Owlboy

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 273 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 182 out of 273
  2. Mixed: 60 out of 273
  3. Negative: 31 out of 273
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  1. globogim
    Nov 12, 2016
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Alright, I just beat Owlboy after 7 hours of play (too much of which was cutscenes for my taste). I did not 100% it, though I did do some of the extra content.. It was alright, but highly disappointing. Wait for a sale.

    George Weidman (Super Bunnyhop on Youtube) described this game best: "I love you, but sometimes you're a piece of ****

    TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE:

    I believe the game at on point exited to desktop suddenly without warning. However, I can't replicate this. What I'm certain it did was minimize itself at points without warning, despite me only using a 360 controller. This happened a couple of times, and may have something to do with using a second monitor.

    There were a couple of framerate hiccups that frankly shouldn't have been there considering the style of game, but it wasn't anything harmful to the experience.

    You have some options for graphical settings, though not many. Understandable for the style of game.

    PRESENTATION:

    Lots of wonderful, stunning pixel art that I appreciate thoroughly. Animations are also nice, though there are unfortunately not many of them to see. Characters can emote, and Otus is a precious cinnamon bun, but after the 50th time he gets spooked or looks dead-eyed you kinda wish there were more things they could do. However, what's there is very nice.

    Menus worked alright, UI was fairly minimal and unintrusive. You have options to change parts of the UI, which is appreciated.

    There was a surprising amount of the screen going a single colour (white or red) due to shooting an enemy or something, and I found that pretty jarring.

    GAMEPLAY:

    This is where Owlboy just tanked for me. The first couple of hours were enjoyable, even if largely scripted. The ability to fly is nice, though it ultimately may have done the game more harm than good. In Owlboy you can fly indefinitely without consequence, which must have posed many problems for level designers trying to make a challenging 2D "platformer".

    It is more of an exploration-based game like Zelda or Metroid, but the only real exploration is done in the game's dungeons. There's some rudimentary puzzle solving, stealth sections, and shooting enemies, standard stuff. However, I never got into a flow like you might in a Zelda dungeon, where you start being unable to do very little to progress and by the end, can do everything in it. It didn't feel like Metroid either; I never felt lost, I never felt I had to explore much more than one or two screens over to find my next path to progress. The level design isn't particularly complex or elegant.

    Case-in-point, there was a section where you pass some deadly moving blocks into a room with a giant screw blocking your path. I'd never seen anything like it prior, and couldn't figure out the solution. There was a terminal window in the room, but all it said was a bunch of vague stuff about the story. I tried to leave the area, but found the deadly moving blocks would kill you no matter what timing you used, so all I could do was try the screw again. I did end up progressing, but from what I could tell, nothing prior taught you how to do it, and the solution was not even slightly in-line with anything shown before. That's poor level design, even if I'm just bad at puzzles.

    The real boss fights, while good when present, were far too scarce. Several "boss fights" were nothing more than waves of common enemies thrown at you, which was disappointing. This also exacerbated what I feel was the absolute biggest problem: the shooting. It's laid out like a twin-stick shooter, but the weapons at your disposal either don't feel remotely satisfying to use, taking far too many shots to kill, or are just impractical for combat. A shotgun you get halfway through has a preposterous cooldown, which is awful when it's used for several repetitive puzzles. Most of the game you'll be mashing a single button to shoot, just because they found it necessary to give your gun a 3-shot burst if you don't do that.

    Combat isn't just repetitive and time-consuming, it's also frustrating. When you get hit, the whole screen stops moving for a fraction of a second and you get flung in a seemingly random direction. If you hit a wall or an enemy, you also slide along that wall for a period of time. This looks good to a viewer, but when you're playing, it just feels like the controls are being yanked from your hand.

    CLOSING:

    I'm sure you can get something like double the time I spent out of this game, but I'd never want to do so. The game works fundamentally, but it's just not very fun after a while. The art is beautiful, but the game lags behind, trying to compensate by shoving story beats in your face.

    If you want pretty art and a bland game that might have you dying more than you expected, but not because it's difficult, go for it. I'd wait for a sale.    … Expand
  2. Thirty2
    Nov 18, 2016
    7
    It's too short, the sense of exploration you get early on is quickly canned, the side characters are very underdone, and the story is a bit weak in a lot of places (Advent especially).
    Nonetheless, it looks great, sounds great, plays great, has mostly good level design, and fantastic bosses. It's good, but not as great as it could have been with a bit more innovation and care.
  3. lhmtgame
    Mar 7, 2017
    5
    Owlboy has a gentle story (I mean boring)! But there is something make me disappointed.

