OFF Review

You might not have played OFF, but you’ll recognise it. Its DNA is in the fourth wall breaks of Undertale, its in the dreamlike landscapes of Omori, and the uncanny character designs of Hylics. OFF gets a little weird, and it unapologetically throws out more questions than it does answers. When you play OFF, your mind will desperately try to create connections between its world and our own. This is no easy task.

In OFF you take control of The Batter. I specifically say ‘take control of’ and not ‘play as’ because you are still very much yourself. The player is a distinct and separate character that is woven into the story and addressed separately. This is just one of the many ways that OFF breaks with the standard conventions that we’ve come to expect with turn-based RPGs. That’s because, just like the games I mentioned above that followed OFF’s original 2008 release, things get a bit weird.

A clear early example of this are your party members. As you progress you find Add-ons that help you in battle. These are circles. Plain. White. Circles. They have no character, no personality, they don’t follow you around. The Add-ons are pieces that can attack and take attacks alongside you. As for other strange parts of the story, they are better viewed with unexpecting eyes.

OFF’s world is broken into numbered zones, and you’ll have the same task in each. Aside from random turn-based encounters with weird beasts, burnts, and spectres, you will explore the area, solve puzzles, and eventually, take down the guardian so you can purify the zone. The fights are probably more frequent than they should be, particularly given how much punishment even the standard enemy can take, but with the Competences and Add-ons, it can be fun to figure out synergies.

Your brain needs to be firing on all pistons, as some of the puzzles are fairly challenging, but they are some of the best parts of the game outside of the story and characters. All of this is wrapped up in a delicious package of eerie character design, dialogue complete with speaking quirks, and the best sound design I’ve seen in gaming. Cats purr softly as they talk, the shop keeper maintains a soft chuckle, and it’s unafraid to use silence to emphasise the unsettling.

The original version of OFF is still available for free, but this is a remastered version with a new plotline and final boss. It adds another side to the story that doesn’t explain itself, but that blends in with the themes and mystery of OFF’s enigmatic world. If you’ve sent the best part of two decades craving for more OFF, then it’s exactly what the doctor ordered.

OFF is for everyone who likes feeling a little strange and uncomfortable. As you sink deeper into its world you’ll be left questioning everything you’ve seen and done. It’s filled with sweet and strange moments in equal measure, and enough threads to keep you pulling even though they may lead nowhere. The best parts of OFF are the ones that stick with you after the screen turns black.

OFF is out on August 15, 2025 and will be available on PC via Steam and the Nintendo Switch with a $14.99 price tag. This review was done on the Nintendo Switch version of the game played on a Nintendo Switch 2 with a code provided by the publisher.

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