A Taiwanese sci-fi adventure game where players control Jun, a young noble from a disgraced noble house traveling the galaxy with his guardian Kay. A goddess is supposed to have created Lumen, a powerful energy source. A chance encounter with Eda, a girl who can sense Lumen sources, and Remi, a gruff, young starship pilot, sends them on an adventure that quickly escalates.
OPUS’s premise might not seem original on paper, but its storytelling is excellent. There’s a lot of great character dialogue, narration, and lore in the game. In no small part, this is due to the game’s impressive production. In addition to the simple but vivid art design and animations, composer Triodust’s score is incredible. As a result, the game universe feels distant, but also believable, and it’s fun to explore.
The gameplay in OPUS has a surprising number of layers. Jun explores the universe on foot, finding relics that fill in the history of the universe. However, it also has an impressive galaxy exploration mechanic that’s reminiscent of Mass Effect. As you travel to new worlds, encounter pirates, and look for ancient relics, you’ll have to manage a lot of resources, as well as upgrade your ship. Despite its simplicity, it adds a surprising amount of RPG-like depth to an otherwise simple game.
There are also other gameplay types and puzzles to find, none of which are too long. That’s a testament to how much style and competence can do. My only complaint about OPUS is that it doesn’t have a manual save option and saves fairly rarely. It’s not the worst flaw, but having to turn the game off sometimes resulted in me having to repeat a chunk of the game. Oh, and you can’t skip scenes you’ve already seen, which would be nice. I’d recommend OPUS to any adventure or sci-fi fans out there despite these small nitpicks. It reminded me most of To the Moon, another game that manages to be more than its parts, and also punches me in the gut emotionally. You should take this trip to the stars.
