Written by Gobrul

Warning: In this text I spoil the late game story beats of Omori. I usually don’t care about spoilers but this game in particular is one that is best experienced without knowing these specific parts of the story. Moreover I assume that the reader already played the game and know the context of what I’m talking about so if you haven’t played Omori do yourself a favor and do just that.

Content warnings for the essay: suicide, depression

“Omori has one of the best stories in gaming” was the thought I had in mind throughout 95% of the game. I’d have even said it is a better story about trauma than Silent Hill 2. It was just too good to be true… and unfortunately that was the case.

This game is extremely grounded in reality from the very beginning. Don’t get me wrong, I know that the vast majority of the story takes place in dreams that are a way to learn more about the main character but everything that happens/happened in real world is at worst quirky or a bit exaggerated.

Now let’s talk about the actual story in some details. What the player learns and/or deduces is that Sunny and his friends and family were traumatized by suicide of his sister- Mari. However Sunny and Basil take it way worse than the rest and in the Headspace segments game suggests that there’s something that only these two know about. Both seem to struggle with overwhelming guilt which isn’t uncommon after experiencing suicide of a close friend or a relative, especially if nobody really knows what pushed them to such extreme measures. Sunny and Basil could’ve been the last people who have seen Mari alive, blaming themselves for not reacting when she went to the backyard or maybe even believing that it was something they have done that caused this tragedy. It would’ve been great if accepting that no matter what they’ll never know the truth. It’s a topic that is not covered enough by culture and this was a perfect opportunity to do so.

However what we get is completely different. The reason they are incomparably more traumatized than anyone is infuriating because it completely undermines the game’s message of forgiving oneself while not forgetting the ones that left us. The revelation is that Mari didn’t take her own life- Sunny accidentally killed her and together with Basil they staged her suicide. This twist is jumping the shark for me while also making the story less powerful and way less grounded in reality (you expect me to believe nobody noticed that she had injuries completely unrelated to hanging?) for what feels like a shock value without any other merit.

Despite what it may seem after reading this text I still wholeheartedly love Omori and consider it one of the most important indie darlings out there.

Thank you all for reading