Owlboy Preview
There’s currently a press build for Owlboy, and it takes roughly an hour to complete on your first run. We recently got our hands on it, and this pixel art wonder is nothing short of delightful. You play as Otus, a young mute owlboy. You can’t ever seem to do anything right, but there aren’t a lot of owls around to protect the land in the sky anymore. Now it’s up to Otus to save the day, and he’s not exactly a fighter.
Luckily, Otus can not only fly but he is surprisingly strong and can carry objects or allies. You can defeat enemies by throwing objects or using a spin attack, but the allies are the real key. Pick someone up and gain a reticle that can auto-target monsters, then fire away. It’s a great system that gives the developers an easy way to completely change up the pace. Too much combat? Now you’re just Otus, figuring out puzzles. Getting bored? Time for an encounter where you’re flying around shooting at stuff.
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“What’s been presented is fun, and initial issues I had were quickly squashed as I unlocked more areas or knowledge of Otus’ abilities.”
There’s only one boss in the press build, but it’s a fun fight. A little easy, but I imagine it’s the first boss in the game so that’s to be expected. Exposing and taking advantage of weak points is fun, and Owlboy is no exception. Hopefully there is only more of this to come in the final product. Admittedly, it’s hard to get a real feel for a game from a one hour vertical slice. What’s been presented is fun, and initial issues I had were quickly squashed as I unlocked more areas or knowledge of Otus’ abilities. I worry that at times, the flying sections could become long and tiring as you move a bit slowly. My only other concern is the lack of a map, but as long as areas don’t get so massive that you’re lost all the time, this is fine. Not every game needs a map.
On a more positive note, the artwork and sound design are great. The atmosphere feels absolutely whimsical. It’s hard to not be charmed by the obvious amount of work that’s gone into each scene. Foreground, midground, and background blend seamlessly and help you forget that you’re playing on a single plane. Owlboy has been in development for ages now, and I can see why. In terms of story and dialogue, the writing team does a fantastic job of not giving you the same old tale. It feels familiar, but different at the same time. At least in the preview build, there were a couple reversals I wasn’t expecting at all. I won’t spoil anything, but it’s refreshing and pleasantly surprising when things behave differently than expected.
It’s easy to have some terrible assumptions about any game that’s taken this long to get out of the gate. We may never know exactly why it’s been so hard for D-Pad, but I believe their time has finally come. The demo at least, is fun and inviting. Stay tuned, because apparently they’ll be giving an actual release date for Owlboy this fall at PAX West.
***A PC code was provided by the publisher***
