In the end, Owlboy is one fantastic looking and sounding 2D experience. Whether you're destroying objects or exchanging gunfire with a boss, the effects are spot-on. Lastly, the sound effects are very well done as they amplify the onscreen excitement perfectly. The audio is equally as impressive with music that always seems to fit the current situation be it dire, silly, or ambient. There are better-looking 2D indie games out there but Owlboy definitely ranks high among its peers. The 2D pixel-perfect visuals are detailed and appealing as they paint an impressively imaginative world. In addition to its distinct gameplay, Owlboy looks and sounds great.
Overall, this ally system and flight-based gameplay are incredibly unique and enjoyable. A couple other characters join your party at different points such as one that specializes in a melee attack and another that shoots webs and can grapple to certain spots. For example, Geddy has a blaster that you can aim and shoot enemies with while Alphonse has a shotgun that's required to damage certain foes as well as break down barriers. In order to use your friends, you carry them around while airborne and tap buttons to perform their distinct attacks and abilities. On his own, Otus can attack and dodge which helps him fend off weaker foes but in order to have a chance against tougher enemies, he'll need help from his friends. To add a layer of freedom, Otus can actually fly by double-tapping the jump button. You control Otus by running and jumping around like in any other 2D platformer. Owlboy stars a chum named Otus who's on a mission to save his home village from a gang of pirates. However, does Owlboy offer an enjoyable indie adventure? Hey, Otus, how about not drowning your friend? Traversing a lovely 2D world as an owl / human hybrid sounds like a lot of fun. Owlboy is also available for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch
Maciejewski playing a PS4 on April 27, 2018 You get a couple extensions on your life bar if you collect enough coins and trade them into a vendor, but you don’t get new abilities or stronger attacks, what you have at the start is pretty much what you get.Reviewed by A.J. There’s also not much in the way of upgrades or new abilities, which is kind of surprising for this style of game. And simply knowing where to go is incredibly obtuse. If you need to go back to an area, the only option is to trudge back the way you came. There are also just some simple quality of life aspects Owlboy could’ve greatly benefited from, such as there being some sort of map and some sort of ability to fast travel. This would be less of an issue if the game was more about exploration and puzzle solving, but combat is a huge part and can get incredibly difficult which makes precise controls essential. That’s just simply far from an ideal set-up for taking the game on the go or playing it in bed/on your couch.
This is very specific to the Nintendo Switch itself, but the best setup by far I found was using the Joy Cons docked on the Joy Con grip or a Pro Controller. There is no option to change controls in Owlboy (at least in the Nintendo Switch version), and I feel something as simple as at least the option to make the right analog stick automatically fire whatever direction you push it in would’ve made things far easier. You often have to maneuver around while aiming and pressing the button to shoot your partner’s weapon and be ready to dash at a moment’s notice because Otus is often too slow to get out of the way of attacks just by flying quickly enough. And it’s really, really complex frankly, and could be simpler. While you control Otus, you are also controlling these partners. One time it went dark for no reason and just stayed like that.
Sometimes the screen just went all crazy during a boss fight. But as is, they are charming characters that simply don’t get enough of a showcase. The only downside of this was that I wish the NPCs in the game had a little more involvement to flesh out their stories more. Most of the villainous Pirates, the main antagonists in the game, are pretty nondescript, but your partners have clear personalities that shine through (with Alphonse being a personal favorite of mine) and just about every character has a pretty cool personality. This is punctuated by an excellent soundtrack that successfully pulls off making you feel uplifted, sorrowful and in grave danger when appropriate. The characters and enemies and areas all have fun, bright, colorful designs and animate wonderfully. Starting with the positives, though Owlboy certainly has the look of an old school 16-bit game we see far too often these days, it has a style that evokes that era wonderfully and does something of its own with it rather than just copy it.