The words wonderful, spectacular, amazing, and magnificent. If I had to talk about Osmos those are the words I would choose. I'm a huge fan of the game and I'm going to take it one step further and say that Osmos is just like World of Goo and is a wonderfully chilled experience that is not without a challenge, but in the same way, not at all punishing.
You the player control a mote, what the mote is, is an orb of a blue substance that grows when it absorbs smaller orbs/motes. You move the mote by placing your finger on the opposite side of the direction you need to go. This ejects some ooze as tiny bubbles -- which can then later be picked up again to regain your size. In Osmos if you aren't carful and blast around too much, you eject so much mass that you're easy prey for larger motes. But if you don't get a move on, other larger motes may get to you first. What's so fascinating about this game is there's literally limitless survival options.
Luckily, you are god and have the ability to manipulate time. This feature will be your savior later in Osmos when you are staring down other hungry motes. Swiping to the left slows time, allowing you to be more precise and making narrow escapes, while flicking to the right allows you to speed things up if you missed your opening, but watch out, you will still continue to go on your current path.
Now, just watching your mote coast in open space might be relaxing but I admit it gets pretty old. Osmos offers several different game "types" that present you with a variety of different challenges to change your survival tactics. Solar, aka my least favorite, puts your orb on a orbital path circling a sun sphere. You can affect the orbital path by tapping opposite of your blue sphere but again you need to be careful, in the game mode if you aren't careful, you can swing your trajectory right into a wall or into the solar sphere. Good things come to those who are patient and if you're willing to be nimble and weave out of the spinning orbs cycle you'll be able to become the biggest sphere. Take my word for it, there is not a crummy level type in any of these level packs. Every mission is both fun and challenging, and bouncing around the different styles of Osmos keeps the game fresh.
Osmos is genius. Flinging orbs around the screen isn't always satisfying but it does create a gorgeous game. The physics styled game is an amazing buy for those who are looking for a game that is "different". The art concept was very key too you can easily distinguish which orbs are smaller than you by turning blue while the ones bigger have a red ring. Playing Osmos with headphones is key, they even recommend it when you open the app so you can truly enjoy the eletronic masterpiece between sound and graphics.
Closing Comments
Osmos is one of the front runners for best music on a portal device, I enjoyed playing the game since day one. This game is truly a perfect match. With all the touch controls there is no disconnection feeling between you and the game itself, which in turn pulls you deeper into the game. Don't hold back for one second to download this, you will miss out on something truly special.
