If you haven’t checked out Osmos HD yet, this is a game that you won’t want to pass up on. OHD comes to us from Hemisphere Games, a game development startup led by Eddy Boxerman, who formerly worked with Ubisoft Montreal on the Splinter Cell franchise, and Dave Burke, a former Unreal Engine 3 developer at Epic Games who worked on the Gears of War and Unreal Tournaments franchises.
With this being the first effort from Hemisphere Games, I was really excited to see what kind of magic these great minds from the gaming industry could pull off on our beloved Android platform and I must say, they really nailed it with this one. That probably had something to do with the fact that Osmos HD is the winner of multiple “Game of the Year” awards for its unique physics-based play, amazing graphics and hypnotic soundtrack.
The objective of Osmos HD is simple and the gameplay is casual, yet challenging. As with many games of this type, you start with easier levels that get progressively more difficult as you work your way through the game. In OHD you are a mote, which is basically this big ball of cosmic matter. Your goal is to grow larger by absorbing other motes in the gameplay area. Of course, you have to be careful in choosing your battles, as you can only absorb motes smaller than you — in other words, don’t go picking a fight with that bulldog while you’re still a baby chihuahua.
The gameplay experience brings enhanced multitouch controls, allowing players to pinch to zoom, tap to eject mass and flick the screen left to warp time and slow things down and dodge agile objects in your path, or right if you’d like to speed the pace up a bit for more of a challenge. To propel yourself, you must tap on the screen to eject matter behind you, which in turn causes the size of your mote to decrease. With 27 levels in the game’s “Odyssey Mode” and a manipulate difficulty level-based “Arcade Mode”, you’ll find yourself propelling your way through ambient playgrounds, deep solar systems, competitive petri dishes, dense mote-fields, and more.
 Osmos HD offers 8 distinct types of levels, each with unique goals and challenges:
- Ambient
- Antimatter
- Solar
- Sentient
- Impasse
- Warped Chaos
- Epicycles
- Repulsor
The game also features an ambient electronic soundtrack, showcasing the tripnotic work of Loscil, Gas/High Skies, Julien Neto, Biosphere, and more. Throw in 13 hidden achievements for players to earn and OHD shapes up to be everything I was hoping for when I first read about this game. As I said before, the developers really put a great deal of time and effort into the production of Osmos HD and the final product is an excellent representation of their work. I’ve been playing the game over the past few days and it gets increasingly harder to pull myself away from it and put my phone down to accomplish anything in the real world.
At the beginning of my review, I told you that Osmos HD has received numerous “GotY” awards. Below is a look at some of its accolades and what some of the bigger websites some of you may frequent had to say about the game:
Accolades:
- Winner of multiple “Game of the Year” and “Editor’s Choice” awards, including from Wired, Apple, IGN, 148Apps, and more
- Nominated for 4 IGF awards and winner of the “Vision” award.
- Winner of “Best in Show” and “Fun/Compelling” at IndieCade.
- Selected for the PAX 10 and more.
Reviews:
4/4, Must Have – “We are more than overwhelmed by Osmos… The game design is thoughtful and intuitive, new level structures are flawless, and the visuals are stunning yet simplistic… You just won’t find another experience quite like it.†-Slide To Play
5/5 stars – Macworld Editor’s Choice – “One of the best games we’ve played so far this year. An utterly serene, yet fiendishly complicated game…â€
“Osmos is a must-play…†-MTV Multiplayer
5/5 stars – “Osmos is an absolute must that will change the way you think of games, and what you expect from them.†-AppAdvice
“Brilliantly clever†-Co Design
–Android Market
Those reviews aren’t lying folks. Osmos HD is definitely one of the best games to hit the Android Market in some time now. In fact, at the time of this posting, OHD holds down not only the #1 spot for top new paid application, but in just a short time has become the #2 overall paid game in the Android Market. There’s a reason for this, kids — and it’s because this game is flat out sick. If you don’t believe me, give the demo version a try and see for yourself.
It’s important to note, there are some device compatibility issues. Some devices may not be lucky enough to enjoy this game. If you can’t find it in the Market, it probably means your device is not yet supported. I did some digging on Hemisphere games to see if I could come up with an exact supported device list and here’s what I found:
Supported Not Supported Samsung Galaxy Note HTC Aria HTC Evo 3D HTC Desire HTC Evo Shift 4G HTC Evo 4G HTC Sensation 4G Motorola Milestone HTC MyTouch 4G Nook Color Motorola Droid 3 Samsung Intercept Motorola Droid Razr HTC Optimus T Motorola Droid X2 HTC Optimus V Samsung Galaxy S2 HTC Optimus One Samsung Galaxy Tab HTC Nexus One Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Motorola Droid Samsung Nexus S Vizio VTAB 1008 Motorola Krzr K1 HTC Chacha Motorola Droid Pro HTC Desire Z Samsung Epic 4G Le Pan TC970 Samsung Galaxy S Plus Acer Liquid Xperia Play Acer Liquid MT Kindle Fire Samsung Galaxy Ace Motorola XOOM Samsung Galaxy 3 Samsung Galaxy Note HTC Wildfire HTC Shooter HTC Wildfire S Motorola Droid Incredible 2 Galaxy Gio Asus Transformer HTC Desire HD Motorola Photon Archos 101 Internet Tablet Samsung Galaxy S II Huawei Sonic HTC ThunderBolt 4G Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 Samsung Galaxy Nexus Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Asus Transformer Prime ZTE Blade Samsung Galaxy S ZTE Skate LG Optimus 2X ZTE Beeline M2 Motorola Droid 2 HTC HD2 Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro LG Ally Acer Iconia Tab Inq Cloud Touch Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini ZTE V9 Huawei U8650 Coolpad 8810 LG Optimus Net
If your device is on the left side of that list, you should definitely consider giving OsmosHD a try. Anyone else get a chuckle out of the fact that the Samsung Galaxy S III isn’t supported yet? Not surprising since the phone hasn’t even been announced yet.
At any rate, I hope you enjoyed my review and that you’ll take my advice and give it a try. Below, you’ll find a video trailer for OHD, followed by a handy QR code that you can either click or scan to head over to the Android Market. Be sure to share your thoughts on the game after trying it. We’d love to forward your feedback to the game’s development team!
Application:Â Osmos HD
Developer:Â Hemisphere Games
Cost:Â $4.99
