By Aidan Morales
Welcome to WHITE SPACE. Your name is OMORI and you’ve been living here as long as you can remember. Your story is already over. You just have to remember it.
This is what you are greeted by when you launch the game, followed by grainy filters and crumpled paper sprawling your screen. Everything fades to white as you are greeted by a cheerful tune, aptly named “WHITE SPACE.” The song reminds you of music from Undertale (a popular RPG), or maybe the environment you find yourself in does. Either way, you feel uneasy at the pure white room you find yourself in. While I won’t go any further, this is the start of the game OMORI–a psychological horror RPG that was released in 2020. If you enjoy RPGs and you haven’t spoiled the game for yourself, I urge you to avoid spoilers and try out the game. It portrays emotion, life, and mental health in a manner that is both serious and enjoyable that avoids the typical awkward aspect of these topics, and even makes it fun.
The soundtrack of Omori was made and produced by the OMORI sound team, which is made up of Pedro Silva, Jami Lynne, and bo en. Often short musical snippets, a lot of them are environment soundtracks that play in different areas on loop. Made with such care that these looped songs avoid the annoyances of a lot of looped songs in video games. They make you feel unease, happiness, sadness, and pure dread. While OMORI is an art piece in itself, it really wouldn’t be the same without the soundtrack. The game intertwines and utilizes the music, making some songs part of the story itself and producing a culmination of art–both visual and auditory.
Here are some of my favorite picks:
- “White Space”
- “Title”
- “Sugar Star Planetarium”
- “A Home for Flowers (Empty)”
- “Remembrance.”
- “My Time by bo en”
With songs ranging from right out of an orchestral performance all the way to retro video games, you’re almost guaranteed to find a music piece right for you. After all, there are 179 tracks to choose from.