Update Thirty-Four: 8 August 2017
OPUS: the Day We Found Earth
11.7 hours, 31 of 31 achievements
tsuper review: 7.5/10
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Space? Check. Robot? Check. Robot loves a human? Check. Human creates an AI of themselves because they’re no longer here and robot refuses to believe that AI is like the human even though the AI loves the robot the way the human did? Check. Did I cry? Yes I did.
OPUS is an ‘interface’ game where the majority of the gameplay is you as Emeth, a really adorable robot, operating a high-powered telescope off a space station, scanning stars and trying to find Earth. In the world of OPUS, humans have migrated so far from Earth that most no longer believe it actually exists. There’s a genetic problem that’s been exacerbated by genetic modification, and the hope is that if Earth is found, there will be clean genes there to repair the humans’ with. This is Emeth’s goal and dearest wish.
The game is made by a teeny indie team and it is very pretty, with appealing, clean graphics and nice animation. The controls for the telescope feel really satisfying, and the story makes what is kind of a mind-numbing task - scanning random stars to find Earth - fun and targeted where it guides you to find the ‘right’ star to progress. It’s an overall really charming, calming experience that gets quite intense by the end. It’s a sweetly woven story that surprises you by how much you care by the end. Or, at least, me anyway.
The game is rather short, but there are some achievements that flesh out the time. There’s extra missions you can take for new things to scan for, finding and scanning the ten planets of the solar system you’re currently docked in, and finding star systems your beloved human had scanned already. You can also scan 1000 stars. It’s a little annoying, but not bad if you put on interesting television while you did it. Going from ~250 stars scanned to 1000 took me about one episode of House of Cards (It’s not great) and another one and a half episodes of Scandal (much better).
Next up: Talking about this game recently made me miss it real bad. Good thing I have the sequel! Let’s keep following…
See you soon!
It sounds both really cute and like a nice story, and also… a bit boring. Scan 1k stars? Well I believe there are more out there, but still, that’s… a lot!
Also, I liked Scandal! :D
Have fun with your next game!
Happy backlog killing :)
asfk I really like reading your updates :3
but it sounds kinda boring.
so idk.
Thank you very much! I appreciate it.
What sounds boring? OPUS? It’s a little bit more laid back, but only the grindy achievements are really kind of boring. The rest of the game (if you ignore those) is tightly built and it’s fun to explore this galaxy and scan some stars and name planets you find. If it’s not for you it’s not for you and it’s okay!
Opus does look really cute and interesting, even if there is some grindy cheevos, I can always take care of those while watching a movie/tv show at night so I guess I’ll have to keep my eyes open for a key for the game. Thanks for the rec :)
So I played OPUS over the weekend for the Monthly Theme (it was a gift from, gulp, Christmas 2016). Cute game. I read your review on Steam that linked me here. After finishing the game, I spent a little more time to get the 500 scans achievement, taking me to a total of 5.5h of gametime (the rest was idling for cards a couple of years ago). I don’t know if I want to scan another 500 stars for 100% completion. It sounds like a tsuper pain in the neck. I don’t want to go from liking the game to hating the game. :p
Maybe when the World Cup starts I’ll scan stars while I watch. Unfortunately, this game doesn’t have Steam cloud and I played it on the “downstairs computer” with the big TV, so soccer would need to be on the small TV. I can try switching the HDMI cables, but I don’t know how the game will look on my small TV. We’ll see.
That’s totally understandable! I don’t remember it being SUPER bad, but I also have a big tolerance for things like this.
I wish you luck no matter what you decide - whether you hunt the achievement or not. I’m glad you liked the game anyway c: There’s a prequel of sorts for it that’s since come out! It’s a different kind of game, but set in the same universe. I have it wishlisted and will hopefully play it… at some point.
That’s totally understandable! I don’t remember it being SUPER bad, but I also have a big tolerance for things like this.
I wish you luck no matter what you decide - whether you hunt the achievement or not. I’m glad you liked the game anyway c: There’s a prequel of sorts for it that’s since come out! It’s a different kind of game, but set in the same universe. I have it wishlisted and will hopefully play it… at some point.
OPUS looks great and is “pretty high” on my backlog…which means maybe by early 2018? :p
It’s good to know that the “grindy” achievements can be gotten while watching TV (e.g., American football in my case). :)