The true beauty of the video game industry is that every year, even amid stacked AAA releases, indie gems like OMORI come out of nowhere and unexpectedly end up connecting with enough people on deeper than fathomable levels.
What made developer and publisher OMOCAT’s 2020 title so unique and memorable for many was its masterful portrayal of various sensitive topics and heavy themes that do not always get the attention they deserve from the media, especially three years ago. Fortunately, the story of Sunny and his titular alter-ego, OMORI, will soon be introduced to a whole other medium and audience to cherish, as it has been announced that the RPG will be getting an official manga adaptation.
A New Audience Will Feel the Feels with OMORI as a Manga
Calling the development phase of OMORI difficult would be an understatement because OMOCAT went through a lot of problems while creating the game, which were mostly related to the required funding to finish the product, but since its December 2020 launch, the RPG has found its way into plenty of people’s hearts and souls.
It just makes sense for the beloved indie gem to step into the world of manga, especially because of how similar OMORI‘s art style looks to the medium and how popular Japanese media has recently gotten across the world. On November 22, the official X account of the game announced that “an OMORI manga adaptation will be serialized in Kodansha’s seinen magazine, Monthly Afternoon,” getting fans hyped for the future of such a unique story.
The post further stated that the upcoming OMORI manga will be illustrated by none other than the extremely talented Nui Konoito. The heartfelt experience heading to a brand new medium is not just going to be for one demographic because, according to the official X account, “the manga will be made for both longtime fans of the game and for a new audience experiencing the story for the first time.”
Which means that even if one has already played OMORI and experienced the deep tale, the upcoming adaptation will ensure that it keeps things fresh and interesting for OG fans as well.
The fans of the game were also treated to a wonderful illustration by Konoito, providing the audience with a small glimpse of what to expect from the upcoming OMORI manga. The drawing also holds potential to be the official cover art for the first chapter or volume of the series since it looks absolutely stunning, but nothing has been confirmed by either OMOCAT, Kodansha, or the illustrator.
The Unique and Emotional Brilliance of OMOCAT’s OMORI
For those unfamiliar with OMORI, it took OMOCAT six long years to finally release the game on PC via Steam in 2020, as its Kickstarter funding campaign started all the way back in 2014, but since then, it has gotten the expanded release that it truly deserved.
In 2021, OMORI was launched in Japan, and one year later, in June 2022, it was released on other major platforms like the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and X/S, and Nintendo Switch, which introduced more gaming communities to the unique and emotional brilliance of it. The world of OMORI was just too immersive and wholesome for it to be experienced exclusively by one platform.
Set in two different realms, OMORI lets players navigate the real world as Sunny and the dream realm as his aforementioned titular alter-ego. The game features various endings that are all decided upon the choices that one makes in certain situations, because, as the Steam description for OMORI states:
When the time comes, the path you’ve chosen will determine your fate… and perhaps the fate of others as well.
OMORI became a proper hit among Japanese audiences, and since its release in Japan, the game has inspired live concerts, brand collaborations, pop-up shops, and, of course, the newly announced manga adaptation. Not many video games deal with heavy themes and sensitive topics such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and trauma, but OMOCAT treats these concepts with great respect and care, garnering plenty of praise from many gamers.
OMORI has more than 55,000 “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews on Steam, with one reviewer calling it a “Peak Game” and another urging people to “BUY IT” because “ITS SUCH A GOOD GAME.”
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