Owlboy Review

By Ben Baker

Presentation

It only takes a quick glimpse at the trailer to see how beautiful this game is. However, after experiencing the whole game I think I’m ready to state that Owlboy has the best looking pixel art in existence. Ever. This stands bright and tall next to the shiniest gems from the SNES era like Chrono Trigger and uses modern technology to add color, dynamic lighting, layers, and just gorgeous animation. Honestly, I was blown away by the visuals. They really did turn it up to 11.

As for the music - Owlboy doesn’t disappoint. The music is emotive - in that it makes. you. feel. My complaint for a lot of soundtracks is that they may have great music or retro inspired tunes, but there is often a disconnect from what you’re hearing and what you are seeing or supposed to be feeling. Owlboy masterfully uses music to enhance the experience. It inspires awe and wonder. It makes you feel crestfallen and heartbroken. It is silly and playful. It is mysterious and mystifying. It is hopeful and triumphal.

Story

Speaking of all this emotion, Owlboy lets you know what kind of experience it is going to be in the very first minutes of the game. I can’t help but compare its introduction to the Disney Pixar movie Up. In Up, a short montage is used to make you feel. To feel joy and pain and sorrow and get an understanding of where the character is coming from. Owlboy condenses its introduction to be very brief, but with just a few minutes it makes you feel the ups and downs of where our owlboy is coming from. It is a powerful introduction to a powerful game. This experience is first and foremost emotional.

The story of sky pirates attacking your peaceful floating islands isn’t especially exciting, but it is just the backdrop of where the real gem lies - the characters. Each character seems to be a little broken. It really is a team of misfits that come together on a journey to save the world, and in the process, grow themselves. The setting, floating islands built around the ruins of an advanced ancient owl civilization, holds a captivating wonder that adds to the desire to continue and discover.

Gameplay

Yet with all of this praise, I come to where Owlboy is lacking the most - its gameplay. Owlboy is an odd mix of platformer/twin stick shooter. The odd thing is that you have unlimited flight. You won’t fall to your death or miss a jump. You will use this flight to explore in every direction, and you will find hidden coins and treasures at every corner. This isn’t a high stress, twitch based game. The difficulty is simple. Yet the mechanics are improved by the fact that you gain companions who you carry around. These are your living power ups. Each has an ability that you will use - twin stick shooter style - to help you traverse and engage in combat. The game brilliantly allows you to switch instantaneously from character to character, so you can seamlessly adapt to a situation on the fly.

The situations you will face will include simple platforming with benign enemies - but lead to the meat of the game - bosses. There are several boss battles throughout the game that require some combination of your move set to dodge and attack. The bosses are varied and breathtaking and a few will hold the only slight challenge that Owlboy will offer. Ultimately the game is a mix of discovery and simple and slow paced action. It plays well, but not great.

Performance

As for the performance, I am a little disappointed to say that Owlboy does have a few kinks to iron out. In the 8-10 hours it took me to play through the story the game crashed 3 times on me. Yet frame rate and visuals were great, docked or undocked, through the whole game with one exception during a particular fire boss which performs one move that brings the frame rate to a c-r-a-w-l. It feels like it goes in super slow motion each time. The slowdown in one spot is forgivable - but the crashing is a little less so. Hopefully D-Pad studios can patch these issues, yet you should know that they do not ruin the game whatsoever. They are just mild annoyances that can crop up rarely as you play.

Conclusion

It should be no surprise that I really did love Owlboy. The sense of wonder, the beauty of its visuals, the powerful and emotive characters, and the perfectly synced music help to create an experience that I genuinely did not want to end. The masterpiece of a tale flies to new heights but is brought down by just above average gameplay and a couple of bugs. However, Owlboy will be a game I will remember fondly and revere for many years to come. I am proud to give it the Nintendummies Stamp of Approval!

Verdict

8.5/10