Baldo: The Guardian Owls

 Xbox One
Baldo: The Guardian Owls Image
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User Score
4.5

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 13 Ratings

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  • Summary: A profecy came true, a pure heart child is born . The no heart creature sealed in the underworld by the wise owls is about to rise again.

    A journey into a magical land full of mysteries to discover. Baldo is an action adventure rpg, full of puzzles and intricate dungeons to solve.    A profecy came true, a pure heart child is born . The no heart creature sealed in the underworld by the wise owls is about to rise again.

    A journey into a magical land full of mysteries to discover.

    Baldo is an action adventure rpg, full of puzzles and intricate dungeons to solve.

    Travelling around the world, Baldo will interact with many weird and funny characters scattered everywhere, to complete the main story quest and many other sidequests.

    You’ll travel into an open world map discovering new towns and people, fighting enemies , locating hidden temples and collecting objects to get new weapons or items to use.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. COGconnected
    Sep 3, 2021
    67
    Baldo: The Guardian Owls is an audacious release that struggles to find its own identity. Although the Studio Ghibli-esque visuals are stunning, the issues with the gameplay make this a laborious plod through a gorgeous world. With a map that lacks clarity, you will spend hours of your time haphazardly wandering the terrain in search of objectives. Fans of traditional Zeldas will enjoy the interconnected, puzzle-filled dungeons but will be left annoyed and irritated by the inconsistent combat and odd design choices.
  2. TheXboxHub
    Sep 3, 2021
    50
    It’s not hard to imagine a game that fulfils the promise of a Legend of Zelda game set in a Studio Ghibli world, because it occasionally shines through Baldo: The Guardian Owls. But Naps Team needed an experienced hand to get more than ‘shines through’. They’ve locked so much good stuff behind terrible design decisions and a steep difficulty that your patience will run out well before the fifty hours it takes to complete Baldo, which is a crime against some fantastic art and music.
  3. Destructoid
    Sep 17, 2021
    35
    If you’re wondering why it took so long for this review to show up on Destructoid, I’ll tell you: I dreaded playing Baldo. Every night over the past three weeks, I looked down at my Xbox controller with unease, worried the next two to three hours of my life would be agonizing. And every night, that intuition turned out to be correct.

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 2 out of 5
  1. BelthazarBR
    Aug 28, 2021
    10
    If I had to use one word to describe Baldo it would be charm.

    This game is an absolute joy to play and you can clearly feel the passion the    If I had to use one word to describe Baldo it would be charm.

    This game is an absolute joy to play and you can clearly feel the passion the developers put in each and every corner of the world they created. It has some quirks and definitely doesn't hold your hand (some of the puzzles are TOUGH), but it's never unfair and the solution comes to you if you think and experiment enough.

    It has plenty of content, with a main quest that can last up to 50 hours and a lot of side content in the form of mini dungeons with puzzle challenges and side quests. But the real star of this game are the main dungeons, which are all huge and very clever, with puzzles that interact with each other and really make you think in order to progress. I definitely recommend this to any player that likes old school Zelda or puzzle/adventure games in general.

    And again, I can't stress enough how good this game looks in motion, it's ridiculous. It has a style that's inspired by studio Ghibli and it shows, all the environments are really detailed (the house interiors are incredible, with little details that add a bit of environmental storytelling and help flesh out the NPCs) and the characters are quirky and unique. And the music... God, the music! It's all around fantastic with tunes that will stick in your head while you're not playing and don't be surprised if you start humming some of the songs.

    And the best part: it's also pretty cheap, $24,99 for more than 50 hours of playtime is a STEAL.

