OFF: A Nice Game for Cute Children (2008)

[Marion Ette]

From the Wikia:

"OFF is the critically acclaimed French surreal adventure RPG made by Mortis Ghost in 2008. The game was translated into English in 2011 and is considered a gem among indie adventure RPGs. OFF is widely praised for its in-depth and complex story, its rich and immersing environment, and its memorable characters."

The game is available for free download in multiple languages here.

A friend of mine in GW2 (Auto, for those in our guild) recommended this to me. Lord, was he on the money with this one. I wish I could go into more detail about the game, but to do so would ruin the experience, I feel. It is very old-school in its mechanics and style (which is to be expected from a game made in RPG maker), but has its own aesthetic that works well. The game draws inspiration from the likes of killer7, American McGee's Alice and Silent Hill 2.

Also, if you truly believe that this is actually a nice game for cute children... consider who's posting this thread.

[Emi]

I've actually played a little of this and its really quite good.

Dammit Marion this is what you said about Spooky's too! *shakes fist*

[Emi]

*Necrofaces thread*

Having decided to play this again, I had a lot of fun with it. I'm going to go into some spoilers below but I do have one question: has anyone else had the problem of your movement speed suddenly becoming crap? It happened to me just as I entered Area 4 of Zone 3, and I haven't found a way to fix it, and it makes the game a total slog.

Spoiler: show

Purified zones were a totally new experience for me: I think I visited them for about five seconds my last playthrough but didn't realize what they had when I actually went exploring. Secretaries aside (wtf????) its peaceful and spooky. Also cool items. It's really making me question the morality of what myself and the battle are doing. Yes, there were bad things in each zone, but was it worth annihilating everything in it? I don't know.

Definitely a should play imo. It's pretty quick as well, since I've got a good bit done in it seems to be about a night time.

[Jerichi]

You inspired me to play more of this game!

It's really a fun and interesting game though it can be kinda tedious due to not really doing much with the RPG maker mechanics.

Other than that though it's really neat! Definitely shows the potential of RPG Maker, provided you deviate extremely from the pre-loaded assets.

[Emi]

Yeah I will say the battle system is very, very simple and while its not a really bad thing, it does get a little tedious and boring. But it really is different from other RPGs in its ~aesthetic~ so it balances out.

Where about are you now Jer?

[Jerichi]

A good way through Zone 2. I like that I can casually play about 20 minutes of it without really having to commit but still enjoy the 20 surreal minutes I j just spent and feel like I've made progress. Good game design there!