Gratitude #27: MO: Astray OST – Extremergy Life Form

MO: Astray is another of my favorite indie gems. Its blend of genres gives it something of a niche appeal, but if you happen to enjoy both puzzle games and difficult action games then it is one I would recommend.

The cute slime-like protagonist doesn’t make you think that the main enemies you’ll be encountering are zombies, but that’s exactly how things shake out as you venture through the wreck of a laboratory that the game begins inside. The setting really stands out through both its pixel-art and its morbid lore details, along with a distinct aesthetic and a mystery of a story that answers just enough questions to keep you invested until the end. It’s at times humorous and at times incredibly grim, yet it manages to strike a perfect balance between for the majority of its runtime.

The song chosen here is the final boss theme, so that may be your warning if the above paragraph sold you on trying the game for yourself. Much like the last big robotic monster of a boss I highlighted? I adore everything about it, for much of the same over-the-top reasons. The game dedicates ten seconds of cutscene to just letting you take in the scale of the boss compared to everything else you’ve fought so far. You’re then tasked with preventing it from shattering the space-time continuum several times before the fight even begins. After you do, the climax of the game is set with the backdrop of the horizon above the ship you’ve spent the entire game climbing to the peak of, while an epic orchestral rendition of our little blob hero’s leitmotif accompanies the boss’s dramatic name for a title card.

And with all that said, it’s actually the boss’s SFX and VFX design that tips it over the edge into being one of my favorites of all time. Normally it isn’t the sound effects that stand out in indie titles, but MO: Astray goes above and beyond on its aesthetics; it’s a reasonably challenging boss, presented immaculately well, in a game that already oozes charm and heart throughout. I’m certain that I’ll find myself revisiting it for years to come.


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