Owlboy

OwlBoy has been one of the most Beautiful games I have played. A game that was in development for 9 years and I can really see why. The whole game feels like the biggest passion project ever, with charming characters, A beautiful soundtrack, a well written story and visuals that will just have you awe struck throughout the whole playthrough. Seriously, Everything I mentioned blends together so perfectly that this feels like a masterful symphony of art.

I cannot get over how beautiful this game looks, I have said in other reviews on how the pixel art in some games is very good but god damn Owlboy is just on a whole different level. To me, Metal Slug has always been one of the best looking 16-bit games that has ever been created, and if you look at it you can see that it still holds up very well and not a lot of things have come close. Owlboy is now my new highest Standard, im serious, the pixel art detail is out of this world. I sort of wish they would hire the artist to make a new Metal Slug game because holy hell, its so insane. This game visually is officially timeless.

The soundtrack of the game is a lovely orchestra where it fits the mood perfectly for every area/level you explore. It switches from very somber tones that encapsulate the night time feelings of watching the stars to a beautiful score for adventuring that will get you ready for whats to come and beats that encapsulate the dangers of the fights you present yourself in. Such a wonderful auditory experience with great sound design all around.

The story of the game is written expertly as you follow a boy that is not good at anything, not even his own natural talents, as you go on an adventure with other characters that are also looked down upon because they tend to screw up. All of them band together to prove to everyone that even the lowest skilled folks can create a huge impact on the world. You get attached to the them in their voyage as you see how from the start they were strangers to one another but then become close friends towards the end that look out for each other.

The gameplay is pretty good, Otis (owlboy) cannot fight so you have to pick up your teammates for you to be able to kill any monsters. Each member does something different as they are also used to solve the puzzles that you come across. Overall a fun experience gameplay wise and I had no complaints from it as I enjoyed the combination of changing between characters on the fly to solve puzzles or to fight bosses. The game in general is not very hard, its pretty linear at times and incredibly easy but that didnt really affect my experience with the overall product as I still had a ton of fun playing for this game is more about the journey unfolding in front of you.

Owlboy is one of those games that when I look at it I will remember it for how beautiful it was, from the Title screen all the way to the end Credits, the game is a masterful art piece that will be preserved for many years to come. Check it out for yourself.

That was beautiful. A relaxing time with a good story. 100%-ing this game is very difficult so I won't attempt it but I recommend this one for sure.

sweet, 8 hour adventure, charming and perfectly formed.
Nothing revolutionary in terms of gameplay, but it is absolutely dripping in charm, with engaging, well formed characters.

Probably the closest you'll get to a studio Ghibli 16 bit platformer

i mean what can i even say about this game that could ever do it real justice? you should really just stop reading now and play it! i went in blind myself. a buddy of mine came to visit and shared his steam library with me JUST so he could sit there and watch as i started playing this game! just so he could see me begin to enjoy the true masterpiece that this game is for the first time! everything about this game is brilliant. the art style is retro yet legitimately one of the most beautiful games ive ever played. the music is fantastic! one of the few times i went out of my way to find and buy the sound track to a game ever, its that good. the writing and story are moving and funny and just oh so good, with so much emotion expressed with just text and a little bit of timing and sound effects. and the gameplay is this genius mix of platformer and twin stick shooter. i literally cant say enough good about this game!
tldr: a brilliant fusion of retro style and gorgeous art and music and a fun and moving story! seriously. just play it already!

I'm sad owlboy isn't discussed as much anymore
Its an amazing video game, a masterpiece of art, one of the prettiest game I've played ever, with a wonderful story, great gameplay and character, beautiful music and everything please buy it

This game is fine, just with some caveats especially because it is not what I expected.
Firstly, THIS IS NOT A METROIDVANIA!!!
I have to say that in all caps because, as a big big fan of vanias, I feel kind of suckered into this buying this game that was labeled as a vania. I repeat, it is not, there is no world map, there's no real reason to backtrack, the abilities you acquire are linear-based designed for a rather linear game. To that end, this is not a strictly open-world game either. There's collectibles you can go back to and access after you get your new abilities but after 9 hours I can tell you - you get very little game & story progression going back to retrieve any leftover items.
What Owlboy actually is, it's a linear story-based game with some novel designs. In that you will find yourself going back to areas you've explored before but only as it lines up with the story of the game. Which is fine, there's a fair bit of 'all is lost' moments here if that's where you like to get your feeling of tension.
For the pros, there's actually a fair bit of variety in terms of gameplay, the story and writing is decent enough, the pixel work is pretty fantastic. Although, this is also a fairly frustrating game to play cuz you'll run into your fair share of BS as your trying to get through everything. That said, all you really have to do is pay attention and you'll get by. Which, y'know, for me that would be fine if I was actually playing a game I was expecting.
Again, this is not a vania exploration 'search action' game. It's a story driven game with a fair bit of tough gameplay that you can overcome after a few attempts. I don't wanna be too harsh on Owlboy cuz it is a pretty solid game, just wanna make it clear that it is not really as labeled/advertised. As, again, I was looking for a vania cuz that's my jam, and instead I'm getting thru a flight game that I'm refusing to let defeat me before I defeat it.

Pros:
- Impressive Pixel Art
- Cinematics
- Likable Companion + Protagonist
- Combat
- Enemy Variety
- Final Boss
- Music
Mixed:
- Story Presentation
- Heavily encouraged to use a guide to get everything
Cons:
- Lack of map
- Re-exploring areas can be tedious
- Story dump in final section
- Side character stories are hidden or lacking
Overall, I liked it and the pixel art is still impressive in 2024. Lack of map really hurt the game (for me) and the ending comes at you quick since half the story is told in the last hour. Would really like a sequel/prequel to expand on the story. 8.5/10