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Creepy physics platformer Ocmo wins the VBIP at PGC Helsinki 2017

Ocmo-oh no

Creepy physics platformer Ocmo wins the VBIP at PGC Helsinki 2017
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Aside from creeping out the judges in the very best of ways, the physics platformer Ocmo took home all of the plaudits at the Very Big Indie Pitch during Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki this year.

And rightly so. It thoroughly deserved first place thanks to its silky smooth controls, boundary-breaking physics and animation, and cute but disturbing main character.

Ocmo wears its influences proudly on its sleeves. It takes the moody visuals of Limbo and Badland, the hardcore mentality of Super Meat Boy, and gameplay of Mikey Hooks then pops them in a blender.

The result feels like something else entirely though. At its core, it's a speedrunning platformer in which you leap, swing, and crawl along the various surfaces as the creepy spider-like Ocmo.

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Ocmo is a truly stunning experience in more ways than one

But there's so much attention to detail, you'll be tempted to stop and smell the roses a little more than you should. Ocmo's moving animation, for example, is eerily close to an actual spider's and it freaked me out for the entirety of my playtest.

Then there's the backgrounds, which are absolutely stunning. You'll even catch other Ocmos leaping about, lending way more life to the experience than we're used to on mobile.

And that's impressive, because at its core it's a really simple experience. You can swing and crawl on black surfaces, but you can't touch the amber-like ones.

So you'll carve a ninja-like path through each level, avoiding bad surfaces and various obstacles. Then, at the end, you'll gore an innocent creature to death. Because why not.

We can't wait for the complete experience to land on mobile, and will keep you posted with more details. For now though, let's all give Ocmo a huge round of applause for winning first prize at this year's Very Big Indie Pitch during Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki.

Chris James
Chris James
A footy game fanatic and experienced editor of numerous computing and game titles, lively Chris is up for anything - including running Steel Media! (Madman!)