Elder Sign: Omens

About

Elder Sign: Omens is a single player casual strategy game with a horror theme. It was developed by Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. and was released on November 27, 2013. It received positive reviews from players.

Elder Sign: Omens is a digital adaptation of the Elder Sign board game, where players work together to stop ancient horrors. They explore an eerie museum, battling monsters, and gathering resources to perform rituals and seal away eldritch abominations. With multiple difficulty levels and character classes, Elder Sign: Omens offers a challenging and immersive co-op experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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83%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,432 reviews

gameplay41 positive mentions

stability19 negative mentions

The game features beautiful artwork and a strong Lovecraftian atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience.
The gameplay is challenging and requires strategic thinking, making victories feel rewarding.
The expansions add depth and variety to the game, keeping it fresh and engaging.

The game can be excessively difficult, often feeling unfair due to the reliance on luck with dice rolls.
There are issues with the user interface, such as difficulty in entering names for high scores and occasional crashes.
The lack of a tutorial or clear instructions can make it hard for new players to understand the mechanics.

gameplay
95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
51%
6%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of challenging mechanics and high difficulty, often leading to frustration, especially for new players. While some appreciate the strategic elements and thematic immersion, many criticize the reliance on luck and vague mechanics, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game is praised for its engaging atmosphere and visual presentation, making it appealing to fans of the genre.
- “As for the gameplay, it can be challenging and requires upfront and careful thinking.”
- “This game communicates the hopeless horror of Lovecraft with challenging gameplay and excellent art direction.”
- “Great gameplay that captures the challenge and magic of the Arkham Horror series.”
- “The gameplay is confusing, and the difficulty is insanely high, even when playing an 'easy' boss.”
- “The mechanics for the game are poor at best; the dice rolls never give you anything close to what you need, and you can literally spend the whole game losing at one quest over and over until you lose the game.”
- “The game mechanics are incredibly poor; this is basically a game of total chance that, however you dress it up, consists of nothing more than throwing random dice. If you don't get lucky in your first few throws, you have no chance of being able to complete a task.”
graphics
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
77%
20%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful artwork and strong thematic presence, particularly in evoking Lovecraftian vibes. Many users highlight the impressive quality for a mobile game, noting that the visuals, along with the sound design, create a rich and immersive atmosphere. However, some reviews mention minor graphical glitches and a lack of diversity in artwork, but overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's appeal.
- “It's thematically very strong, with Lovecraft vibes throughout, and the artwork is beautiful.”
- “Gorgeous graphics, excellent soundtrack, and best of all, it's always an entertaining game.”
- “The graphics, sound, and gameplay are fantastic.”
- “It's strange that there are so few monsters (4) compared to the board game counterpart, when they already have the artwork and could just paste it into the app.”
- “Some artwork is missing and appears as a white square.”
- “Graphically, the game lacks high-quality textures, but it's forgivable due to the nature of being a card game; artistically, it's a great game with a huge variety of Lovecraftian atmosphere.”
atmosphere
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
15%
5%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its effective combination of artwork, music, and sound effects, creating a rich and immersive experience, particularly in the horror and Lovecraftian themes. Many players appreciate the moody and engaging environment, although some note that the atmospheric elements can occasionally detract from gameplay clarity. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, enhancing replayability and player enjoyment.
- “The music, graphics, and the atmosphere are on point.”
- “Great artwork, audio, and cut scenes help to create a dreadfully rich atmosphere for this 'lovecraftian' styled adventure game.”
- “Impeccable Lovecraft atmosphere, perfectly polished.”
- “The music and sound effects really add to the atmosphere.”
- “Graphically, the game lacks high-quality textures, but it's forgivable due to the nature of being a card game; artistically, it's a great game with a huge variety of Lovecraftian atmosphere.”
- “Note that it is a dice matching game and not an adventure game; the museum map is for atmosphere, not functionality.”
music
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
33%
7%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its immersive and haunting qualities that contribute significantly to the overall experience. While some mention a repetitive loop that could become annoying, the majority appreciate the high production values and how the soundtrack complements the game's visuals and themes. Overall, the combination of music, sound effects, and artwork creates a captivating and engaging ambiance that elevates the gameplay.
- “The music, graphics, and the atmosphere are on point.”
- “The soundtrack is so immersive - love it!”
- “The artwork, theme, and music make the experience steeped in atmosphere, which enhances the overall experience!”
