{"id":9827,"date":"2018-01-08T15:45:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-08T15:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/opus_the_day_we_found_earth"},"modified":"2018-01-08T15:45:00","modified_gmt":"2018-01-08T15:45:00","slug":"review-opus-the-day-we-found-earth-switch-eshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2018\/01\/08\/review-opus-the-day-we-found-earth-switch-eshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: OPUS: The Day We Found Earth (Switch eShop)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\">\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Screenshot 1 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87177\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87177\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"- Ts JOmt5 TQUvm3 G R8 Xaw PVcv Bj Fwc GR\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>With all the massive open-world adventures that have found a happy home on Switch so far, it\u2019s equally nice to see indie developers crafting compelling experiences on much smaller scales. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/opus_the_day_we_found_earth\">OPUS: The Day We Found Earth<\/a><\/strong>, a narrative-driven mobile port from indie studio SIGONO, certainly fits into that category, and it\u2019s an excellent addition to the Switch\u2019s library of smaller gems. Taking digital stargazing as its central conceit, Opus is a brief but lovable adventure that\u2019s definitely worth a closer look.<\/p>\n<p>At OPUS\u2019 outset, you\u2019ll meet Emeth, the sweet, WALL-E-like robot that you\u2019ll control throughout the game. Emeth is getting his first lessons in Earth-finding from Dr Lisa, the kindly scientist who built him. This serves as both your introduction and tutorial: Dr Lisa is part of the Opus mission to find the mythical human homeland of Earth, and Emeth\u2019s job is to search the cosmos meticulously, orb by orb, until he finds a match.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Screenshot 2 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87176\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87176\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"QGh CIIm4 Km IQRI0 Fyvb Tm8 Qv NWrct8 XH\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>We won\u2019t spoil anything that comes next, both because OPUS is quite a short game (our playthrough takes about an hour and a half) and because it&#8217;s a joy to discover for ourselves. After a presumed-predictable opening and some below-par writing at the start, OPUS\u2019 narrative blossoms into a tale that kept our attention to the very end, to the point where we become genuinely invested in its tale.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of gameplay, OPUS is &#8211; for want of a better phrase &#8211; a \u2018telescope-based adventure\u2019 \u2014 the basic flow of play involves looking through Emeth\u2019s high-powered telescope, scanning a two-dimensional representation of space, finding certain planets (based on their similarity to Earth), and naming them whatever you wish, before returning to the ship to watch more of the story unfold. Interacting with objects around the ship point-and-click-style leads to new insights and clues, and discovering new planets can likewise open up new areas of the ship, so there\u2019s a pleasing cyclical rhythm that keeps momentum strong throughout.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Screenshot 3 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87175\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87175\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Y9 Kw NXWFp Kpz0 YOEP3 Vuyvix7 E4 SR9 T\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>The telescope itself is fun to work; the left analog stick pans your view around the beautiful vastness of space, and you can inspect and interact with any celestial body you see by pressing the \u2018A\u2019 button. You\u2019ll unlock various filters and upgrades for the telescope as the story progresses as well, all of which are simple and satisfying to use and which can help you on your quest. Being able to name each planet also adds a surprising amount of personal investment to the expedition, and coming up with suitable names based on the brief descriptions of each planet is a real treat.<\/p>\n<p>Our only gameplay complaint is that the transitions between the ship and the telescope feel like they take longer than necessary, but here the game\u2019s length works in its favour; in a 50-hour RPG, that would feel incredibly tedious, but in this movie-length adventure, it\u2019s much more forgivable. Aside from looking for Earth-like planets, there are also a small set of \u2018sidequests\u2019 which see you searching for galaxies, stars, and supernovas. We really enjoy these, because while the story objectives are generally quite straightforward (it\u2019s hard to really \u2018miss\u2019 any important planets) the hunt for galaxies and stars embodies the needle-in-a-haystack we imagine of actual astronomy, and finally zeroing in on your goal after searching the endless starry sea is a real thrill.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Screenshot 4 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87178\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/87178\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"IDzk69 E64 Vpb O9 TG0 T19 C20 JFVHAR71 M\" \/><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Though the core experience doesn\u2019t change or evolve much through the experience, OPUS is short enough that deep-space telescoping doesn\u2019t overstay its welcome. And while we won\u2019t spoil exactly how it ends, the final act features an extremely effective blending of gameplay and story \u2014 so much so that we spent the last 20 minutes absolutely glued to the TV, almost unaware of the outside world. It\u2019s immersive and affecting in the vein of Attack Of The Friday Monsters \u2014 as a small, self-contained story, we felt fully drawn into Emeth\u2019s adventure.<\/p>\n<p>Visually, OPUS\u2019 art style is simple but cute &#8211; almost Playmobil-like &#8211; and cutscenes and stills have a hand-drawn charm. Out in space is a different story, however, and we loved looking at the stars, galaxies, and empty quadrants that make up this Milky Way map. It\u2019s a smart choice for a game such as this, because while it\u2019s not doing anything to put the Switch through its paces, it\u2019s still gorgeous to look at by virtue of space itself.<\/p>\n<p>The music and sound effects are equally important to that atmosphere, and the soundtrack in particular is very well done; it\u2019s subtle and carefully employed, staying in the background during exploration but swelling powerfully to the forefront during dramatic scenes. Overall, OPUS is a great example of how relatively low-budget games can still shine in presentation; not only through technical ambition or unique art, but also through smart themes, charming details, and thoughtful touches.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Opus: The Day We Found Earth is a lovely little game. At more or less the length of a movie, it\u2019s not going to keep you entertained for the weekend, but it\u2019s perfect for a quiet night in. Digital stargazing is a surprisingly compelling pursuit, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with OPUS &#8211; it\u2019s charming, affecting and proof positive that the Switch can be a wonderful storyteller.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With all the massive open-world adventures that have found a happy home on Switch so far, it\u2019s equally nice to see indie developers crafting compelling experiences on much smaller scales. OPUS: The Day We Found Earth, a narrative-driven mobile port from indie studio SIGONO, certainly fits into that category, and it\u2019s an excellent addition to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9827\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}