy and under-rendered environments, characters, and attack animations, and what sounded like the exact same grunt sounds for getting hit and hitting someone each time. The game’s lack of complexity certainly seemed indicative of an older title that had been redone for its die-hard fan base… until I saw that this game was originally released in 2018. I’m all for some leniency in judging games within the technological limitations of their time period but considering 2017 gave us What Remains of Edith Finch, 2015 gave us Witcher 3, and 2016 gave us Firewatch, I thought it was reasonable to criticize Omen of Sorrow’s graphics. This is the kind of game that you would maybe play once or twice for a laugh if you got it in a Steam Bundle, but I can’t imagine any modern gamer truly becoming a fan of this game.

The graphics are probably the most egregious component of Omen of Sorrow, looking like it was originally intended to be a mobile game for the iPhone 5. There’s no semblance of definition to any visual component of the game, no contrast of colors despite a very colorful and intriguing cast of characters, and there’s an odd transparency to all the attacks and objects in a way that looks like everything is missing some pixels. This game is in desperate need of a complete graphical overhaul if it wants to find success with a modern gamer. 

The gameplay itself was quite lackluster as well, with the player only having four moves to work with in ways that inexplicably trigger combos and counterattacks while also having some characters with insanely overpowered abilities that essentially break the game. For example, one character’s ranged attack is a lightning bolt that bounces on the ground. I was playing against AI and it seemed that any time I moved beyond a certain distance away from him, he would just spam his ranged attack nonstop. The lightning orbs are relatively easy to jump over, however, if you get hit just once at that range you get stunned in place… while the AI is spamming the orbs… meaning that you will get stuck in the mixer until you get downed because you just keep getting hit over and over. I know that with any fighting game come some annoying exploits that players can use, but at least don’t script your AI to cheese the game. 

None of the combat felt unique or fluid either, as the mechanics were super clunky and I felt like my character wasn’t as responsive to my inputs as I would prefer in a game that requires things like counterattacks or combos to find success. All of the characters in the game seemed to have the exact same abilities (more or less) that were just packaged I different ways graphically. Everyone had an updward attack, a ranged attack, a short jab, and a downward attack that pretty much had the same range, damage output, and combo outcomes, making your choice of character pretty arbitrary. 

Omen of Sorrow also somehow has a campaign with zero story included. For a game that was founded on the idea of turning mythological monsters and entities into warriors, I expected at least some written text between levels that provided some sort of narrative. Instead, however, the player is presented with a moody looking map that has little vignettes of the enemies and just moves the player (silently, I’ll add) from battle to battle with no exposition or narrative development. 

To me, it feels like Omen of Sorrow was put together by someone with an awesome idea to blend the big baddies of mythology and the big baddies of fighting games but did not have the funding or know-how to bring the game to life in a quality manner. I really enjoy fighting games, personally, and I think the basic concept of Omen of Sorrow is a brilliant idea for a game I would absolutely play, the project would just require a complete 180 in terms of methodological execution. I hope that one day AOne Studios come back to Omen of Sorrow when they can come up with a tighter plan for how they want the game to turn out, but at this moment I could not in good conscience recommend that anyone pay the $20 price tag on this seemingly unfinished mess.

Check Out the Omen of Sorrow Trailer:

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Hayden Vassey

I've been playing video games since I got a Playstation 2 when I was about 5 or 6 years old. The original Star Wars: Battlefront series and the Spyro series initially ignited my interest in gaming, but it wasn't until I got older that I truly appreciated the subtle details that make video games such a unique form of entertainment. My favorite type of video game would have to be any lengthy and plot-driven open world game, with my favorite games of all time being Batman: Arkham City, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and Firewatch.

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