My playtime: 12.2h (based on Steam, 100% achievement)
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (12 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.
Intro
Owlboy takes on an interesting approach by featuring a flying character in a platformer game. The game sets on a planet where flying is required to reach most places. You'll explore a lot of areas, seeing breathtaking visuals as you flap your wings.
Pros:
- ~7 unique boss fights
- Plenty of checkpoints to make the game easier
- Secret places for collectibles for those who like to explore
Cons:
- Clunky controls
- Some areas are too dark to explore
Should you buy this game?
Yes.
If you like to play platformer games with high detailed pixel art, buy this game when it's heavily discounted.
In-Depth Review
Graphics
Owlboy surprises me with its stunning visuals. The high detailed pixel art reminds me of Metal Slug, especially with the use of sub-pixel animation, an animation technique to move some colors in a sprite to simulate movement. Animations are the core of Owlboy; every scene feels lively with how everything moves outside - the characters, the clouds - even the grasses are moving. While the exteriors are filled with animations, interiors are filled with detailed backgrounds instead, making you fully immersed in the game.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2385843709
Story
The story in Owlboy is brief despite it holding a lot of meaning. Most dialogues are simple and easy to follow with your best friend commenting about what is happening to both of you. However, it makes the story empty sometimes since you have to fill the important parts yourself. Some events also feel a bit rushed, especially with the introduction of villains. It took me a while before I can fully grasp the story because of this.
Despite the straightforward story, the game doesn't fail in its worldbuilding. Detailed pieces of information are left hidden in several places and you must piece the story together to know what happened. The extra story only serves as additional information, but it's still an interesting read.
The Game
Gameplay
Platformer games are usually denoted by the use of platforms to reach other places, but it doesn't seem to be the case in Owlboy. The flying mechanic makes the grounds feel useless, especially when the area features open spaces. There are some cases where the game disables your flying ability and forces you to either use your jumping or companion skills, but when you do, the control doesn't seem to cooperate since it's hard to switch between flying and jumping. Heck, it took me a while to realize that I can also jump.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2385843743
Stealth
Stealth areas are plenty but felt useless. The game offers some sort of warning at first where you have to clear an area without being seen. However, the warning seems to be gone as time goes and you have to figure out the stealth areas yourself. While this might work okay since most stealth areas have similar enemies, it's hard to figure out what you're supposed to do to clear the area without being seen most of the time. Surprisingly, you can clear the area faster by rushing your way through the exit, beating the purpose of a stealth mechanic in the first place.
Combat
The idea to implement different characters to clear different obstacles is clever, although it's ruined with its controls. Three companions will be available as you progress the game, each with its pros and cons, which can be summoned and carried whenever you like. However, having three companions that you have to cycle through to summon makes it hard to summon the ones that you want - I spent most of my time in boss fights just for this.
It wasn't easy to figure out how to defeat all bosses since you need to notice the safe spots from their attacks - some bosses will do an attack that almost occupies the whole screen for you to avoid. It took me several tries to beat all bosses due to their difficulty, but it felt satisfying to beat them. Some bosses feel unfair though, especially one particular boss where you must defeat it without taking damage.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2385843769
Length and Difficulty
I finished Owlboy in 11.7h and continued playing to check the secrets that I missed. The game feels more like a bullet hell at first, especially with the game featuring a flying character and a party member that can shoot bullets. It shows more of its platforming elements later on, despite the empty map. Although there hardly any health-restoring items, checkpoints are abundant and you'll always respawn at full health. It turns the difficulty down a lot while giving more challenge to those who want to try no death run at the same time.
Problems
Most problems that I had with this game are due to the clunky controls. The game revolves around grabbing your companions before you can use their ability and it's hard to do it when you're standing on the ground. This affects greatly on boss fights, especially since it takes longer than your invincibility frame to last before you're ready to fight. Moreover, the game uses the left mouse button and hold the left mouse button to trigger different attacks - it was hard not to mix up both.
Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
Conclusion
This game is a mixed bag to me. Most of my enjoyment comes from enjoying the beautiful-looking scenery. Exploration feels empty since it's easy to avoid enemies by flying while areas that don't allow you to fly has nothing in it, encouraging you to dash through them to clear the area faster. The clunky controls also hindering me to enjoy the game to its fullest. However, despite all that, it is still a good game, although I'm not sure if I can recommend it if it's not heavily discounted.
Zitat:
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