Owlboy

There are times when you play a game, and it resonates with you in an emotional way. Something about it grabs you by the hand, urges you to experience every moment of it, and - even years later - you never forget your time with it. I have many vivid memories of games like these - Super Mario Bros 3, and playing it for hours and hours with my cousin; Metal Gear Solid, where we rented it for a weekend at my Grandma's place and stayed up all night to beat it; Super Mario 64, and finally collecting all of the stars; Quake 3; Half Life 2; Mass Effect; Uncharted 2; Et cetera. The reasons why games like these grab you are unique to the games themselves, but they all have one thing in common: they are the games we call our favourites, and we love them.

The latest entry to my list of all-time favourites is D-Pad Studio's Owlboy. In all sincerity, I had not heard about it until the week of its release. I was not familiar with its multitude of delays, nor its 9-year development cycle. I'm truly glad I wasn't, because going in completely blind was the best possible way it could have been experienced (for me, at least). The way I decided to try it was hearing random hearsay about it ("Did you hear? Owlboy finally came out!") and, since I was participating Extra Life, decided I would try something that I was unfamiliar with, would be single-player, "mindless," and "relaxed" for the difficult stretch between 1 - 6 AM. The game ended up keeping my attention in a way that made those hours fly by, and I hadn't even noticed that the sun had risen by the time I'd finally taken a moment to look away.

It is easy to break down a game into its core variables. Visuals, Audio, AI, Controls, et cetera. I am a naturally analytical person, but I do not wish to tear apart Owlboy in this way. My experience with it was beyond looking for seams and trying to discern what was happening with the brains behind the game. I would rather talk about it in an experiential way.

Firstly, Owlboy has an extraordinary and extremely well-realized style. It keeps its style consistent from start to end, and it is a charming, lovely one. This encompasses everything that your eyes and ears are seeing. Its visual aesthetic is stunningly beautiful. I am beyond impressed by the work the artist (yes, singular) created for the game. It's somewhere between pixel-art and art-art. I would compare it to the best of Studio Ghibli in some spots. The game evokes a classic 16-bit, almost Neo-Geo Arcade style; but, at the same time, it strives for something well beyond that. The characters, environments, weapons, and cutscenes all have a unique touch to them, and all of them are memorable. The stages themselves are varied, and each one leaves you wanting to explore them to their fullest.

Stepping back to the characters, each one has a unique personality, and you really grow to love the cast. From the player character's mute, enthusiastic, emotive animations; to the primary antagonist's powerful, weighty presence. You'll want to spend time with each character, learning about their backstory, and developing their relationship with Otus, your character. Truthfully, I ended up loving it in much the same way I loved Mass Effect. Taking time to talk with everyone, explore the environments to the fullest potential to further my relationships with the characters, and trying to experience any and every bit of available dialogue. I wanted to truly learn everything I could about each character, and that is a testament to both the art and the writing.

The story of Owlboy is one which will stick with me for years. It is not a simple tale, and it is not one I intend to spoil with this review - don't worry, if you intend to play it, this is a safe place. From the opening sequence, I had a feeling the story would be going in a direction that would speak to me. Though it has a charming, cheery, bright style; it was clear that the story has an air of darkness. The story thoroughly complements and contrasts the art style. There are moments in the story which left my mouth agape, saying "oh my god." Suffice to say, the story was perhaps the most well-executed part of the entire game for me. I am still contemplating the ending, and wanting to dive right back in to find every hidden secret in the world.

I skipped over something rather important relating to the style earlier, and wanted to give it special attention here. The sound and music of Owlboy are of exceptional quality. I am a musician and audio person by trade, and game audio is what I consider to be my industry. It is without a single doubt that I say the audio and music in Owlboy are top notch, and I applaud everyone involved with it. In particular, the soundtrack uses live instruments, which is usually something only afforded to the biggest AAA games. Not only that, but the arrangements are (and I don't say this lightly) perfect. So, straight-up, massive respect and huge props go out to Jonathan Geer (an alumni of my school, high five if you ever read this!) and his spectacular work with the soundtrack. Congratulations to him, and every one of the musicians who worked on the OST.

Last but not least, the gameplay is the only thing I feel even slightly mixed on. The majority of the time, the controls have a very tactile and responsive feel to them. It feels like you're playing something of the Neo-Geo Arcade era I'd mentioned; but the mechanics are unique in a way that, simply put, was not seen back then. You have the ability to jump, of course; but if you jump a second time, you are not rewarded with a double-jump. Instead you are given the ability to fly through the air in any direction you want with no arbitrary time limit. You can just fly. The gameplay systems revolve around you flying with your left stick, and shooting with your right. Basically a dual joystick shooter; but with a twist. It's not actually your character who shoots, it is instead the characters that you carry who are shooting. Over the course of the game, you gain access to multiple characters who provide different skills - par for the course with a Metroidvania style game. I'm of the opinion that this works extremely well, and I had a blast with it (though the second character you get, his weapon has too long of a cooldown in my opinion).

As I mentioned, the gameplay is the only thing I'm mixed on. That's just because there were sections I wasn't in love with. There is a section midway through the game which uses darkness and light as a core mechanic. I thought it was cool in concept, but there were moments where it felt a little "much," and I ended up trying to push my way through rather than carefully consider things (though this could have been influenced by the fact it was at 4 in the morning after >20 hours of streaming). Also, near the end, there was a section which involved a different take on platforming in which I had inconsistent controls. As such, I ended up dying needlessly more than I felt was reasonable; but I persevered, and everything after that was fun again.

So yes, there were a few flaws; but what game isn't flawed? Those games I listed as my favourites at the head of this review? They all have flaws. They all have sections I don't particularly enjoy, but that doesn't stop me from loving them as a whole. I don't think moments of frustration should ever make you feel as though a game is inadequate, nor that it is poorly made. Thankfully, no part of Owlboy feels inadequate nor poorly made. It is - at the moment - my favourite game of 2016. And yes, I've played games like Overwatch, Inside, Civilization VI, XCOM 2, Doom, Hitman, and more this year, and I maintain that Owlboy is my favourite. Why? It is the first game in many years to make me feel like I was a kid playing games again. It gets a heartfelt 5/5 from me, without a moment's hesitation.