Caution - It is possible that certain scenes in this game are shocking to an unwarned public. Or maybe not...

Welcome, puppeteer.

You have been assigned to a being called "The Batter".

The Batter has an important mission. Be sure that it's accomplished.

This is OFF.

In OFF, you are... well, you. Characters in the game, well, some of them, recognize you as the player of the game and distinguish you from the character you control, the Batter.

Created by Mortis Ghost and the Unproductive Fun Time team, OFF is an indie RPG game developed using RPGmaker 2003. It was created in 2008, and translated to English in 2011. Though it may not look all that special due to the mediocre graphics of RPGmaker 2003, it certainly is special.

Now, I love indie games. I haven't played too many, as I just got my new laptop and don't have money to buy the best ones, such as Outlast, The Stanley Parable, or the relatively newer Five Night's at Freddy's. But I do know there are a lot of great ones; they have a certain charm and greatness that ordinary games rarely seem to get.

This game is like that. But multiply that by like, 57.

The Batter, a monotonous and somewhat hardheaded man, has a sacred mission; he must purify the world.

No man, that's it. He isn't a priest or anything, he just has to, you know, purify the whole world. Of spectres.

Yeah.

So, you control the Batter in his mysterious mission to destroy the ghosts and spectres that inhabit the three zones of the game, respectably named Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3. Each zone has a guardian, a ruler who keeps everything up and running. They've gotta be purified too. Sucks for them. Or maybe not...

This game is an RPG, so it has battle sequences. They are like many other games; turn-based combat. Here's the problem though, it's not turn-based. See, you have to wait while your CP (Competence points) meter fills up all the way for you to make an attack, use an item, or anything. But the enemy will not wait for your turn. Spectres will attack you every few seconds, so if you take too long in choosing which attack to use, they won't wait for you.

There are items you can use in combat, mainly different types of meat (Belial's Meat, Abbadon's Meat, etc.), which can heal you, cure negative ailments such as Poison or Palsy, and the like.

In terms of gameplay, you walk around the zones, talking to their residents, the Elsen. The Elsen, timid and nervous creatures, are the only non-hostile creatures that inhabit the Zones aside from their guardians and your friends, such as the Judge and Zacharie.

Which brings me to the characters.

This game has the best characters, despite having little of them. There isn't a single one I don't like. Here are the most prominent.

The Batter is a hard-set, determined man. Dressed as a baseball player and armed with a bat, he has set out on a sacred mission to purify the world, although one may suspect if his mission is as benevolent as it seems.

The Judge is your mentor of sorts, a cat with an extensive vocabulary and an ever-present smile. The Judge is the first character you meet in the game and is present throughout nearly the whole game. He is my favorite character and is quite conversational.

Zacharie is the in-game shopkeeper. He breaks the fourth wall all the damn time. Wearing a mask and seeking credits, he may have information and maybe even something to trade.

The Guardians of the three Zones are tasked with ruling them, though they are extremely mean and in some cases, cruel. Dedan is a foul-mouthed Tall Mister. Japhet is a possessive Bird. Enoch is a sugar-obsessed Big Mister.

The Queen is the mysterious ruler of the world, though she isn't ever actually seen (). The Guardians, or at least Dedan, are her advisors and subjects.

The locations are very immersive and interesting. Zone 1 holds smoke mines, barns, and even rivers of meat (Yes, meat); it's pretty intriguing. Zone 2 holds a giant library, a theme park, and a residential zone. Zone 3 is by far the most screwed up place, a sugar factory where the Elsen are working in return for sugar. Then, the Room, the final location. Wanna hear about it? Well, this is actually kind of, er, not-exactly-good-to-put-in-a-blog, so I'll put it in a spoiler.



There.

The music is AMAZING.

I HAVE THE ENTIRE DAMN SOUNDTRACK DOWNLOADED. HELL, I'M LISTENING TO IT AT THIS VERY MOMENT.

The battle theme is awesome. All the overworld themes are awesome. The boss themes are awesome. All of it. Awesome. The themes are so weird, seriously, but that's what makes them SO AWESOME. Some songs are creepy as hell, some of them are fun as hell, some of them are catchy as hell, but they're all AWESOME. AS. HELL.

Anyway, this game is disturbing. Nothing makes sense until you get to the Room, when you start to connect everything, but it still won't make sense. It won't. If it does you're lying.

Want to get the game? Get it here. Don't worry, it's free and safe. Already played it and want the soundtrack? Download it here.

If you want to talk about this game in the comments, please use the spoiler tag so as not to ruin the game for others. Thanks!