Review: Omi Oh My AI — A Captchavating Descent Into Digital Chaos

Omi Oh My AI is one of those games that lures you in with a cute dog‑shaped AI mascot and then slowly reveals that you’ve actually signed up for a part‑time job in digital quality assurance. It opens with a cheerful retro interface that looks like Windows 98 got lost in a time loop, and Omi, your excitable, slightly feral AI companion immediately begins guiding you through a barrage of CAPTCHA puzzles. At first, it’s charming. You click on pictures of dogs, type distorted text, count objects, and feel like you’re participating in a quirky little experiment about how machines see the world. The game promises over 300 puzzles and a journey into the mind of an AI, and for a moment, you believe it. You really do.

Then Act 2 happens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CobmQ0YDTCg

The story, such as it is, revolves around Omi’s gradual “malfunction,” though malfunction might be too generous a word. Omi behaves less like a rogue AI and more like a toddler who found the command prompt and refuses to stop typing. The narrative leans heavily into early‑internet aesthetics and ARG‑style worldbuilding, complete with external lore, fictional companies, and hints of something deeper lurking beneath the surface. It’s a fun idea: a puzzle game that spills out of the software and into the real world, blurring the line between player and participant. But the execution often feels like the game is glitching on purpose and by accident at the same time, leaving you unsure whether you’re solving a puzzle or debugging someone’s thesis project.

Gameplay begins with traditional CAPTCHA‑style challenges like images, words, numbers and for a while, it’s oddly satisfying. But the formula rarely evolves. Instead, the game pivots into long stretches of console commands, repetitive tasks, and sequences that feel more like running diagnostics than playing a game. You’ll click “continue” so many times you’ll start to question your own humanity, which, to be fair, might be the most thematically accurate part of the experience. Omi occasionally pops in with commentary or emotional outbursts, but the pacing becomes uneven, with long stretches where your AI companion vanishes entirely, leaving you alone with a wall of text and the creeping suspicion that you’re being punished for something.

The ARG elements including external websites, hidden lore, meta‑puzzles are intriguing in concept, but they often feel like breadcrumbs leading nowhere. The worldbuilding hints at a larger mystery, but the payoff is thin, and the line between intentional glitch and actual technical issue becomes increasingly blurry. When buttons stop working or dialogue fails to advance, you’re left wondering whether the game is being clever or simply collapsing under its own ambition. And when you have to restart the game to progress, the illusion breaks entirely.

Still, there’s something undeniably endearing about Omi as a character. The developers clearly wanted to avoid the tired “evil AI” trope, instead presenting an artificial intelligence that’s flawed, emotional, and occasionally overwhelmed by its own existence. When the writing lands, it’s genuinely funny, Omi’s dog‑like enthusiasm and existential confusion make for some delightful moments. The retro aesthetic is also a highlight, capturing the clunky charm of 90s computing with affection rather than parody.

But charm alone can’t carry the entire experience. The repetition, instability, and lack of meaningful progression make the later acts feel like a slog, and the game’s most ambitious ideas often get buried under technical hiccups and pacing issues. It’s a bold experiment, but one that sometimes forgets that experiments still need to be fun.

Pros

• A quirky, charismatic AI companion who steals the spotlight

• Retro 90s aesthetic that nails the early‑internet vibe

• Over 300 puzzles with a creative mix of image, word, and number challenges

• Ambitious ARG‑style worldbuilding with external lore and meta elements

• Genuinely funny writing and moments of unexpected heart

Cons

• Repetitive gameplay that rarely evolves beyond basic CAPTCHA tasks

• Act 2 devolves into long stretches of console commands and busywork

• Technical issues and broken sequences that disrupt progression

• ARG elements lack satisfying payoff

• Pacing problems and long stretches without meaningful interaction

Omi Oh My AI is a fascinating, flawed, and undeniably memorable experiment. It’s a game with big ideas exploring AI empathy, blending puzzles with ARG storytelling, and reimagining CAPTCHA as a narrative device, but it often struggles under the weight of its own ambition. When it works, it’s clever, funny, and strangely heartfelt. When it doesn’t, it feels like you’ve been tricked into doing tech support for a sentient Tamagotchi having an identity crisis.

If you love meta‑games, retro aesthetics, and quirky indie experiments, there’s something here worth experiencing even if only to witness the delightful chaos that is Omi. But if you’re looking for polished puzzles, tight pacing, or a story with a strong payoff, this AI adventure may leave you feeling more human than you expected… mostly because you’ll be exhausted.

XPN Rating: 3 out of 5 (SILVER)

Omi Oh My Ai is available now!