    The graphics were made to be pixelated, but there is no Changing Resolution Option for big Monitor.

    Game-play is just normal and poor from start to end. It does not have much tool, skill or ability to mesh with.

    You know... I've just play the game once and do not want to replay it anymore.
  4. SebboBastian
    Dec 24, 2018
    5
    I really wanted to like this game. But as for many others the main sellingpoint was the gorgeous pixel art.
    The things that made me to not recommend this game was:
    * The gamedesign: Boring puzzles and leveldesign. * To much dialogue: Don´t get me wrong, I love when the charaters is giving some personality, but not when I have to pause time after time to wait for the characters to say    I really wanted to like this game. But as for many others the main sellingpoint was the gorgeous pixel art.
    The things that made me to not recommend this game was:

    * The gamedesign: Boring puzzles and leveldesign.
    * To much dialogue: Don´t get me wrong, I love when the charaters is giving some personality, but not when I have to pause time after time to wait for the characters to say something none important stuffs when I am right in a good flow.
    * To much effects on the screen. Lovely pixel effects and animations but to much, makes the combat to messy. Weapons that makes the whole screen red.
    * The hit system. When the player is hit he usully hits the ground and looses so much flow in the gameplay that its just gets annoying.    … Expand
  5. Tubey
    Nov 15, 2016
    5
    So much time and attention has been spent making this game visually gorgeous, with an impeccable pixel art design. Mechanically, it's OK too - solid controls on offer with varied and somewhat unique ideas.

    The problem is the game forgets to be the one thing any game NEEDS to be at its' core to be a success - and that is actually fun to play. Too many levels are the same thing - pick    So much time and attention has been spent making this game visually gorgeous, with an impeccable pixel art design. Mechanically, it's OK too - solid controls on offer with varied and somewhat unique ideas.

    The problem is the game forgets to be the one thing any game NEEDS to be at its' core to be a success - and that is actually fun to play.

    Too many levels are the same thing - pick up a friend, shoot a few things or whatever, and solve puzzles. The combat barely ever changes, and the puzzles all seem samey with each stage having one puzzle that sets it out, but you then do that like ten times in the space of fifteen minutes.

    Everything just feels far too confined - there's only one way to do anything in the whole game, and you do it over and over again. It reminds me strongly at the faults in Final Fantasy 13 - one massive, visually impressive corridor that you trundle along doing the same things time and time again.

    It's irritating too, as I really wanted to like this title. As it stands, it's one of those that's worth a punt if it ever drops down to around a fiver at most.    … Expand
  6. zatta
    Nov 8, 2016
    5
    The game plays well and is mechanically consistent, and the graphics are superb. The main problem with this game is the action is stopped far too much to watch boring dialogue and in-game cut-scenes. The game holds your hand too much, and it is too linear. There's a lot of running to new locations killing some enemies on the way, then stopping to watch boring cut-scene, repeat over andThe game plays well and is mechanically consistent, and the graphics are superb. The main problem with this game is the action is stopped far too much to watch boring dialogue and in-game cut-scenes. The game holds your hand too much, and it is too linear. There's a lot of running to new locations killing some enemies on the way, then stopping to watch boring cut-scene, repeat over and over.. There are cool boss fights, but they're not exciting enough to merit all of the forced dialogue you have to slog through. The story is alright but the characters are not interesting. There's too much story and not enough actual game. The developer designed a game for people that like story-driven experiences with minimal effort to complete. Owlboy is exactly what I do not want my 2D games to play like, too easy and boring. If you grew up on Nes/Snes/Genesis games, and you like games like Super Metroid and Castlevania: SOTN, chances are you're gonna be bored. It looks pretty, and some people (casual gamers) are going to love it _because_ it's easy and hand-held, but I personally want to play games, not watch them.… Expand
  7. CriticoDubioso
    Nov 5, 2016
    6
    The individual elements of the game are well done, but ultimately the game just isn't very fun. There are maybe two spots that feel legitimately challenging, one stretch which is frustratingly annoying (due to fighting with the controls rather than demonstrating a mastery of them to overcome the challenge) and the rest which is ultimately just moving from point A to point B.

