Games can often be greater than the sum of their parts and that’s how I feel having explored the joys of Ouros. It is a very simple concept but every facet of its design and aesthetic is so expertly crafted and honed that it has become one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played in 2024.
Ouros is a calm puzzle game about creating orbital loops. Levels will either be a continuous loop or a point to point line and you are challenged to bend the orbit trace through various rocks and nodes. Many of the nodes are numbered in the order they must be hit so sequencing is a must. To do this you pull and twist at splines on the orbit to drag the shape around the screen. Initial levels are just about making curves but very soon you’ll be twisting splines over each other to create loops and avoiding red no-go areas on the screen.
Ouros does a lot with this simple premise but later worlds expand on things further. Nodes may need to be crossed over two, three or four times and so you’ll looking at creating geometric looping shapes to make this happen. Whilst Ouros is never hugely taxing, it is always satisfying to play. When you get a loop started the game rings out an ascending bell chime as the orbiting blob speeds up over the soft palette orbit trace. It is so satisfying to hear the dings, complete the level and have it zoom out so show off your design. Some of them are very pretty and I’d have loved an in game screenshot button to capture the artwork. Add in a soft ambient soundtrack and a circuit lighting up level select screen and everything just oozes style, class and a no rush attitude.
One aspect of Ouros I especially enjoyed was its hint system. If you do get stuck, you can select a hint which shows an outline of a solution you could use. In later levels I tried this out and found that because I still had to work out how to drag the orbit into the correct solution, I felt I had still achieved something. I am all for progressive hint systems and whilst this isn’t quite that, it does the job excellently.
There are over 120 levels in Ouros and the game doesn’t outstay its welcome. You don’t have to complete every level to complete the game and the level select screens offer up multiple levels to choose from and you may only need to solve two of three to continue. Its just so laid back and zen like that I became engrossed in Ouros and its stylish minimalism. There is plenty here for the price point and I could image the click and drag of the splines being particularly satisfying on touchscreen.
I have no complaints at all. Ouros is an exceptionally well thought out, designed and delivered game. Hats off to Michael Kamm as a solo developer. This is an excellent achievement.
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