- “Spooky soundtrack will probably become annoying sooner rather than later, as it is a fairly short loop that plays over and over.”
- “The beautiful artwork, the presentation, the sound effects and music are all top-notch... but the game is so ridiculously pitched against the player that it's honestly just not any fun.”
- “Considering it's a dice-based board game they've done a decent job with the sound and music to create ambience.”
story
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
64%
7%
The game's story aspect receives mixed reviews, with many players noting a lack of substantial storytelling despite the presence of engaging artwork and atmosphere. While some appreciate the Lovecraftian themes and the ability to create a narrative through gameplay, others criticize the minimal narrative depth and repetitive mission structure, leading to a feeling of disconnect between story and gameplay. Overall, the game offers a fun experience but falls short for those seeking a rich narrative.
- “Has great artwork and great story.”
- “The story is clear, the graphics and the music are awesome!”
- “Addictive gameplay with gripping horror story elements and chilling soundtrack.”
- “Not to mention how there is really no storytelling, which is something that games in the 'Arkham Horror' line usually are quite proficient in.”
- “The story, the whole reason I bought the game, is non-existent.”
- “There is a total separation of story and gameplay, so I have simply have no idea what to do.”
replayability
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
66%
27%
7%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, with many players highlighting the variety of characters, expansions, and challenges that keep the experience fresh. While some users feel that the lack of achievements limits replay incentives, the game's engaging atmosphere and mechanics contribute to its longevity. Many reviews emphasize that the game remains enjoyable and worth revisiting, making it a solid choice for both solo and multiplayer sessions.
- “Lovecraft's world, in this single/multiplayer (4)/high replay value game, you must quickly unlock mysteries and collect elder signs before the world is devoured by the mystic creatures from the stories.”
- “Infinitely replayable due to the expansions and the wide assortment of characters.”
- “The tutorials are great and the replayability is evident from your very first game.”
- “There are, of course, expansions, unlockables, etc., but for a $4 game, I expected more replay value than this.”
- “The developers left out some obvious replay value tricks -- there are high scores, but basically no achievements (you can unlock 1 additional investigator by winning at the hardest level).”
- “Good mechanics that don't particularly give this a degree of longevity/replayability that most mobile games lack.”
stability
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
4%
83%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing occasional graphical glitches and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, such as freezing during missions or issues with saving progress. While many users report smooth performance on certain devices, others face significant stability problems, particularly on specific models, leading to frustration. Overall, while the game is generally well-received, the presence of bugs and crashes remains a notable concern for a portion of the player base.
- “Runs smooth, no glitches.”
- “This is optimized for tablets and looks and runs great on the N10.”
- “I'm using a Verizon Lucid and the game runs great.”
- “I've had a few buggy moments like not being able to continue a saved game or getting stuck after completing a task, but nothing too extreme or consistent.”
- “Extremely buggy and unreliable on my Galaxy Nexus.”
- “Glitches that prevent you from being able to play a game are unacceptable.”
monetization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The monetization model of the game features in-app purchases that enhance gameplay by providing additional characters, but they are not essential for enjoyment. While some players appreciate the lack of a pay-to-win structure, others find the in-app purchases frustrating and limiting, particularly with only a few options available without spending money. Overall, the game is seen as a balanced experience, though some users express dissatisfaction with the monetization approach.
- “In-app purchases are not necessary to enjoy the game, merely giving you more characters and great ones to battle against, so don't let that put you off trying it.”
- “Elder Sign is a true 'skill game' with no cheap pay-to-win monetization model.”
- “Nice to get a game that's not trying to drain me dry with microtransactions.”
- “The only downside is that there are in-app purchases.”
- “You only have 4 elders to choose from without the in-app purchase.”
- “If you want to pay for a game you can only win by buying in-game purchases, this is the game for you.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game is praised for its beautiful graphics and smooth performance, particularly on tablets like the n10, while being efficient with battery usage. However, some users have reported issues with optimization following the DLC, leading to increased wait times that detract from the experience.
- “Beautiful game that runs smoothly without being hard on battery usage.”
- “This is optimized for tablets and looks and runs great on the N10.”
- “It runs smoothly on both!”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, noting its ability to evoke feelings of defeat while still motivating them to continue playing. The desire to skip certain cutscenes suggests that while the emotional impact is significant, some players may find certain moments overwhelming.
- “Few games have made me feel as utterly defeated but still had me coming back for more.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate that the game retains the essence of the board game while eliminating the tedious setup time, making the grinding aspect feel more streamlined and enjoyable.