Day 129: Owlboy (Switch)

A stunning surprise for today's title from my 519 game backlog, I'm playing one game a day, every day, while furloughed from work...

Owlboy for the Switch
Previous days' entries can be read HERE.

You may, or may not, be aware of a classic game studio called Irem. Their most famous work is almost certainly ‘R-type’, probably the most famous horizontal shooter of them all, but they were behind many other very popular games from the 80’s and earlier. ‘Kung Fu Master’ was one of theirs, as were ‘Moon Patrol’ and ‘Lode Runner’.

For me, though, this developer stays in my mind thanks to two of their more obscure games. I discovered ‘In the Hunt’ and ‘Undercover Cops’ while writing my previous blog about the hidden gems of MAME. The former is another side scrolling shooter, although, unlike R-type, this one takes place under water. The latter is a post-apocalyptic side scrolling brawler. What these games have in common, other than both being superb examples of their genre, is that they feature the most beautiful pixel art graphics and animation I’ve ever seen in a video game.

When I ran the random selector earlier today, I did not expect to be adding another game to that short list. But here we are with 'Owlboy'; one of the most stunning video games I’ve ever played.

I’ve talked before about the hyperbolic dichotomy of the internet, and in particular the discussion of videogames thereon. It’s a really frustrating obstacle to negotiate when writing about something that can genuinely be considered alongside the very best of the medium. When every new game is heralded by some YouTube loudmouth or other as the most terrible or the absolute greatest ‘something’ of all time - only for it to drown in the sea of mediocrity where it belongs a month later - it’s hard to be taken seriously when I make that statement about 'Owlboy'. To paraphrase a favourite line from one of my favourite films “When everyone’s special, no one is.” 

I don’t think there’s been a single point during the two or three hours I’ve played this game where the screen didn’t look like a work of art. Of particular note is the use of light, whereby orange hues are increased to show an evening glow, bright blues, greens and pure white beautifully gives the feel of a bright summer day, and, at night, candlelight and torches flicker in the darkness.

To elevate this artistry even further, the animation is second to absolutely none. Every character, playable or otherwise, moves with pristine fluidity and is imbued with more personality than it would seem possible. Their designs are wonderful too, displaying mind boggling creativity and originality from the developer.

Obviously this would all be of little value should the game not play well, but fortunately 'Owlboy' excels in this area too. It’s mostly a platform adventure, but there’s a hint of puzzling and a dab of Metroidvania here and there as well. The level designs have almost as much character as the cast of misfits inhabiting them, with puzzles that involve squeezing water from clouds, hurling exploding enemies at walls, and battling a variety of wonderfully designed bosses and mid-bosses that break up the flow and provide some extra challenge.

The difficulty, for me at least, has been spot on so far. I’m often critical of games that autosave almost constantly and therefore remove the risk/reward needed to make most games sing. But in 'Owlboy' it works in its favour. I think this is due to a structure that means opportunities to die are fairly sparse, so renegotiating a large section would feel less like an opportunity to learn and improve, and more like a waste of time to get back to part where you previously failed.

At this point it almost seems moot to point out that the music and sound effects are exceptional too. Owlboy is a game that walks the fine line between creating an emotional connection and over-sentimentality really well, and this is, in no small part, thanks to a beautiful score; one so expertly crafted that at one point the simple act of flying up through three empty screens feels important, significant, and epic.

There’s even stuff in here I don’t usually like but has won me over though. There’s a lot of text dialogue, for example, but, for once, it’s well written enough to not make me want to unlearn how to read.

So music, graphics, gameplay, story. Check, check, check, check - I’m basically saying this game is perfect, right? 

Well, kinda. So far it’s been flawless at bringing it’s particular vision to bear. Perfect is a strong word though, and, personally, the pace of the game is a little slow. 

Owlboy - A gently paced, beautifully scored, enjoyably challenging, and utterly beautiful adventure platform game. You need to see it, you need to play it.