(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Here are my thoughts on a recent purchase on Steam. Osmos, an arcade style indie game from Hemisphere Games currently selling on steam in UK for £6.99 (if anyone wants to update me on USA or Mainland Europe prices please do so and I'll update here).



I've spent a little over 5 hours on this game at the time of writing and I can honestly say this was a good purchase. It's addictive but not too addictive, it's fun and makes you think, and there's a clear feel of skill involved in moving your ball around the screen.

The basic premise of the game is you're an amoeba (I think), and you have to absorb as many things as you can to either reach a certain size, become the biggest amoeba in the dish, or absorb the intelligent amoebas who will actively try to avoid you as well as trying to get larger so they can absorb you. You can move in any direction, and even slow down and speed up time for more accurate movements or to give yourself time to react to sudden chain reactions. Moving however requires you to fire a jet of liquid out of your cell membrane to propel yourself forward, this means, the more you use the jet the more you shrink. As well as moving you, you can fire the jet at the other amoeba to make them move, but it'll make you move the opposite way... so it requires planning before you can start pushing everything around the dish. In some levels there is a huge amoeba in the centre of the screen that everything is orbiting, almost like planets orbiting a star, and on these levels it almost feels like you're moving huge nebulae in space... and honestly who's to say you're not, I'm assuming the "motes" are amoeba, because they look like that to me, they could be anything.

Here is some gameplay footage to give you an idea of what it's like. The game is not good for watching, but considerably more fun to play, but it gives you an idea at least.



All in all, I'd recommend this game to anyone who has a spare few pounds and nothing in mind, especially as it supports smaller indie developers who need the support and funds for new projects but don't feel it's just an indie advert here... this game is actually fun, it deserves praise.

I'd rate this games as follows.

Story - Not Applicable.
Graphics - Crisp, clear, and suiting the gameplay style. 7/10
Sound - Perfectly atmospheric and fitting for the game. 8/10
Gameplay - Addictive and captivating, simple yet tactical. 7/10
Value - At almost £7 it's a pit pricy for a casual puzzle game. 4/10

OVERALL - 6.5/10 - Above Average
A good buy for anyone who likes the genre and definately worth downloading the demo for even if you're not sure just to try it out. With many AAA games being only about 8 hours long (and some as pitifully short as 4 hours), and usually costing £45 or more on release, it's nice to see a decent game for only £7 that I can spend a few hours on and feel I've got something decent but with smartphones and Steam becoming more and more popular, it's generally expected for games like this to be under £5.

For those interested this game is also on the iOS App Store and Android Marketplace and as a phone game with touchscreen controls I could see this having great pick up and play appeal so people may want to consider getting it that way.

Here's the game if people are interested.

You must login or register to view this content.