It may seem that Owlboy appeared out of nowhere and came suddenly, but in fact the game was in development for almost a decade. Most likely, even those who are interested in it after the announcement in 2007, have already managed to forget about it completely. Nevertheless, it may at first sight to intrigue fan dimensional platformerov, tired of the endless stream mediocre indium-craft.
The first thing that catches your eye – the visual design. Lately, for some reason popular pseudo-retro style when the authors themselves do not really know the games of it-generation consoles are trying to imitate, and portrayed his characters in the form of ugly heaps of pixels, and the locations are angular boxes inappropriate splashes of acid colors and neon lighting.
Occasionally come across those who understand well what the result want to achieve, and then it turns Shovel Knight or Freedom Planet. Well, in this case, the designer did not imitate anyone and tortured his own creation, and finally in front of us a beautiful pixel art with excellent animation. Whether it’s the gloomy vaults of caves, creaking deck of an aircraft or swaying in the wind during sunset grass, looking at the surrounding countryside in Owlboy – a pleasure. The characters are charming and pleasing array of features and smooth movements.
Most importantly, the world looks naturally and holistically, no detail seems unnecessary or unfinished. In short, visually everything is made to cheer.
Musical accompaniment is unobtrusive and atmospheric. Energetic rhythms can not be found here, but it is useless, but at key moments slip melancholy, anxiety or heroic tone. This is not the soundtrack that you humming after the passage, but sink down into the soul, he is quite capable.
We have to get used to the role of Otus, silent polucheloveka-polusovonka, which, despite all efforts, resolutely out of luck. The teacher initially lays great hopes on him, vtolkovyvaya ward that Owls – ancient family, respected and revered by the people, but eventually tired to watch the endless failures and punctures his pupil and completely disappointed in it.
The kid is suffering, not knowing where to go from friends ridicule and shame for their own mistakes. In spite of everything, he has a true friend in the face of ne’er-do mechanics Geddy, always ready to stand up for themselves and sovonka, giving a scolding any offender.
Together they decide to follow the mysterious troublemaker, leaving unattended heavenly home village, which promised to protect. This is where the big adventure begins
The two main components of the gameplay – flying and grabbing items. Otus can fly with virtually no restrictions, so that fatigue will not have to worry about, and the only thing that can stop up the hero of zeal – this powerful streams of water like waterfalls. Any enemy slap in the face, most likely imprinted owlet in the wall, but one wing beat enough to recover.
Contrary to fears, because of the freedom of movement, navigation does not become trivial by regions. Traps, natural obstacles and opponents lurking not give headlong fly past. Arsenal is small: a leap forward to accelerate and dodges, but “spinner”, which allows to stun the foe. It then comes to the aid of the second main feature – grasping objects.
Pull out of the ground a treat to recuperate or take a well-aimed stone to throw at opponents – only the most commonplace application of mechanics. Opportunities in the mass of the game, but most will have to use the help of friends. That’s right, grab the collar can even bosom friend Geddy, allowing direct in-flight fire from his blaster, breaking the fragile barriers and cracking down on weak enemies. Coddle wards, fortunately,
The game constantly presents new and exciting challenges is interesting mechanics. Easy to handle, but damn nice with them, especially if you set a goal to collect all the hidden coins and Geddy addition, there will be other allies with special weapons and abilities. You barely have time to get bored, passing one location after another, and meeting new challenges and ways to overcome them. The ingenuity of the level designers happy, especially in those moments when there are several ways to solve the problem.
