Owlboy

If you like platformers, you definitely should play this.

(Owned on Steam) I was really looking forward to this game... a beautiful looking platformer. While the game is beautiful, and sounds great, it falls flat in the gameplay. While the controls are good, the maps are ultimately boring, the story is very hit or miss. This is a game that had great aspirations, but either didn't have enough time for the devs to follow through, or maybe there were just too few people working on it. A lot of the game felt very tedious, and you never want this feeling in a game. If you're really intrigued, I'd say get it on sale, but lower your expectations significantly. This game falls in the middle of the pack of platformers... it will not be memorable like any of the classics, and it is nowhere near some of the modern greats (Hollow Knight, Shovel Knight). Why'd I rate 2 stars? It's certainly not a 1 star game, like I said, you can just look at it and see how much was done well. But it's not a 3 star game either -- I distinctly remember being frustrated while playing it because of awkward decisions. Ultimately, it boils down to "would I recommend it to my past self" and the answer is no. If I could explain it, I would say "imagine starting a Zelda game, going through the full intro, setting up some massive world, setting up some massive quest vs a big bad guy, and then the game is just a linear corridor to 3-4 dungeons, then the game ends -- like I said, I wish they had more time/people to work on it, since I can tell that there was a lot more they wanted to do with this. 2D platformers are what I grew up with, and what are still some of my favourite games. A lot of other people seem to rate it very highly, so perhaps you will like it.

Good jump 'n' run with a few nice ideas and story. Thanks for support linux!

OWLBOY is a game that from the opening few minutes grabs you in with its gorgeous art direction, beautiful soundtrack and well-written dialogue. Otus becomes a sympathetic protagonist, and the selection of characters you pick up on your travels through the skies are well written, characterised and thought out. Their shared struggles of ostracisation and their need to make up for their mistakes and redeem themselves link them together throughout the plot. The main gameplay draw of the game is the ability to fly, which makes most of the stages and levels vertical, and allow for interesting experimentation with flight mechanics and traditional platforming elements. The moments where you are able to fly freely are where the game excels most. It's a shame that the developers added so much content whereby you are restrained from flying, and must rely on traditional platformer mechanics. Whilst having a few of these sections would be fine, the final stages of the game limit you to these elements, and the magic of being the Owlboy was lost on me. Moreover, once you have assembled all your companions, there is very little dialogue between them, and a tense conflict between two of them is resolved quickly, and without a meaningful resolution. However, with all that said Owlboy remains a brilliant platformer, with one of the most memorable and soaring orchestral video game scores to date, and it nails the high-bit aesthetic. Whilst the main story is regrettably quite short, there is a tonne of secrets and collectibles to find throughout the world, however the lack of a NG+ feature means that you can only really reward yourself for these efforts. OWLBOY deserces to be up there upon the pantheon of Recent Retro Revival titles such as UNDERTALE and STARDEW VALLEY.

Overall I really enjoyed the game and was satisfied with the purchase. The most stand out aspect which I'm sure people grasp from the outset is the graphics style. Whilst pixel/retro has been done a million times in recent years there is something so in depth and so detailed to this that I've stopped myself and taken time to really appreciate the way it's put together. The soundtrack suits the game well and is well varied and adds to the overall experience in a positive way matching areas to themes that help with setting the tone. Gameplay is quite varied, along with your own main character that you control you also have several friends join you along the way each with their own skill that helps you navigate areas, solve puzzles and locate secrets. This also allows you to take on the various enemies you'll find as your character can't tackle them alone. The combat is pretty basic but for a platformer it all made complete sense and served the game well not to over complicate and slow down the pacing. In addition there were a few stealth sections which whilst normally are the bane of my gaming life were made enjoyable given the novel way they were handled and how well it fit to the games aesthetic. The story I enjoyed and was competent - I would say some elements were a little wooly but the characters and some of the heartwarming moments they came up with more than made up for it. One of the minor points I found that let it down were the controls, when using a controller it could be very temperamental between just wanting to jump and activating flight - experience may vary particularly if using PC controls. Frustrating on some of the end sections but generally speaking didn't detract from the overall experience. Worth a purchase? Absolutely!