Summer Game Fest's deadliest game: Omut's first boss killed me 66 times in fifteen minutes

When I checked in at the Megabit Publishing booth at Summer Game Fest, there was one unannounced title I wasn’t aware of yet. Little did I know that this unassuming pixel art horror indie game called Omut would go on to become the deadliest game at Summer Game Fest. I only had about twenty minutes to try the game, but just before I got started, the team hosting the booth warned me about what I was getting myself into. They explained that there were no expectations about defeating the first boss. Only a few, if any, players had made it that far throughout the weekend. I scoffed to myself, sure I could pull it off, but was quickly humbled.

Omut’s first boss killed me 66 times in about fifteen minutes

Omut is a 2D side-scrolling shoot ‘em up boss rush. Visually, it is purposely pixelated and foggy, making it hard to see the edges of the screen most of the time. It gives the game an eerie vibe as this darkness hangs over everything. The objective is vague, at least in the demo I played, but you are given a shotgun early on. Everyone knows what to do with that.

I initially teased my experience with this game in my thoughts on the Wuchang: Fallen Feathers demo that I played at Summer Game Fest. That was certainly a challenging game, but it still does not compare to Omut. The first boss of this game is challenging for a few reasons. First, it introduces a gameplay mechanic that is unusual and challenging to grasp. Second, even if you did have a handle on the mechanic, it would still be tough.

Keep the boss in the air.Omut, Developer: Madame Cyclone

The goal in this boss battle is to shoot upwards. The boss starts in the air, and the moment it touches the ground, you are killed. It will bounce back and forth off walls on either side, but quickly descend in an arc towards the ground. A shot from your shotgun will bounce them back into the air, but lining up the shot and then racing across the field to line up the next one is not easy to do. As if it knows how difficult it is, the game counts up the number of deaths, which is why I know that after fifteen minutes of the boss battle, I tallied up sixty-six deaths. I also was never able to defeat the boss. If you think you can do better, the Steam Next Fest demo is still available for free.

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Over the weekend, I spoke with several other Summer Game Fest attendees who had also played Omut. It built up a reputation for itself as the most challenging game at the event. A few people I talked to had managed to rack up over one hundred deaths against the first boss. I don’t know if that’s because they had more time or moved more quickly through the beginning of the demo, but either way, it’s impressive.

Strike a deal?Omut, Developer: Madame Cyclone

Thankfully, through the Steam demo that’s still available now, I’ll be able to take a second crack at that challenging boss. Then move on to the next one. According to Omut’s Steam page, there are seventeen bosses. This could take a long time.

Thanks to Omut’s developer, Madame Cyclone, and Megabit Publishing for the opportunity to give this game a try at Summer Game Fest. As I mentioned earlier, you can download the demo for Omut right now, if you dare. Currently, there’s no release date for the full game, but you can wishlist it now on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

• indie games
• 2D shooters / shoot 'em up
• Summer Game Fest