    Go buy it now, you definitely won't regret it.    … Expand
  2. infogabbiano
    Sep 22, 2021
    10
    This game is an absolute gem, it reminds us what a videogame should be, nothing driven, nothing linear, just simple exploration and everythingThis game is an absolute gem, it reminds us what a videogame should be, nothing driven, nothing linear, just simple exploration and everything you accomplish is actually YOUR accomplishment.
    Graphics and Music are absolutely gorgeous, it was more than a decade i didn't forget i had to go to sleep, of course there are many things that could have been done better, but since main bugs and problems are already gone, make yourself a gift and play this game cause it deserves.    … Expand
  4. Gups
    Sep 8, 2023
    5
    Bom, eu comprei esse jogo no lançamento com grandes expectivas, porém decepcionei muito com a progressão do jogo.
    Gráficos e a trilha sonora    Bom, eu comprei esse jogo no lançamento com grandes expectivas, porém decepcionei muito com a progressão do jogo.
    Gráficos e a trilha sonora são excelentes, personagens tem um carisma incrível, jogabilidade boa, mas o que decepciona nesse jogo é o sistema de progressão. Você fica perdido com facilidade, mesmo utilizando o mapa para auxiliar, é tudo muito confuso. Acho que faltou simplificar algumas coisas para torna-lo mais agradável.
    Tinha tudo para ser um Zelda Killer, mas faltou atenção no ritmo do jogo.    … Expand
  5. Landsalkerer
    Sep 2, 2021
    3
    Honestly, LOVE the game but it has ISSUES!

    Love this game and it could really be my favourite Action/Adventure RPG of all time but it's in    Honestly, LOVE the game but it has ISSUES!

    Love this game and it could really be my favourite Action/Adventure RPG of all time but it's in need of some serious reworking/re-balancing.. here's a few things I feel that needs to happen to make the game better/enjoyable for everyone..

    1. Change the game's title to.. 'Baldo and The Guardian Owls' would be better. There's just something about the title used atm that's bugging me and I don't know what it is.

    2. The game is just ridiculously hard, all that dying just to progress anywhere in the game, it NEEDS re-balancing for every monster. It's a guessing game if your going to survive each and every room/area because all the monsters can 1 shot you, game over > restart! even with more hearts. The devs need to incorporate a system that's similar to Legend of Zelda instead with how the monsters work atm cos it's just ridiculous entering areas.. especially caves.. 100% thinking all the time if you're gonna get r.@.p.e.d by orcs is NOT a great game. I get you probably dont want your game to be easy but atm its just too damn hard.

    3. Getting knocked down, when you are getting up it takes too long which in turn allows monsters to hit and kill you instantly, game over > restart over and over yet again, especially if you die at a cave entrance that has a few orcs there waiting.

    4. Clearly you see I have issue with how tough the orcs are, if i'm experiencing this then also every other player on the planet is also. These orcs need their strength lowered and their Health too. I have a feeling you've just copy/pasted the same monster with same stats all over your game.. you need to have weaker versions of the same monster that gradually get harder as you get further into the game.. THIS is called balancing.. it like you've put end game monsters at the beginning.

    5. The 1st dungeon needs to be made easier with the monsters, EVERY monster in there can kill you instantly, the tentacles, the rats, EVERYTHING! This is meant to be your introductory into how dungeons are expected to work later in the game and well, all it did for me was pi.s.s. me off dying over and over just to progress further. I have the patience of a rock so stuck with it but I get the feeling by about the 20th death people would turn your game off, refund it, never play it again.

    6. Scrap suggestion point 1, you could just name it 'Baldo: The Gameover Caper'.. LOL!    … Expand
  6. Dranea
    Sep 2, 2021
    1
    Sadly, this is a really bad game, with a lot of problem in particular in the game mechanics and maps.
    The game suffered a crippling input lag,    Sadly, this is a really bad game, with a lot of problem in particular in the game mechanics and maps.
    The game suffered a crippling input lag, the difficulty is really bad balance, the visual itself is bad and increase the gameplay difficulty because you can’t clear see the game map.
    A good artistic style isn’t sufficient alone. This is a game, not a art print Mi dispiace dire che questo è un pessimo gioco. Purtroppo rotto nelle sue meccaniche fondamentali. L’imput lag tremendo rende il personaggio ingestibile, la difficoltà è mal calibrata con nemici capaci di ucciderti all’istante, la mappa stessa e un dedalo di cadute mortali (spesso non comprensibili, puoi morire saltando un gradino) e il posizionamento degli oggetti e della telecamera impediscono spesso di veder correttamente l’area di gioco, rendendo il titolo INCREDIBILMENTE frustrante e livellando qualunque cosa di buono abbia    … Expand