Osteoblasts

About

Osteoblasts is a single player role playing game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by anglerman and was released on February 12, 2021. It received positive reviews from players.

"Osteoblasts" is a single-player fantasy RPG featuring an interesting plot about a skeleton on a quest for purpose. The game boasts a stellar soundtrack and intense grinding, as you choose a class, battle foes like dogs who unburied you, complete class-specific quests, and discover randomized loot and affixes that alter your skills. Navigate dungeons, meet other skeletons, and face adversity as an undead skeleton before Halloween.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 108 reviews

story10 positive mentions

grinding15 negative mentions

Osteoblasts features a unique and charming concept that blends adventure with biology, providing an engaging experience as players explore a whimsical world filled with skeletons and quirky characters.
The game boasts a delightful art style and an engaging soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere, making it visually appealing and enjoyable to play.
Combat mechanics are deep and strategic, allowing for various character builds and playstyles, which keeps the gameplay fresh and encourages experimentation.

The game suffers from a lack of narrative depth and clarity, with a story that can feel disjointed and confusing, leaving players wanting more coherence and character development.
Gameplay can become repetitive over time, with some players finding the combat mechanics frustrating due to high miss rates and a steep difficulty curve, especially in the early stages.
Technical issues, such as bugs and crashes, detract from the overall experience, with some players reporting broken achievements and inconsistent controller responses.

