JOEY RELTON |
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OWLBOY
Developer : D-Pad Studio Price : £ 18.99 Platform : PC Release date : 1 November , 2016
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After a jaw dropping nine years in development , Owlboy is finally out . With a development time of that length , a game could only be one of two extremes . Either the g a m e has gone through development hell , and will be released in a broken , disappointing state ; or the game was fine-tuned , polished to perfection , and could go down in |
the halls of fame . I ’ m happy to say that Owlboy is the latter .
Owlboy tells the story of Otus , a young , picked on , mute Owl … boy . The game wears it ’ s Zelda influences on its sleeves . The player must traverse several dungeons and temples whilst utilisng a plethora of abilities in order to find their way out . Using the abilities provided by three friends he ’ ll make along the way , Otus must travel away from home to stop a fleet of mechanical sky pirates . It ’ s all very charming .
When you first look at it , the game gives off a platformer vibe , however as you advance you ’ ll discover that this isn ’ t really the case ( apart from a few circumstances ). Making
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full use of his owliness , Otus can fly around the screen as he pleases . The game focuses more on inquisitive exploration and puzzles to open various locked doors ., though certain scenarios do require the player to use different parts of Otus ’ s kit , which may restrict his flying . Stealth , for example , forces Otus to jump around in a more traditional platformer style to avoid his wings making noise , which makes for a nice change of pace .
While on his own , Otus can spin-tackle his enemies to stun them , drag around items found in the environment to various effects , and of course , dodge . Otus can switch between his three friends while in the air to gain effect of their various weapons . One owns a reliable standard pistol , another has a larger , deadly gun with a reload timer , and anther who shoots webs to stun enemies and act as a grappling hook .
The game itself is fairly forgiving , with checkpoints aplenty , a fairly large
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health pool , and regular health potions dotted around the map . Boss fights are enjoyable and each has been crafted differently . While you may fail the first attempt , you ’ ll almost certainly win the second or third time around . The same can be applied to the games puzzles , which can be worked out within a couple of minutes in most cases ( we ’ re not talking anything like the Water Temple here ). This isn ’ t a problem . It all combines together to create a pretty relaxing experience . And I ’ m perfectly fine with Owlboy not being a ‘ hardcore ’, ‘ Dark Souls inspired ’ game ; we have plenty of those already .
It would be criminal to not mention the art . The game has the best use of pixel-art that I ’ ve seen in a long time . And make no mistake , these aren ’ t just some rudimentary pixels placed together to make the player reminisce . This is art . Every scene has been lovingly hand-crafted into a masterpiece . Yet with the
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amount of detail and time that goes into every setting , it ’ s a total shame that some will only appear for a couple of seconds , never to be seen again . Each dungeon features its own unique biome and assets , which are different enough from their compatriots to keep the player interested and intrigued in the world around them . All I can say is bravo .
Rare is the day that I find myself engrossed in a puzzle game . More often than not , I ’ ll find myself frustrated within the first hour and never pick up the game again . Owlboy , however , has won me over with its charm and relaxed nature . The game has managed to completely smash any pre-existing bias ’ s I may have had going into a puzzle game such as this , and for that I am glad .
9.1 |
13 |