    One of the    The individual elements of the game are well done, but ultimately the game just isn't very fun. There are maybe two spots that feel legitimately challenging, one stretch which is frustratingly annoying (due to fighting with the controls rather than demonstrating a mastery of them to overcome the challenge) and the rest which is ultimately just moving from point A to point B.

    One of the things that interested me at the outset was the idea that you carry a companion with a weapon instead of using one yourself. The mechanic ends up underutilized and generally plays as if you just carried a weapon yourself. It might have been cool if companions had health and could fend for themselves or they couldn't just teleport to your location or you couldn't switch between them so easily. Anything to make the experience more than just swapping through an equipped weapon. But as it's implemented, the companions have little character and end up just feeling like weapons that talk and occasionally leave your inventory.

    The pixel art is well done. The music is very well made but occasionally feels off and sets the wrong feeling for the scene.

    Overall, not bad, but not great. Not worth the $25 sticker price in my opinion.    … Expand
  8. 10001110101
    Dec 7, 2016
    5
    Highly overrated. I signed up for a metacritic account just to review overhyped game. Everybody seems to rave about it, but as someone who's played video games for 30 years, aside from pretty pixel art graphics,I find that the game has twitchy, annoying controls, a big, empty world to explore, overly easy and boring puzzles, a lackluster upgrade system, unengaging characters, and horriblyHighly overrated. I signed up for a metacritic account just to review overhyped game. Everybody seems to rave about it, but as someone who's played video games for 30 years, aside from pretty pixel art graphics,I find that the game has twitchy, annoying controls, a big, empty world to explore, overly easy and boring puzzles, a lackluster upgrade system, unengaging characters, and horribly inconsistent difficulty that ranges from a walk in the park to frustrating as hell. After breezing through the first 80% of the game, I found the last couple areas of the game suddenly no longer give any health powerups, and there are a few sections that are downright irritating. There's no sense of wonder in exploring the game's world like you'd find in any Metroid/Castlevania style game. Oooh, I can collect coins. Wheee. The only reason I'm giving this game even a 5 is because the graphics and especially music are superb. If you like exploration games, this isn't for you. If you like even challenge, stay clear of this game. If you like tight, precise controls, forget it. I was highly disappointed with this title.… Expand
  9. everin
    Feb 6, 2017
    6
    TIER 3

    + Simply and obviously beautiful, with a unique world and style.
    ? Simple mechanics that are serviceable but don't feel particularly well-executed or fun.
    - Severe lack of compelling gameplay, short, and with a lot of tedious elements.
    - Massive focus on collectibles, but doesn't make back-tracking easy a lot of the time.
  10. testuser-1
    Dec 7, 2016
    7
    "testuser-1"
    has been spent making this game visually gorgeous, with an impeccable pixel art design. Mechanically, it's OK too - solid controls on offer with varied and somewhat unique ideas.
    The problem is the game forgets to be the one thing any game NEEDS to be at its' core to be a success - and that is actually fun to play. Too many levels are the same thing - pick up a friend,    "testuser-1"
    has been spent making this game visually gorgeous, with an impeccable pixel art design. Mechanically, it's OK too - solid controls on offer with varied and somewhat unique ideas.

    The problem is the game forgets to be the one thing any game NEEDS to be at its' core to be a success - and that is actually fun to play.

    Too many levels are the same thing - pick up a friend, shoot a few things or whatever, and solve puzzles. The combat barely ever changes, and the puzzles all seem samey with each stage having one puzzle that sets it out, but you then do that like ten times in the space of fifteen minutes.

    Everything just feels far too confined - there's only one way to do anything in the whole game, and you do it over and over again. It reminds me strongly at the faults in Final Fantasy 13 - one massive, visually impressive corridor that you trundle along doing the same things time and time again.    … Expand
  11. r3tr0
    Nov 19, 2016
    7
    Owl Boy is great looking (if you appreciate pixel art), you can see a lot of effort went into this side of the game.

    The story is fine with an minimalist style and some good characters. As a platform game Owl Boy requires very little skill or brain power to sus out the few puzzles or traverse the levels. Owl Boy is great if you don#t want to think too much about what you are doing.    Owl Boy is great looking (if you appreciate pixel art), you can see a lot of effort went into this side of the game.

    The story is fine with an minimalist style and some good characters.

    As a platform game Owl Boy requires very little skill or brain power to sus out the few puzzles or traverse the levels. Owl Boy is great if you don#t want to think too much about what you are doing.

    Great looking, good story, not hard enough for my liking.