story
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
75%
6%
The game's story revolves around playing as an osteoblast tasked with restoring health to a damaged body, featuring a whimsical yet abstract narrative that often lacks depth and coherence. While some players appreciate the quirky humor and unique atmosphere, many find the plot confusing and fragmented, with limited replayability and character development. Overall, the storytelling is seen as a mix of intriguing ideas and scattered execution, appealing primarily to those who enjoy light-hearted JRPGs rather than those seeking a profound narrative experience.
- “The story's gravitas is countered by the goofiness of the premise and how the different classes will react to the world around them, but it still leads to a lot of depth in the search for utopia, with commentary on cyclical narratives and determinism.”
- “Osteoblasts is a story-centric RPG that reminds me of the best of Undertale and Pokémon.”
- “The story unfolds through fragmented interactions, surreal encounters, and loosely connected objectives that often feel more symbolic than literal.”
- “The story felt more like an abstract set of ideas to set a mood than anything completely coherent, but the broad strokes still painted enough of a picture to avoid feeling like nonsense.”
- “Lots of the dialogue makes absolutely no sense and is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, to the point where I can't even follow what crumbs of story there are in this game.”
gameplay
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
71%
8%
Gameplay in "Osteoblasts" is characterized by a blend of classic dungeon-crawling exploration and turn-based combat, which, while initially engaging, can become repetitive over time due to a lack of evolving mechanics and variety in objectives. The combat system is praised for its depth and strategic elements, though some players may find it tedious due to grinding and limited spell variety. Overall, the game offers a charming atmosphere and solid mechanics, appealing to those who appreciate quirky RPGs with a focus on experimentation and patience.
- “Its charming art, educational theme, and smooth gameplay make it a great choice for those looking for something lighthearted yet engaging.”
- “Gameplay centers on classic dungeon-crawling exploration paired with turn-based combat that is far deeper than the game’s simple presentation initially suggests.”
- “For players who enjoy dungeon crawlers that reward patience, experimentation, and tolerance for ambiguity, Osteoblasts offers a memorable journey filled with dark humor and mechanical challenge.”
- “The core mechanics don’t evolve much over time, which could leave some players wishing for more variety in objectives or combat.”
- “Similarly, there's a mechanic that drains your gold for a respawn rather than a game over, but this mechanic is completely unnecessary since you can just reload a save and lose nothing, and doing it the way the game wants would spawn you far away from where you were anyway.”
- “I don't hate the gameplay, it's just exactly what you would expect from a traditional JRPG, so be prepared for some occasionally tedious grinding.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
34%
12%
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its engaging and thematic quality, with an upbeat and catchy soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere. While some players noted a disconnect between the music style and the game's visuals, many highlighted the contributions of composer Elektrobear, describing the soundtrack as phenomenal and fitting for the game's tone. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, adding to the enjoyment and immersion of the gameplay experience.
- “The soundtrack plays a crucial role in shaping atmosphere, shifting between eerie, introspective tracks and more playful themes that underline the game’s tonal duality.”
- “The game soundtrack is phenomenal though!”
- “Electrobear, once again, doing their elektrobear best and delivering a quality, thematically appropriate soundtrack.”
- “The music eventually cut back in, but like, not all of it.”
- “The music is also not at all what I expected; it's not 8-bit like the graphics, so it doesn't make a ton of sense.”
- “Dialogue tries too hard to be quirky; there's too much dissonance between the art style in the overworld and combat, and the combat music doesn't even play sometimes.”
graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
49%
13%
The graphics of "Osteoblasts" are characterized by a charming and colorful pixel-art aesthetic that effectively balances cuteness with a touch of morbidity. While the art style is praised for its unique and engaging visuals, some reviewers noted inconsistencies in animation quality, particularly during combat, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game's artwork and design successfully contribute to its immersive atmosphere and quirky humor.
- “The game has an adorable, colorful aesthetic that’s both easy on the eyes and full of personality.”
- “Visually, Osteoblasts embraces a pixel-art aesthetic that balances charm and morbidity.”
- “The cutesy/spoopy artwork gels well with the offbeat humor, and the combat is initially very engaging and rewarding.”
- “The green/orange charging light means partial support, and while charging this way, it glitches Osteoblasts with freezing graphics.”
- “While I love the art style, there's no consistency.”
- “Dialogue tries too hard to be quirky, too much dissonance between art style in the overworld and combat; the combat system is a mess, and combat music doesn't even play sometimes.”
grinding
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's grinding aspect is a mixed bag, with many players finding it excessively tedious and frustrating due to luck-based combat mechanics and repetitive farming for items. While some appreciate the depth and unique setting, others warn that the grind can detract from the overall experience, especially for those who prefer faster-paced gameplay. Ultimately, it caters to players who enjoy traditional JRPG elements, but may not appeal to those averse to grinding.
- “There is a ton of grinding in the game involved, and while it could've been fun, the thing is the combat is 90% based on luck, because you literally have no idea when your character's attack will dodge, and then get hit to oblivion and start over from a checkpoint, repeat.”
- “The game's grindy as all hell and extremely frustrating to play.”
- “I don't hate the gameplay, it's just exactly what you would expect from a traditional JRPG, so be prepared for some occasionally tedious grinding.”
humor
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in "Osteoblasts" is characterized by its dark undertones and existential themes, blending playful dialogue with a melancholic atmosphere. Players appreciate the witty puns, strange characters, and a sarcastic tone that enhances the overall experience, making it both memorable and entertaining. The game successfully balances humor with deeper philosophical elements, creating a unique and engaging narrative.
- “From that moment onward, Osteoblasts commits fully to a world defined by dark humor, existential oddity, and a sense of melancholy that lurks beneath its playful exterior.”
- “Along the way, you meet humorous characters, enemies, and a fantastic sarcastic tone that speaks to me on a spiritual level.”
- “The dialogue is strange and the characters are even stranger, but the humor and atmosphere of this game is wonderful.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
10%
30%
The atmosphere of Osteoblasts is described as unique and idiosyncratic, heavily influenced by its skeletal theme and complemented by a diverse soundtrack that shifts between eerie and playful tones. While some players may find the atmosphere unconventional, it is praised for its depth and clever design, creating an engaging experience that draws players in with its art, music, and humor. Overall, the game's atmosphere is a standout feature, contributing significantly to its charm despite some tedious gameplay elements.
- “Osteoblasts is a strange, atmospheric, and unapologetically idiosyncratic dungeon-crawling RPG that leans hard into its skeletal identity and offbeat tone.”
- “The soundtrack plays a crucial role in shaping atmosphere, shifting between eerie, introspective tracks and more playful themes that underline the game’s tonal duality.”
- “Overall: really fun little game, with great music, great art, great progression, great battle mechanics, and last but not least, great atmosphere.”
- “Of course, the atmosphere might not be the typical cookie for everyone, as I myself was quite surprised about the change of story and environment, but seeing again the cleverness and deep knowledge of the elements used to create a game experience which retains the standard quality of Moonana games brought away most of the doubts very soon.”
- “The soundtrack plays a crucial role in shaping the atmosphere, shifting between eerie, introspective tracks and more playful themes that underline the game’s tonal duality.”
- “I love the music, art, atmosphere, and story to bits.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
Character development in the game is generally viewed as lacking, with many reviewers noting that it feels rushed and insufficiently explored, particularly in relation to the plot's complexity. While the character designs, especially the osteoblasts, are praised for their quirky charm and aesthetic appeal, they do not compensate for the overall shortcomings in character growth and narrative resolution.
- “The character designs, especially the osteoblasts, have a quirky charm that will make you smile every time they bounce around.”
- “All the different areas are very pretty to look at, and the character designs are quirky and charming, which is always a plus for JRPG games in my opinion.”
- “The character design is incredible, and I love the pixel style.”
- “The ending doesn't wrap up anything, and the character development feels a bit rushed.”
- “There are brief glimpses of genius in this project that are hampered by a scatterbrained and pretentious, almost schizophrenically ontological plot with virtually no character development, coupled with an overdependence on RNG loot.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while features like randomized loot, class selection, and multiple endings offer some incentive to replay, the lack of additional game modes and clearer progression systems can make subsequent playthroughs feel repetitive. Players may find limited motivation to return after completing the main story, despite the presence of secrets and enjoyable gameplay.
- “The rest of the game is fantastic, however, with a lot of replay value and secrets.”
- “Limited replayability: once you’ve completed the main story, there’s not much incentive to dive back in.”
- “The game’s replay value could use a little more depth, like additional game modes or randomization in the levels.”
- “Randomized loot and class selection offer some replayability, and multiple endings provide incentive to revisit the game, though the lack of clearer progression systems means that repeat playthroughs may still feel structurally similar.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues when charging with the green/orange light, experiencing frequent graphical glitches and freezing. In contrast, charging with the white light results in a stable performance without these problems.
- “The green/orange charging light means partial support, and while charging this way, it glitches with freezing graphics.”
- “I had zero glitches while not charging and while charging with the white light, but experienced tons of issues with the partial charging light on.”