OFF

Few indie RPGs have shaped the genre as quietly and thoroughly as OFF. Released free in 2008 by French creator Mortis Ghost, built in an old version of RPG Maker, the game followed the Batter — a grim figure on a "sacred mission" to purify a surreal, industrial afterlife — through a story that would go on to directly inspire an entire lineage of beloved narrative RPGs. Seventeen years later, OFF finally received an official, rebuilt commercial release, launching simultaneously on Steam and Nintendo Switch on 15 August 2025. The reception has been Overwhelmingly Positive across nearly 3,000 Steam reviews — and running through nearly the entire sample, positive and negative alike, is one specific, unusually well-documented point of tension worth understanding in full before buying.

A landmark finally getting its due

Reviewers discovering or revisiting OFF consistently frame it in terms of the genre it helped create rather than simply as a standalone curiosity. "I am directing my review SPECIFICALLY at people who did not play the original, but have maybe played one of the MANY games that were inspired by it (Undertale/Deltarune, Omori, Oneshot, etc)," one review opens — a framing echoed repeatedly across the sample by players tracing a direct lineage from OFF's surreal tone and unsettling narrative structure to some of the past decade's most acclaimed indie RPGs. That lineage claim isn't just fan enthusiasm — Undertale creator Toby Fox is himself one of several composers who contributed to this release's new soundtrack, a genuinely notable, verifiable mark of respect from one of the genre's most successful successors reaching back to acknowledge its own influence.

The rebuild itself draws real, specific praise on its own mechanical terms. "This remaster... takes a phenomenal game, adds tons of quality of life improvements, introduces new boss fights," one review states, describing genuine additions rather than a straight re-skin. Combat and interface improvements are singled out repeatedly as meaningful upgrades over the original's more dated RPG Maker foundation, and the game's surreal, unsettling atmosphere — dread-tinged dialogue, industrial zones populated by increasingly strange inhabitants, a story that rewards close attention — remains, by wide consensus, genuinely effective for anyone encountering it fresh.

The soundtrack, and the specific reason it changed

What keeps this review from being a simple, unqualified recommendation is the review sample's single most consistent and most emotionally charged complaint: the complete replacement of the original score. "I find it hard to recommend this remaster over the original, even for newcomers. To me, a lot of what made OFF stand out was lost in the remastery process. Most notably the music," one detailed review states, a sentiment echoed with real specificity across dozens of reviews. Another, more painfully: "I wish I could put neutral as a review, but alas, here we are... The grim story and surreal visuals in tandem are so in[tegrated with the original score]" that losing it feels like losing part of the work itself to several longtime fans.

What makes this situation genuinely different from a typical "the remaster changed something fans didn't like" complaint is the specific, verifiable, and sympathetic reason behind the change. Independent research confirms the original composer, Alias Conrad Coldwood, was reluctant to sign away rights to his music for OFF's wide commercial release — not a rights dispute or legal infringement issue, but a personal preference not to hand over ownership to a publisher. Rather than proceed without the original composer's blessing, Mortis Ghost's team commissioned an entirely new score, featuring Toby Fox among other contributing composers. Fox himself described his own hesitation about the project with unusual candour, comparing the position to "breaking into somebody's house and pasting your face into their family photo album" before ultimately agreeing to contribute after being personally asked by Mortis Ghost. That's a meaningfully different story than indifference or convenience — it reflects a specific rights-holder's own choice, handled by the new composers with real, self-aware care for what they were being asked to replace. It doesn't fully resolve the emotional loss longtime fans describe, but it reframes the change as a genuinely difficult, thoughtfully-handled circumstance rather than a careless business decision.

A recommendation that splits cleanly by audience

What's striking about the review sample is how consistently it arrives at the same structural verdict independently, across dozens of separately written reviews. "If you're looking for an experience that is exactly like the original or better, you're in the wrong place... it's still a great time, but the OG will always be superior in some aspects," one review states plainly. Another distills the same split even more directly: "I would only recommend getting this game if you liked OFF in the past and want to support Mortis Ghost. If you've never played OFF before, I recommend playing the freeware version" instead — inverting the expected direction, recommending against the paid remaster specifically for returning fans while still endorsing the game's fundamental quality. Even reviewers landing on a positive recommendation build in the same caveat: "great game, but... you cannot deny that this is still good" even while agreeing the original OST holds up better. This is about as close to a unanimous, cleanly split verdict as any game in this review series has produced — new to OFF, buy this without hesitation; returning fan specifically attached to the 2008 score, know exactly what you're getting before you do.

Where this leaves a buyer

At NZ$21.99, OFF's official release is an easy, essential recommendation for anyone who hasn't experienced one of indie RPG history's genuinely important, influential works — the surreal storytelling, meaningful quality-of-life improvements, and the chance to directly experience the game that shaped Undertale, Omori and their peers make this a clear buy for newcomers. Returning fans face a more complicated, genuinely bittersweet choice: the soundtrack replacement is real, substantial, and the review sample's dominant point of contention, but it stems from a specific, sympathetic circumstance — a composer's own choice not to sign away his rights — handled with evident care by the artists who stepped in rather than corporate indifference. Buyers with deep personal attachment to the original score should weigh that context carefully, and know the free original remains available for anyone who specifically wants to preserve that exact experience alongside supporting this official release.