Opus: Rocket of Whispers

A SPOOKTACULAR ENGAGING STORY.

SPACE BURIALS, WITCHES and a plague would usually be a recipe for a zombie-filled action extravaganza, but in Opus: Rocket Of Whispers, it’s a combination that makes for an engaging story of exploration and mental health. John, haunted son of a rocket engineer, and Fei, a witch awoken after 20 years of cryogenic sleep, make for an unlikely team. As John, you’re tasked with scouring the landscape in search of components to build a rocket in order to send the ghosts that haunt you back to the stars from whence they came; Fei stays back at base, taking care of the religious, spiritual and screwdriver-wrangling side of this space-bound exorcism. John’s spectral torment forms a big part of this carefully paced story, providing both barriers and assistance as he searches for a way to rid himself of the ghostly voices and find some mental relief. And what a story — told in reverse, revealed slowly but surely through beautiful cutscenes and uncovered memories, it more than makes up for the rather uninspiring top-down gameplay. It’s available on mobile devices, PC and also the Switch, and there’s something about the story’s heart-felt tone and underlying message of love and loss that really works with the immediacy of hand-held devices. Not a long or difficult game, but one that’ll work its way into your heart.