LadiesGamers Onde

Onde Review

Game: Onde
Genre: Puzzle, Platformer
System: Steam (Windows)
Developer|Publisher: Lance, 3-50 | Mixtvision
Controller Support: Yes
Price: UK £10.99 | US $13.99 | € 11,99
Release Date: March 17th, 2022

Review code provided with many thanks to Big Games Machine

Meditation Time

Onde is a casual puzzle platformer. It is a video game meditative experience that’s a treat for your ears as well as your eyes. Maybe you have had one of those stressful days on the job or you glanced at the news and saw one of those familiar sad stories. Whatever madness is going on sometimes it’s a good idea to pause for a bit and take some relaxing time for yourself. Some folk have a bath, do yoga or get a nice good back rub from a loved one. But if you’re looking for a video game to really put you back in touch with your parasympathetic nervous system, then Onde might be the calm gaming session you want in your gaming life.

LadiesGamers Onde
Time to meditate

Open for Interpretation

When I played Onde I didn’t really think there was any story. I assumed this was just a nice calming gaming experience where you play a jellyfish-like orb on a journey of discovery that is open to the player’s own interpretation. I’m not the best art critic (or video game one for that matter) but the game certainly showcased moments of wonder, darkness and mystery. I wasn’t able to come up with a goofy story for this one like I usually do.

But to my surprise, the Steam page actually gives a story description. Here you learn you are a new being sent out to discover the world and witness life unfolding. I guess this description is pretty vague too. The point here is Onde is a game for you to experience and just take it all in. Some players may interpret a story about light and darkness and the balance of the two. But if you’re like me you might just think ‘this game is kinda pretty,’ and that’s it.

LadiesGamers Onde
A beautiful tree

Flow Like Water

As the jellyfish-like character, you’re only able to move across circular lines. You navigate the level by triggering these bubbles when using the appropriate face button on the controller. These pulse with sound from a set point and when your jellyfish is close enough to the line you can move onto it and ride it in order to access another platform. Linger too long on the bubble and it will disperse and you are sent back to the nearest checkpoint. By using this system, it creates a light puzzle and challenge element to the game. As you progress through the game you will be able to trigger multiple bubbles. The gameplay is a mixture of time-based puzzles, navigating through hazards and getting away from dark pulsing bubbles. The challenge is light.

Being a casual game this is an experience the developers clearly want players to sit back and enjoy to its conclusion. Controls are responsive with the controller but I did find our jellyfish-like character moved a touch slow, leaning to some tedious repetition of some of the puzzles which require you to move fairly swiftly. Onde is an interesting concept but as the player I often found it became a bit mundane at times, this might be because the art style just wasn’t speaking to me. The game travels along at a slow pace and will take you probably no more than three hours to finish.

LadiesGamers Onde
Things occasionally get a little dark

Art Show

Graphics that are calming and delightful mix in impressively with the game’s use of sound. It’s one of those titles that feels like you are sitting back to enjoy the developers’ art exhibit. You will travel through ocean-like environments like coral reefs and darkened caverns. You will even travel to the stars experiencing some cosmic spectacles. It’s all presented with detailed backgrounds that would make nice screensavers on their own giving particular attention to light and darkness.

This journey is of course made all the more Zen thanks to a soothing soundtrack that will make the experience all the more relaxing, though it will occasionally dip into sinister territory when you enter the darker areas. For some, Onde will be just as entertaining to watch as to play.

LadiesGamers Onde
Think I’ve found my new screensaver

Conclusion – A Nice Warm Bath 

Onde ticks all the boxes for the relaxing video game experience. I wouldn’t say it’s the most memorable of these types of games I have played in recent memory and the bubble-like puzzle elements weren’t particularly enjoyable for me. Feeling just a bit too slow and tedious at times. Still, not all art speaks to everyone and everything Onde does it does well without notable glitches or hiccups. Onde is the video game equivalent of a nice warm bath that weaves the use of sounds into its gameplay. If you need to take some time out from the stress of the world this title certainly achieves that.

Final Verdict: I Like it

I like it

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