Orbo’s Odyssey Offers the Best Vampire Hunting Method: Flying Headbutts

Orbo’s Odyssey isn’t SPECIFICALLY a game about hunting vampires, but you do have to deal with them. It’s mostly a game about getting stuck in your boss’ office. You need to find a way out, but you don’t have any arms, So, opening the door is off the table. Flinging yourself around like a rubbery rocket, though? No problem! It’s a handy ability when you’re traveling through alternate dimensions to collect machine parts to make yourself an arm. It’s even handier as something you can use to slam vampires you meet along the way, though. Maybe even the best vampire-smashing ability I’ve ever seen. The Belmonts would kill for this.

So, Orbo forgot his keys. Thankfully you can just sneak into your boss’ office and grab them. You can also talk to your buddy Peeb while you’re in there! Unfortunately, he goes on to tell you that he’s been locked in the office for hours. The automatic door opener is broken and he doesn’t have hands. Well, you ALSO don’t have hands or arms. Now you’re both trapped until the boss actually shows up to do some work. That could take months, though. Then again, you could use the handy prosthetic printer in the officer to make yourself an arm and hand to open the door. You just need the materials to print the arm. Nothing you can’t fix with a little dimensional travel.

You can head to various oddball realms by traveling through the portals in your boss’ office in Orbo’s Odyssey. Once there, you can find gears in these places that will let you create that all-important arm. However, these places are also full of Draculas. I know I said it was vampires at the start of the article, but these are very specifically Draculas. Also, they seem to be reproducing quickly. Also also, they are cardboard cutouts. STILL, you’ll want to take care of these “creatures” while you’re bumbling through each of the levels.

While Orbo rightfully wonders why you don’t just gather the cardboard Draculas up and throw them in a fire, you still have a good method of taking care of them. Orbo can fling himself at absurd speeds to quickly zip around. It usually doesn’t come up while filing documents and writing reports in his day job, but it’s still a handy skill right now. He’s also pretty bouncy and mobile, able to send himself into controlled floating spins, pound the ground to hit switches, and ricochet around walls and objects. He can hit an absurd velocity when he must, which is perfect for clobbering Draculas.

Now, most games see you fighting vampires with whips, swords, and maybe even firearms. Perhaps you’re working with the classics like stakes and holy water. Orbo’s Odyssey has you hurling your own body at high speeds to overcome evil monsters. You see a Dracula hanging around a house or field, you just throw yourself at it and slam your head into it. Bam, dead vampire. You’re never going to be caught without your tools. You don’t have to sharpen anything. Don’t have to prepare in advance. You just see a Dracula and hurl yourself into it. THAT’S how you overcome ancient evil, kids.

Not only this, but hurtling around as Orbo just feels amazing. You can link a handful of abilities to keep him bouncing and gaining momentum, which is something that takes a little bit to get a feel for. Once these abilities start connecting in your mind, though, it becomes second nature to just fly through these stages with your speedy, bouncing dashes. You can cover so much ground so quickly and so effortlessly once you get the hang of Orbo’s abilities. 3D Sonic games should really be looking at this title.

So, you feel great when you take out a Dracula in Orbo’s Odyssey. You didn’t sneak up on it to drive a stake through its heart. Didn’t have to whip it for ten minutes while dodging fireballs. You just used those slick movement powers to headbutt those Draculas all to hell. Possibly without even losing your stride, as skilled players can quickly get Orbo moving again after dealing with fanged undead. That’s when the game really starts to feel incredible, honestly.

Now, the Draculas don’t really fight back, which can take some of the fun out of clobbering them. There are other kinds of blood suckers in this game that you’ll have to deal with that can cause you more trouble, though. I don’t want to spoil anything about parasites you might run into in the workplace, but when you encounter more menacing enemies, you’ll need to really master your bouncing dashes. Doing them in quiet, unmoving environments feels great, but the game is a huge rush to play when you’re dodging laser fire while trying to smash a moving target. The movements just feel amazing in those moments.

While you’re enjoying the feeling of movement, you might also notice stranger things at work within Orbo’s Odyssey. Well, stranger than the stuff that normally happens in this ridiculous game. There seems to be some darker forces at work in your office if you take the time to dig around for them. Not that being overrun with Draculas ISN’T dark, but there’s something far more sinister in the background. If you get pretty good with your fast movements and start playing around with them in oddball places, you’ll uncover some interesting things about your workplace. Unsettling things, but they’re still quite interesting.

While I’ve killed many, many vampires in video games before this, Orbo’s Odyssey is easily some of the most fun I’ve had hunting undead. Weapons and tools can be great, but Orbo’s high-speed strikes just feel great. Doubly so if they’re a part of a long series of bounces and nonstop dashes. This game feels like something you naturally want to speedrun as you just savor how good the movement feels. It’s pure joy to get around in this game and smack some Draculas around. It just feels good to kill vampires in this game in ways that few other games have touched.