OCO Review

Game: OCO
Genre: Action, Indie
System: Steam ( Also on App Store and Google Play)
Developers | Publishers: SPECTRUM48
Controller Support: No
Price: UK £3.99 | US $4.99 | EU € 3,99
Release Date: August 12th, 2021

Review code used, with many thanks to Decibel PR

OCO has been available on iOS and Google Play for a few years and now it has been released for PC on Steam. Join me as I take a look at the minimalist circular audio-visual platforming world of OCO on Steam, from indie developers SPECTRUM48 based in Bristol UK.

Circular audio-visual

I wouldn’t normally play a game like OCO, with the word “platformer” in the title it is usually enough to make me steer clear. Gone are the days of my quick reaction times, so standard platform games are out as they usually end up with me in a frustrated mess. What drew me to OCO were the words audio-visual and I was intrigued, as OCO promoted itself as something different from the normal platform jumping.

Platformer

OCO is a puzzle game where you are in control of a little white dot as it travels around the puzzle collecting yellow dots. Using one-touch controls by pressing the mouse button you have to guide the dot to the end of the puzzle. All the puzzles are circular and set in a minimalistic world. Your response with the one-touch controls generates a soundtrack and it changes depending on how you play.

White Dots – Yellow Dots

That may sound pretty simple to you and for the most part, it is. But just like an excellent puzzle game should do, it also throws up lots of challenges to overcome. You have to make your little white dot collect all the yellow dots in a level to unlock the next level, and gain enough yellow dots to open the next world.

You can try to make as few jumps as possible, using the one-button control, as each level has a set amount of jumps to complete it in and a set time to beat. However, neither of these options have to be completed to finish the level. For completists or perfectionists, you can replay each level as many times as it takes to complete everything in it to a 100%.

Help and Hindrances

Of course with OCO being a puzzle game it is not just as simple as just collect the yellow dots. Along the way, the white dot can interact with other coloured pieces in the puzzle. If it lands on the light blue area the dot will bounce, land on the green areas and the dot speeds up. Landing on the orange area will outright disintegrate the dot meaning you start the puzzle again. In later levels, you will encounter other coloured areas such as white, which warps the dot to elsewhere in the puzzle.

The puzzles are fast-moving and the dot is continually in motion, never stopping. The direction of the dot can be changed if it collides with a solid area of the puzzle.

Lots of Puzzles

There are 180 intuitive hand-crafted levels to complete with 10 worlds in all. Each new world introduces a new mechanic or, in the case of OCO, a colour that the dot will react to. OCO also has a thriving community that creates their own levels and shares them via the game and mobile games too. There are over 75,000 user-generated levels to explore. 

You can create your own levels of OCO as well, as the game has a Create mode where you can design and test your creation and puzzle skills. You can also take part in the Daily challenge puzzle in OCO.

Pick up and Playable

OCO stands apart from other games like this due to its stunning audio-visual offering. The game has a clean abstract aesthetic. That is accompanied by a minimalist electronic soundtrack that clicks, beats and murmurs in the background as you play. At times it is quite hypnotic and soothing to play, and I recommend you use headphones to get really engrossed in the game.

In some of the levels, I just let the dot travel along, then watched the lovely patterns it left behind when it jumped or shot along at a quicker speed. The patterns the dot leaves in its wake are there as hints on what way the dot will travel once it interacts with a coloured area. You can also unlock hints if you are truly stuck on a level. But so far I’ve managed fine without having to spend my hard-earned yellow dots on hints. It is nice to have the option though.

Conclusion

OCO is beautifully designed and is definitely a pick-up and very playable game. You need patience, perception, and rhythm to fully master the game. I also tried out the iOS version of the game and it plays equally well as the Steam version does. I think I might be addicted to it. It keeps me going back to see if I can conquer that level that I’m having trouble completing. To me, that is the sign of a successful puzzle game if it’s got its hooks into you!

Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up