Omikron: The Nomad Soul

aka: The Nomad Soul
Moby ID: 1431
Windows Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/28 12:34 AM )

Description official descriptions

The futuristic city of Omikron on the planet Phaenon is sprawling beneath a huge crystal dome. It was erected to protect the city against the ice age which descended upon the planet after its sun ceased to exist. At the beginning of the game, the player is contacted by an Omikronian police officer named Kay'l 669, who begs him to leave his dimension, possess Kay'l's body, and enter Omikron to investigate a series of strange murders. The player then takes the role of Kay'l, but his investigation is foiled by a sinister force that the police are unable - and perhaps unwilling - to stop. As the plot unfolds, the player realizes that in order to solve the mystery his soul must establish contact with many inhabitants of Omikron, and ultimately save it from extinction.

Omikron: The Nomad Soul is primarily a free-roaming third-person 3D adventure game. Much of the player's activity in the game consists of exploring the large city, which is separated into five districts. The player is generally free to roam the city regardless of the plot development. Certain buildings can be entered and explored. Automatic taxi-like vehicles called "sliders" can be hailed to shorten walking distances and deliver the protagonist straight to the goal. In order to advance the story, information must be gathered by communicating with characters and solving puzzles of various kinds, inventory- as well as logic-based. The emphasis of the gameplay, however, is on exploration and interaction rather than on puzzle-solving.

Throughout the course of the game, the player may take on the role of up to 41 different characters through the use of the soul transfer ability. In many situations, a soul transfer is required to solve a puzzle and advance the plot, e.g. accessing a restricted area with a specific character who is able to enter it without arousing suspicion.

Besides the adventure mode, the game also contains first-person shooter and fighting gameplay. These two modes are restricted to specific areas and are for the most part triggered by plot advancement. Once an FPS sequence has been initiated, the player must complete it in order to be able to return to the main adventure mode. Weapons and items for this mode can be found throughout the stages themselves, as well as bought in shops during exploration.

The fighting sequences are also usually dictated by the plot. They take place on side-scrolling screens and consist of traditional exchanges of punches and kicks, with the goal of depleting the opponent's health bar. Each character has different initial fighting statistics. These can be increased by taking the characters to a training facility and practicing to increase their parameters and subsequent combat performance.

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (Windows version)

167 People (128 developers, 39 thanks) · View all

Product Development Lead
Product Manager
Public Relations
Localisation
Translation
German Quality Assurance
Audio Direction
Recorded at
  • Hastings Hamburg
Pro-Tools Giants
Voice Talents
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 78% (based on 53 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 91 ratings with 6 reviews)

Biggest disappointment in my gamer's life

The Good
Some years after noticing this game in a magazine, and finding it interesting, I found the demo and played it. The demo was very exciting and revealed what could be one of my favourite games.

When the game begins Kay'l, the first body you put your soul in, jump out of the screen and tells you (yes, you) that his world is in great peril and that the only one who can save it is you throw this videogame, putting your soul in his body (!?!?). Once you do this you enter Omikron, gets beaten up by a demon and being told by a robot cop to rehydrate yourself, you watch the city in it whole. Cars, people apartments, shops bars, and a lot of cool sci-fi details. I just stop playing the demo and start searching for the game.

I was hopping for a great sci-fi adventure, I read a bit about it and found quotes like "in Omikron you can't reload every time you do something wrong, you must answer for every action you make". That's the only thing you must tell to convince me to play a game. And the story was really cool, inter dimensional saving hero for a "big brother"-esque city invaded with demons, what more can you ask for?

The game also has the participation of David Bowie. I actually don't hear his music, but I know that if David Bowie participate in something, it will be, at least, "different".

Aside from the good expectation I putted in this game, I also found some interesting things while playing. Apart for an awesome original story, you found too, a world not fully realistic, but with a lot of things to do, like reading books, going to sex shops, watching TV, going to bars, shopping music CDs and hearing them, going to some Bowie concerts and even playing FPS and fighting sections of the game. The story goes getting more twisted and rare (not always to better) and you keep knowing more of some side stories. In addition, every new body has his/her own short story, a bit of rol playing (well...) and usually his/her own apartment.

The Bad
All this sounds very promising, isn't it? That's what I thought.

For starters, this game is completely linear, and there are no such thing like "different actions, different paths", you only have ways of spend your time, like said before, and a linear main story. Well, there is a choice, you can say NO to Kay'l at the beginning and don't play the game. Even more, when you lose your first body, you lose the 50% of the motivation of the game, as the rest of the bodies are just that, bodies. They have some RPG-like features and a short resume of their story, but you wont even know new NPCs with them, neither the game will change a bit depending on what body you are in. And the stats are just trivial, the only important one is how good they fight and their hit points. That means, that when you find a good body in those stats you better maintain it. In addition, you win a new apartment with each new body, which means, a new save point.

