Sweeping single-player adventure game Omno is on track for release this summer following its successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2018. German developer Jonas Manke's beautiful and atmospheric puzzle adventure, in which players traverse forests, deserts and tundras using the power of a lost civilization to solve puzzles, is finally coming to Steam, and it seems even Xbox owners can get in on the fun too.
After spending two years working on the game by himself, Manke hosted a Kickstarter campaign for Omno late in 2018, hoping for a 2019 release. After managing to raise more than three times his initial goal of €32,000, though, his plans and scope changed somewhat. What followed was over two years of incremental but determined progress developing the game, sorting out Kickstarter rewards, and reliably churning out monthly update messages for backers to keep everybody on the same page. His supporters' long but patient wait looks set to end this summer though, with the game finally releasing for PC and Xbox One.
Subscribers to Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass will get an even better deal, as the game will be coming to the service at launch, according to today's ID@Xbox event over on Twitch. Omno, along with a host of other creative indie games, will be joining the service on day one, so Xbox enthusiasts can jump straight in to Manke's lovingly crafted world. It looks like it could be a hit on the service, with event host Trisha Hershberger commenting that an early build of the game she'd played looked "so adorable."
Fans of Thatgamecompany's hit game Journey will find lots to like in Omno by the looks of things. The game's world conveys a similar kind of abandoned beauty, and sees the player character skating along sand and snow and gliding through the air. It's not too lonely, though: wildlife still dots the landscape, from cute turtles to towering dinosaurs, and some of them might even come along for the ride as you wander through, solving puzzles and finding secrets.
The announcement of the game joining Xbox Game Pass comes alongside plenty of other news at today's ID@Xbox Indie Showcase on Twitch. Covering over 100 indie games and featuring announcements and new details for titles from developers and publishers like Dear Villagers, DrinkBox Studios and Devolver Digital, it appears Omno will be in good company when it comes to Xbox Game Pass later this year.
Omno is due for release on PC and Xbox One in summer 2021.