Omensight

Take a unique artistic look, throw in an imaginative murder mystery, and you've got the essence of this clever adventure. Omensight takes place in a visually delightful fantasy world where the native tribes are sentient animals. The story is rich and compelling, the voice acting is dynamic, and the twists are intriguing. Cleverly, the idea of death is embraced in this game; characters die, but bonds can be created with their souls to venture back in time and perhaps change the outcome for the individual characters as you go about saving the world. As you work through the story and uncover clues, you can use the elements you've discovered to alter what characters do later, which can also change actions and consequences.

There are a few minor issues with the gameplay that pop up. Software glitches would sometimes make the controller stop working after loading the game. Similarly, combat quickly became repetitive, and while players can take different courses of action, no course can be repeated in a sandbox or rogue-like style -- thus limiting replayability. These problems aside, Omensight is a surprisingly enjoyable and addictive adventure that sparkles with each character, and it weaves a trail through a wonderful and colorful landscape. The mystery's also filled with some nice little twists. Just when you think it may be the most obvious suspect, a clue unveiled by exploring the environments a little deeper may cast doubt as to who the perpetrator actually may be. This is further expanded by difficulty levels that can make tracking the clues of the mystery harder or easier, which adds to the entertainment value, especially when you can repeat the day to gain insights into the actions or motives of non-playable but prominent characters. Omensight has a few stumbles, but the mystery and time-travel mechanics make it an adventure that's well worth your attention.