And the save system is too a bad point. You can, of course, save whenever you want, but you need save point and a ring to save, and are limited (well, you can buy all you want). So, you must look for an apartment every time you want to save, so you better reincarnate a lot to have them all, and, if you have no money, the only way to get it, apart for selling what you have, is by fighting, nothing more, and, at the end, it gets very repetitive.

As for the FPS and fighting zones, you can't expect too much from them, because a game can't be good in three genres at a time. In fact, only the fighting one is fun. The FPS is the worst of the three, awkward and totally scripted, the movements are slow and is very difficult to aim; they are totally worthless.You couldn't even walk sidewards. And I remember having problems with the different weapons, in fact, I couldn't change weapons, and played all the game with the base pistol, that didn't help making better the game. The fighting section was actually very fun, but sadly it was too short and repetitive.

The adventure by itself, was just average: talk with NPCs, take some object to the right character, solve some silly puzzle and if you get lost, read some walkthrough as there is no point on wasting your time with an average adventure game.

Probably, if you start playing it, you will only go on with it because of the bizarre story and ambience, what was my perdition. And that took me to the biggest disappointment of them all. SPOILER: After leaving the city and going through the final part of the game, which gets more and more uninteresting, you eventually face the big boss, which I think is Lucifer itself. And to kill this guy, the only weak spot of his body is his back!!, you must run around him as fast as you can and shoot at him. Yes, that means you are in FPS mode, which remember that was really annoying, and remember that aiming was a total pain in the ass. So you must go for his back, which is very, very difficult (remember that you can't walk sidewards), aim at it faster as he turns and shoot. And do it like 10 times. Meanwhile he shoots at you with an attack that kills you in 3-4 shots. After 20-30 tries my average was 1 hit per try, I couldn't finish the fucking game.

The Bottom Line
This game is technically very bad, it has poor gameplay, is an average adventure game and a bad genre crossing attempt, and the only good thing of it is it's story and ambience, which are very good indeed.

Despite all that and all I have said, I think this is a game for the history of videogames. This game is bad, but it is "different". You can easily see that the developers are people with good ideas and with a real interest in improving videogames, what is very praiseworthy nowadays. So this is a game for videogame lovers, those who can do the sacrifice to play it just to play something original in the videogame world. And I will play Omikron 2 for sure, and other games developed by those guys, because, at least, I know that their games will be something "different".

Windows · by MichaelPalin (1414) · 2006

Best game I've ever played

The Good
The Nomad Soul is, and I'm not going to hesitate saying it; the best all round game I've had the privilege to play; from the story-line to the beautiful design and complex gameplay, there is just no flaws in this game. Quantic Dream have spent a lot of time designing the virtual world that is 'Omikron' which spans over four vast cities. The plot is very in depth and I also really like the whole demon thing. It was done really well.

The moment Omikron loads a portal opens and we are introduced to police officer named Kayl through some sort of portal he tells you his world is in danger and you need to transfer your soul into his body in order to help him out; once you have possessed Kayl's body you will need to find out more about him and what was it he was so afraid of, you will need to go to considerable lengths accessing classified case files as to what happened to Kayl and his deceased partner Den, the story unfolds and you begin to learn that the Police force as well as the government itself is run by a secret society of Demons disguised in human form brainwashing to people of Omikron and offering their souls to Astaroth thus making him stronger to a point where he will have total control over Omikron you will be faced by these entities throughout the game and also the Omikron Police via FPS or Tekken style fighting, otherwise the rest of the game is pure adventure which a few puzzles chucked in for good measure.

In the game you can possess a number other bodies doing whats called a 'Soul Transfer' this is a cool feature but only can be used on select inhabitants, i used Kayl as far in the game as I could, but sadly it was inevitable that he dies.

There is also some very interesting shops/bars you can walk into in Omikron, like strip joints/sex shops etc also good if you have the nude patch running might i add. There is also some illegal concerts held at random bars in the cities of Omikron in which 'The Dreamers' preform a number of live shows featuring David Bowie on vocals I think that was a very original idea even though I'm not a big fan of David Bowie as such but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Its just sheer brilliance in so many aspects, when you are hooked on this game reality seems to fade I was at my PC for days until i finished it, I was very sad when it ended. Part two better be released or I am going to be sending a lot of hate mail.

The Bad
Its very easy to get lost in Omikron this is not a bad thing however. It just shows that the game is that big. The controls take a bit of time to learn, but you will get the hang of it in not so long. The Nomad Soul also has certain 'savepoints' in which you must possess a number of Magic Rings in order to save your game, this makes things a little bit more challenging but only the slightest; rings can be found all over the place so they are quite abundant.

