Omikron: The Nomad Soul

31.10.1999

Critic 70/100

Users 74/100

Genre: Fighting Shooter Puzzle Role-playing (RPG) Adventure

Responding to the desperate pleas of a mysterious character from another dimension, your soul must enter the dark and futuristic city of Omikron. This is but the beginning of an epic adventure through an increasingly strange and dazzling parallel world. You must solve the ultimate mystery: why are you in Omikron and how can you get out? Think, fight, and interact with awe-inspiring environments to defeat the menacing demons that are trying to stop you. Experience the life in an alternate reality with everything it has to offer--including the secret musical performances by The Dreamers, a band of rebels led by the Omikronian incarnation of David Bowie. Omikron: The Nomad Soul is a futuristic 3d-action adventure like no other. Combining a deep game plot with adventure, exploration, action, combat and role-playing elements, the Omikron experience will captivate you from the moment you enter the strange and wonderful world beyond our own. Only using all of your combined skills will bring you deliverance from this exotic dimension. After Bowie's death in 2016, The Nomad Soul was made available at no cost for one week.

“Well, on one level, it’s your basic good ’n’ evil story. On another, it explores themes of camouflaged totalitarianism and desperate revolution. The game strives to be relevant in the real world by being part of the game. Does that stand to reason? By tying the concept of the game of Omikron strongly to reality and defining the player’s character in terms of their actual life, we clearly connected the parallel universe to our own. In effect, the player’s own life becomes our setting. Quantic believes it may be the world’s first Buddhist game--Buddhist with guns, I call it.” – Eidos Senior Designer Philip Campbell Soon after the player begins the investigation in Anekbah sector, he uncovers information that suggests the serial killer he is looking for is, in fact, not human but actually a demon. When members of an apparent underground, anti-government movement contact the player and confirm his suspicions, the investigation deepens and uncovers information that one of Omikron's chief police commanders (Commandant Gandahar) is, in fact, a demon pretending to be human and luring human souls into Omikron from other dimensions by way of the video game that the player is actually interacting with. Despite many attempts on his life by other demons working behind the scenes, the player then uses supernatural weaponry of ancient origin to destroy Gandhar. After this brief victory, the player is then invited to join the mysterious anti-government movement that call themselves "The Awakened", referring to the fact they have "awakened" from the lies and drugs of the government. The Awakened work in tandem with an ancient religious order who are led by "Boz", a mystical being that exists in purely electronic form on the computer networks of Omikron. The Awakened refer to the player as "The Nomad Soul" since he has the ability to change bodies at will. The Nomad Soul also learns that what is going on in Omikron is merely an extension of a thousands-of-years-old battle between mankind and demons led by the powerful Astaroth. Astaroth, who was banished to the depths of Omikron long ago, is slowly regenerating power while using demons to both collect souls and impersonate high members of the government so that he can eventually take complete control and move across the planet and, indeed, the universe. Only by harnessing ancient, magical technology and re-discovering several hidden tombs and catacombs underneath Omikron's surface, can the Nomad Soul hope to discover how to destroy Astaroth, return to his own dimension, and prevent his soul from being captured by demons.