    I prefer both Unepic and Ori but worth a look.    … Expand
  12. SOLIDSNAKEN64
    Mar 3, 2017
    7
    A gorgeous nod to the 16 bit era of games. Fun Platformer that made me smile. the 8bit track is amazing and adds to the gameplay. Story was interesting enough to keep my attention. Could of used more variety in level design and enemies. I played this on PC and finished within 8-9 hours. You should definitely pick this up if you grew up in the 90s and need a hit of nostalgia or if youA gorgeous nod to the 16 bit era of games. Fun Platformer that made me smile. the 8bit track is amazing and adds to the gameplay. Story was interesting enough to keep my attention. Could of used more variety in level design and enemies. I played this on PC and finished within 8-9 hours. You should definitely pick this up if you grew up in the 90s and need a hit of nostalgia or if you just enjoy great gaming.… Expand
  13. hugopro4
    Dec 15, 2017
    7
    The art is beautiful, but you may find it boring if you're used to playing action loaded games. The gameplay is a bit lacking, it's not hard, not interesting, neither is it new. it feels like it's just there to have something to do while looking at the beautiful graphics and enjoying the music.
  14. Derf3L
    Nov 12, 2016
    7
    Owlboy is a nice little game. It has a good story, focused on friendship and simple genuine values. It will make you smile and sometimes get a little emotional.
    The music is very good, almost one of the best sides of the game.
    The game itself is rather simple, gameplay wise there isn't really much to praise, it doesn't have any personalization/rpg elements that, in my opinion, would have    Owlboy is a nice little game. It has a good story, focused on friendship and simple genuine values. It will make you smile and sometimes get a little emotional.
    The music is very good, almost one of the best sides of the game.
    The game itself is rather simple, gameplay wise there isn't really much to praise, it doesn't have any personalization/rpg elements that, in my opinion, would have greatly improved the game.
    The graphics are for nostalgic pixel lovers. Honestly I think they are terrible, there is nothing attractive there and are purposely forced to look like a game from 30 years ago. There are better indie (and non indie) platform games that managed to create awesome graphics (Inside, Limbo, Ori and the B.F., Child of Light, etc.) on a 2D gameplay.
    For me not really worth the price.    … Expand
  15. bancandrei
    Jan 24, 2021
    5
    Absolutely beautiful graphics, but the gameplay just didn't do it for me, got bored pretty quickly. Would be absolutely forgettable if not for the art direction.
  16. RealNova
    Aug 18, 2020
    7
    The plot is nice as it is the gameplay but never revolutionary or noteworthy, it's a short story full with puzzle and platforming, which are never challeging but always rewarding, the bosses are not the best part of the game but at least they are not annoying. It is a 7/10 surely not more than that.
  17. turgaysenturk
    Jul 13, 2023
    7
    Though it's been a while, I can't recall all the specifics, but I do remember having a great time playing this game. It had a nostalgic charm that reminded me of classic titles, even though I can't quite pinpoint which ones. The storyline was easy to follow yet intriguing, and the gameplay was satisfactory. The challenging boss fights provided a thrilling experience, and overall, I had aThough it's been a while, I can't recall all the specifics, but I do remember having a great time playing this game. It had a nostalgic charm that reminded me of classic titles, even though I can't quite pinpoint which ones. The storyline was easy to follow yet intriguing, and the gameplay was satisfactory. The challenging boss fights provided a thrilling experience, and overall, I had a lot of fun with this game. I would definitely recommend it!… Expand

Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best PC Game of 2016
66
#66 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
57
#57 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 47 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 47
  3. Negative: 0 out of 47
  1. Riot Pixels
    Feb 22, 2017
    71
    All in all, it's a decent platformer worthy of your 10-20 hours of free time. But, as far as metroidvanias go, there is so much stuff to improve in the potential sequel, for example, a map, a teleport system, a bag of collectable items and lots of well-hidden secrets.
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  2. BaziCenter
    Feb 10, 2017
    80
    In development for nearly a decade, Owlboy has somehow managed to get every single thing right. From amazing storytelling to great characters, detailed pixel-art visuals to fluent gameplay, everything in this game is just the way it should be. Easily one of the best 2D platformers ever.
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  3. games(TM)
    Jan 27, 2017
    90
    Owlboy’s deceivingly simplistic delivery belies an enviable narrative, tourniquet-tight gameplay, and a cast you’ll fall in love with. Don’t miss it.
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