Omega Strike comes from the one-man studio Woblyware and has been in development for several years now. Entering the Metroidvania genre is tough these days thanks to the many high quality examples of it. While Omega Strike doesn’t match the highs of recent titles, it’s an all around solid game.
Metal Slug Metroidvania:
The story of Omega Strike follows a group of three resistance members who must take on an evil doctor’s plans to use mutants to take over the world. The game features a similar pixel art style to games like Metal Slug or Mercenary Kings.
You are able to swap between the three members at will with each one having a special ability and weapon. The game’s progression is built around finding the upgrades needed to open up the next area; most likely guarded by a boss fight.
The controls are very responsive and the game has a good feel to it. Each character can be upgraded in terms of attack range and damage at the game’s shop.
While Omega Strike has a good foundation to it, I just wish that there was more to do.
A Short Romp:
From a gameplay perspective there is nothing wrong with Omega Strike, but the game is on the short side. My first playthrough took me about three hours to go through, and that was with some added backtracking.
Despite having three characters, I found Dex to be the best to use at almost every situation thanks to his double jump ability. Many of the bosses are designed around that fact, and the game is a lot harder if you decide to forgo upgrading him.
The boss fights do mix things up
In terms of level design, the rooms themselves start to blur together. The vast majority of the rooms can be solved by just double jumping.
There are only a few enemy types in the game, and you’ll be fighting them over and over again. It wasn’t until the final section of the game that the platforming started to get interesting.
Overall, my problem with Omega Strike can be summed up by simply wanting more, and that’s not the worst problem to have.
Running and Gunning:
Omega Strike may not be the best Metroidvania released this year, but it’s a great example of understanding the fundamentals of the design. The fact that this was designed by one person is all the more impressive, and I hope we see more like this from the future.