The Bottom Line
Plot, Gameplay, Graphics, and FREEDOM = Omikron. Quantic Dream have stated they will release a sequel (Omikron: KARMA previously known as EXODUS) but there is a lot of uncertainty right now as to where this is going there has not been much news about it to date. Whoever f**ks this up is going to get my upmost abhorrence. Just like Bioforge 2, and Privateer 3 and Full Throttle 2... why do they even bother if they are not going to give us the final product. Leaving us on the edge. That is just heresy in my belief.

I also played QD's latest release FAHRENHIET/INDIGO PROHECY that was good for what it is but it was too cinematic, please Quantic Dream if you do release 'Omikron: Karma' do not deprive it of gameplay like that.

Windows · by Kurt Murphy (4) · 2006

Better git it in yo' soul!

The Good
Nomad Soul is the first creation of the extravagant French designer David Cage and his development team Quantic Dream. It is a hybrid game that is hard to categorize - an ambitious project that attempts to build up complex gameplay rooted in traditional adventure.

At its heart, Nomad Soul is indeed a pure adventure game: running around while completing tasks and solving puzzles occupies by far the largest portion of the game. Other elements, such as shooting and fighting sequences, appear as segments that have very little to do with the core gameplay, breaking the game's pace abruptly and providing a change from the rather slow gameplay. But Nomad Soul is much more than just a fancy 3D adventure with action mini-games. One of the game's main appeals is its open world and physical interactivity with it.

There are similarities to Shenmue, which was released shortly afterwards. Both games present graphically impressive, detailed, fully populated 3D cities with many realistic touches. In Nomad Soul, for example, you can eat in order to increase your energy level, buy books in stores and then read them, get a drink, chat with unknown people sitting on benches, visit striptease shows, and even make love to your girlfriend. However, the differences between this title and its Japanese counterpart are numerous; plainly said, Nomad Soul is a better game. Its world is noticeably larger; its exploration possibilities much more varied thanks to physical interactivity (jumping, swimming, etc.); it doesn't dwell on menial tasks and instead keeps pushing the narrative forward; and instead of arcadish QTEs it offers real challenge both in puzzle-solving and in its action sequences.

As in most free-roaming games, the world is the star here.The city is divided into several districts and there are some plot-related restrictions on exploration; but once it opens up to you, it becomes a vast area you can run around and explore to your heart's content. It is stylishly gorgeous, detailed, and teeming with life. There are many buildings you can enter, and many items to buy or find. Tired of fulfilling an ancient prophecy or stuck at a tough puzzle with cryptic clues? Go to a bar and have a drink, look for fights, or spy on characters you can possess with your unique abilities. You can simply take a break from the main story almost whenever you want and see what the city has to offer.

The most famous gimmick of Nomad Soul is the ability to control multiple characters. There is no protagonist in the game except yourself - or, better to say, your soul. By extracting souls from other characters you can possess and control them. Some parts will force you to control a specific character, but for the most time you'll be free to choose which one of the available characters you want to control. The characters all have their own strengths and weaknesses, which is important, since you'll also be using them in fighting and shooting modes. Every character has their own background information including name, age, profession, and address. It is fun to control different people, from an ordinary female student to a legendary ancient warrior. The cool part is that in many cases you can visit their apartments and find unique items there.

Visually, Nomad Soul is astounding. Each zone in the city of Omikron has its own distinct personality, modeled after popular scenarios such as a dark cyberpunk-like district with sleazy bars, or an exotic Middle Eastern area with low yellowish houses and palm trees. The powerful engine smoothly renders busy streets, a large amount of pedestrians walking or sitting around, as well as intense traffic in the form of futuristic light vehicles ("sliders") and hovering motorcycles. Apartments are lavishly decorated and offer quite a bit to explore. The game's strong sense of style and unique personality create a captivating atmosphere.

The Bad
A far-reaching game like Nomad Soul is bound to put much at risk; it gambles and sometimes loses. One of its chief problems is lack of a smooth transition between the main adventure mode and shooting or fighting sequences. Once in a shooting mode, you can't do anything you used to do when in adventure mode, and vice versa; you also can't go back until you complete the sequence.

Unfortunately, those FPS parts are also pretty awful. Clunky, consolish controls are tolerable during exploration, but really get in your way here. These segments become even more difficult because of the stupid saving system (see below) that doesn't allow you to save your progress at any place but in the very beginning of the level. Health kits are used automatically, which can be a pain in the neck, especially if you have nearly all your energy, but the AI insists on using a large kit on you.

The versus fighting sections are less frustrating, but there are way too few of them, and they tend to be too easy, negating the game's nifty training system and the necessity to hunt for stronger characters. I would have been more interesting if your character could just attack people straight out of the adventure mode, instead of having almost every fight dictated by the plot. The soul-switching device is generally underused - it is, for the most part, a cosmetic feature that doesn't affect the course of the story and has only minimal impact on the gameplay. Near the end of the game you receive the most powerful characters anyway, and the last few chapters are pretty much on rails.

