While a semi-fan of weird, low-budget indie RPGs, this critic somehow managed to completely miss Off until now. Released in 2008 by Belgian developer Unproductive Fun Time, it’s widely regarded as one of the titles, if not the title, that sparked the dark, weird, and slightly silly scene of indie RPGs. The remaster, courtesy of Fangamer, is a chance for likeminded gamers to check out a unique gem, even if that gem isn’t really that fun in the traditional sense. There’s no point in beating around the bush; Off can’t really hold a candle to its “offspring” (the most popular of them all being Undertale). As such, it’s mostly a great trip down an interesting section of the Museum of Video Game History. No photos allowed. Snacks encouraged.
Off‘s premise, which is provided fairly abruptly, is wonderfully bonkers. You play as ‘the Batter’, a stoic fellow in a baseball uniform on a sacred mission to “purify” a world crawling with spectres. Almost immediately, he insists that you (as in you, the player) accompany him personally, even dropping your chosen name in conversation, while ‘the Judge,’ a sardonic talking cat functions as the tutorial dispenser. After that, the Batter visits one Zone after another, witnessing grim hints of human suffering. It’s like Alice in Wonderland but dystopian. The tone is fittingly bizarre, eerie, and most of all dark, trading cosy fantasy tropes for something strange and bleak. A healthy dose of black humour has been included.
As the adventure goes on, you are drip-fed details about the world, like how certain elements are key to the world’s operation. One would expect these to be something like earth, fire, etc, but instead the elements here are smoke, metal, plastic, meat, and sugar – and the explanation of how they function is…something. For a lack of a better world, it’s like being inside a dream, with its minimalist “done in MS Paint” art style, and its (mostly) ambient OST helping to enhance that feeling. If there’s something that Off has lots of, it’s atmosphere. If there’s something it doesn’t have, it’s explanations about what the bloody hell is bloody going on.
It’s important to note that the storytelling ways of Off is less about coherence and relatable characters, and more about abstract expression and hidden meanings. As an example, characterisation is stripped down to the bone. The Batter himself is less a person and more a force of nature – a zealot marching forward with absolute certainty for his mission. Party members are floating circles named after Greek letters, while oddball figures like the Judge and the various Guardians inject bursts of eccentric humour into the gloom. Conversations are sparse and often cryptic, more like fragments of riddles than traditional dialogue. You’ll get plenty of clues. What you’ll do with them is your own problem.
Off leans fully into its ambiguity. Upon reaching the end and “learning” of the true nature of the world (which is frequently hinted about) players will be left on their own to piece together what they have learned throughout this quest, with no way to know whether their deduction is the right one, and as such they’ll be left wondering what exactly they helped the Batter accomplish…and why, oh, why he is wearing a baseball uniform.
It’s one of those titles where part of the fun is trying to make sense of it all after completing the darn thing, and it’s very good at that. If you are intrigued, give this a shot, and you might become the next member of its growing cult following. There was a game here, though, was there not?
The gameplay, unfortunately, is where Off loses some of its mystique. Regular battles repeat themselves with clockwork predictability with combat itself not really being that exciting. The remake overhauls the original’s generic turn-based system for a more dynamic, fast-paced version of ATB (which forces quick thinking, especially when dealing with bosses), with visible timers as well as a broader set of tactical skills – but the problem remains.
Despite the mechanical improvements, the combat never evolves much beyond its initial tricks, making it feel like something you endure between story beats rather than a highlight in its own right. As for exploration, the world is mostly a straight line, with the occasional crossroad offering a few additional corridors that lead to items and so on.
Beyond the battles, Off occasionally asks players to put their swords… err, bats aside and engage their brains instead. There are a large number of puzzles, effectively making this an adventure-RPG, many of which revolve around deciphering numbers, symbols, or strange bits of environmental information. Be sure to grab a pen and paper (or use the system’s screenshot function) to jot down glyphs and number sequences.
Now, while some of these are genuinely enjoyable, others drag on a bit longer, slowing the pace of a journey that moves at a fairly deliberate rhythm. While these cerebral detours aren’t bad, for more traditional RPG aficionados who prefer the classic explore-fight-read-dialogue loop, they may feel like unnecessary speed bumps. Like the vehicle segments in first-person shooters.
This new remastered version of Off is the definitive way to experience it. Apart from combat tweaks, it introduces higher-resolution sprites, additional areas, new bosses (including a few hidden ones), UI changes, a hint system, plus an official localisation that finally replaces the old fan translation that English-speaking players relied on.
The most controversial change for fans of the original will be the soundtrack, as the OST crafted by Alias Conrad Coldwood has largely been replaced by new compositions that are very good, but kind of lack the unique vibe of the lo-fi homegrown sounds of the freeware release. Even so, taken as a whole, this is less like a simple port and more like a thoughtful modernisation of a cult classic.
Off is fascinating game but not really an outright essential one. Its atmosphere, strange humour, and bold storytelling ideas are undeniable, but the actual moment-to-moment gameplay rarely rises to the same level. Its greatest strength today is its historical importance. This is one of the titles that paved the way for the wave of oddball meta-aware indie RPGs that followed in its footsteps, and playing it now feels a bit like touring the foundations of that movement. As such, this is best approached less as a must-have and more as a curious, influential artefact. A little exhibit in the Museum of Video Game History that’s well worth a visit, even if you wouldn’t necessarily want to stay there for long.
