Review

I think the best part of the game's horror is not jumping fear or terrifying monsters chasing you, but a creepy atmosphere or a terrifying feeling – knowing something is a bit leave. I've long foreshadowed the 2008 Cult-Classic Off, a game from developer Mortis Ghost's RPG Maker (2003) because of how it plays out its Lo-Fi art style to evoke this powerful sense of fear and reveal something truly scary. As a small game with a fan-translated version of English only in 2011, the official remake is important in 2025 to retain an influential retro-style RPG, especially since it is largely loyal to the original. In some ways, its age isn't as elegant as I'd like to be (partially due to the fact that after playing so many amazing games since then, but the silly fusion of Off in a deeply disturbing story goes to the test of time.

Close is one of the games where its limitations are part of its strengths. As you progress, colors and their lacks are used to move across the world in a chilling way. The hand-painted sketchy character design brings an odd look to the enemy, making their desolate, incredible world complement each other. Low-tech pixel art has become a powerful tool to create a preventive atmosphere that allows your imagination to tease potential psychological horror. These are some of the defining characteristics of OFF and remain valid as you uncover its disturbing truths.

You can control the batsman, a guy who shakes the baseball uniform, bats armed with bats, ready to hit some diggers, and your mission is "Purification" A dystopian world of evil ghosts. Without much explanation, a nightmare cat called the judge to speak to you in a philosopher's tone to think about how to think about your decision. There is no choice except for a specific moment, but it is an interesting story to reveal yourself through your actions must take. As a player, I feel increasingly uneasy about how things go forward – but for the batsman, it's just the look of another plate. This contrast is still very effective and has destroyed the fourth wall from the beginning.

It's a pretty short match and it takes about seven to eight hours to finish and beat the Secret Boss, including some new bosses. The world consists of five regions, some of which represent industrial production, in which autocrats root workers in bones. Liquid plastics make up its oceans, meat and metal harvests, and sugar mines bring the worst parts of society. Some conversation sequences use obscure sketches, as if they were coming out of old textbooks, and the projects you examine in your environment stem from their mysterious world building. But, more often, it’s an unconventional way for a character to talk to you and accept its trivial existence, which becomes even more disturbing as you see the consequences of the task.

Exploration encounters basic puzzles that often require you to focus more on clues embedded in your environment, slightly strange changes in the world – door codes hidden in seemingly meaningless text, numbers on the wall guide your switch puzzle on the wall, or guide you in puzzles of switches, or gradually lead to rooms that lead to traditional logic. I won't make these things particularly fascinating, but the surreal subtext hidden in it adds its incredible nature.

A mix of random combat and NPC patrol across the world meets, this is one aspect that hasn't really been adhered to: its original turn-based combat system. Batsmen and floating circles are called add-ons, which are very undescribable party members you collect throughout the story, each with basic attacks and special attacks, turnings running on an ATB-style system. While the batsman is a heavy batsman, the add-on provides more support characters. Aside from prioritizing certain goals and considering some basic affinity, there are not many differences in depth or strategic nuances in combat, which gets tired outside of some challenging secret bosses. OFF isn't really a fight because it's more like every other tool it does, but that's still a drawback.

OFF doesn't necessarily tell a complex story, with many layers on it, nor is it a simple story, it spells out everything for you. It won't try to be too clever, but leaves room for explanation, and all the roads will lead to a…very sad story. Even though all its achievements are a disturbing experience, beyond that, it's still with me – it's a weird emotional resonance because of its straightforwardness and instinct, becoming increasingly offensive, especially in what you end up asking you to do. Every strange twist along the way is a unique artistic vision that gives people an unforgettable experience.

Something changed in this remake, one of the biggest soundtracks, which is somewhat polarized from people familiar with the original (like myself). Given the inability to bring the original composer back on board, this version of Off has new songs that try to capture the disturbing, industrial and discordant sounds that once had. Even if I did miss the original specific low-tech flavor, it would be a big success. Toby Fox throughout the round moment on both sides Undertale and Triangle star Fame) fueled several tracks, lending his voice in tiny ways, and it was great to hear it. This is not the soundtrack for you to surface or throw in a playlist to evoke memories of whimsical experiences, but it is a big part of OFF identity. It’s a horrible bark and faint ambient sound that complements its character, which brings into its uncomfortable atmosphere.

I appreciate the relic of the old game forum where it gains appealing appeal and tumblr blogs that utilize dedicated fanatics and are a product of an era of the internet, and I am affectionately looking back at the internet age. Discovering the original feels like a gem that isn't found anywhere else, horror-shaped my taste and helped determine what that part of my brain means, as well as other RPG manufacturers like Yume Nikki. Obviously, it resonates with others, paves the way for games like Omori, and is inspired by All-Timer Undertale. Replay is like removing the blueprint of my favorite game, and it’s fascinating to revisit, and despite its age, you have to pay tribute to it.

from The latest chapter of Deltarune So far in 2025, the series has deeply moved the series, I have a certain preference for progenitor cells, and I can't help but see the influence of OFF continues to this day. In the years since, indie games that explore morality, break the fourth wall and subvert expectations have grown and evolved, meaning the meaning of encounters is not recalled. But this is the basic material for standalone RPG scenarios, and it's a good excuse to ignore your history after all these years.