What remains, then, is the adventure portion. Alas, aside from a lot of filler material (running back and forth), it offers very little of what made classic graphic adventures great. There is no interactivity with verbs, no meaningful dialogues, and the few puzzles fall under the category of rearranging magical crystals and alike. Essentially, once the initial wonder ("oh my God! There must be millions of things to do in this huge city!") wears off, you'll start noticing that there's actually not that many meaningful, i.e. gameplay-affecting things you can do. You'll be mostly running around and advancing the completely linear plot.

On top of that, the game's saving system is ridiculous. Needing specific "points" to save your game is one of console gaming's several dubious legacies. It is particularly harmful in a free-roaming game like Nomad Soul, where danger might await you at any corner. I want to at least be able to save right before a tough shooting sequence - but I can't do that: I first have to go to the hero's apartment or wherever else, and then make my way back to the crime scene. I want to save each time before attempting to solve a puzzle, or simply before crossing the street, since any car can hit me and I might lose energy for little reason. Even more annoyingly, you have to spend special magic rings at a save point. If you are out of magic rings, you can't save your game at all! To be fair, managing those rings isn't a big deal and hunting for them can even be somewhat fun, but still: who on Earth came up with this idea?

The Bottom Line
But the sheer scope, ambition, and originality of this title makes it an important title to be acquainted with. However, its rather incoherent and uninvolving gameplay design kept the fun factor relatively low for me.

Windows · by Unicorn Lynx (181780) · 2018

[ View all 6 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Wrong screenshots Mobygamesisreanimated (11069) Nov 29, 2009

Trivia

Barcode

The German cover of the game (both for the Windows and Dreamcast editions) shows a wide-open eye with a barcode over iris and pupil. That EAN 9780140072389 actually refers to the Spanish language edition of a crime/espionage story named LaBrava.

Cancelled PlayStation version

Omikron: The Nomad Soul was originally supposed to get a PlayStation release. However, Eidos didn't believe that the PlayStation version would even sell and they urged Quantic Dream to move it to the Dreamcast as Eidos thought the Dreamcast would be a worthy successor to the current generation console then. However, things didn't go the way as Eidos expected as the Dreamcast wasn't a hit. David Cage, the writer and director for Omikron, claimed that the biggest regret was to not release it on the PlayStation.

David Bowie

The game features David Bowie as Boz, the Virtual Being. For the role of Boz, David Bowie contributed his voice and allowed a graphic fantasy rendition to be made of himself for the role. In addition, his wife, supermodel Iman Abdulmajid, acts as the model for one of the characters (Iman 631) in the game that players can take control of as part of the "virtual reincarnation" process. In memory of his passing, Square Enix offered a free download of this game from 1/15/2015 to 1/22/2015.

Font

The game makes extensive use of a special typography. The font can be downloaded for free from the developers at http://www.quanticdream.com/download/Omikron.ttf

Soundtrack

David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels wrote the entire soundtrack exclusively for the game, consisting of eight songs; "Thursday's Child", "Something in the Air", "Survive", "Seven", "We All Go Through", The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell", "Omikron (New Angels of Promise)" and "The Dreamers"... seven of which appeared later on David Bowie's album, Hours...(Limited Compilation) album

The album "Hours..." contain several tracks like '(Omikron-The Nomad Soul Version)' naming, but if you listen carefully those tracks are the same as original ones. It seems like sound engineer made a mistake placing the same tracks on the album by different ('Omikron') names.

Title

Omikron is one of the letters of the Greek alphabet, corresponding to the Latin O.

Awards

Information also contributed by Isdaron, Karthik KANE, partykiller, Unicorn Lynx and WildKard

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Soul Nomad & the World Eaters
Released 2007 on PlayStation 2, 2014 on PlayStation 3, 2021 on Windows
Soul
Released 2022 on Windows
Soul Blazer
Released 1992 on SNES
Soul Blade
Released 1996 on Arcade, PlayStation
Soul Dossier
Released 2021 on Windows
Soul Journey
Released 2011 on Windows
NOMAD
Released 2020 on Windows
Nomad
Released 1993 on DOS
Bleach: Soul Resurrección
Released 2011 on PlayStation 3

Related Sites +

  • Omikron Game
    Fan-site about Quantic Dream projects. Omikron the Nomad Soul the first game project by Quantic Dream.
  • Omikron: The Nomad Soul Help File
    These hints include all of the tips and tricks to help you with Omikron. All of the reincarnate locations and attributes, maps and strategies for the missions.
  • The Nomad Soul : Mayerem
    French fan-site.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 1431
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Derrick 'Knight' Steele.

Dreamcast added by Adam Baratz.

Additional contributors: -Chris, Jeanne, Scott Monster, UL, Patrick Bregger, tMH.

Game added May 13, 2000. Last modified March 17, 2024.