4/5 ★ – ElementaryGaming's review of Owlboy.

Owlboy is a classic adventure, with an appeal to all ages. It tells an archetypical story of good and evil, set in a unique sky and owl-universe. It also manages to be occasionally funny, without feeling forced. The simple-but-charming characters and world are reminiscent of classic Disney in their themes and classic Zelda in their visuals. The game operates with absolute precision in the visual and audio department. This is simply a beautiful game, with some of the best pixel art I've ever seen. The music deftly switches from lush orchestral arrangements to pixelly, retro-inspired music. It all works perfectly. The way the music transitions from day to evening to night with the visuals is something to behold. Likewise, the environments look simply stellar, and this keeps everything interesting to look at during every moment of the game. Even the animations of individual characters and actions look beautiful. It is among the best pixel art I've ever seen, especially the overworld sky as it changes from day to night. The gameplay is good, but not as noteworthy as its world. Flying around Zelda-esque dungeons with a gradually-increasing number of attacks and solving puzzles is a good time. The isn't as inventive as its world, but it's still fun. Like Zelda, there's a nice tradeoff as the game alternates between exploring the overworld, then finishing a dungeon, then exploring, then a dungeon, et cetera. Unlike the other aspects of the game, the gameplay does feel a bit generic. It's solid action-platforming, but the dungeons begin to feel long at a certain point, and these dungeon sections are not as noteworthy as the overworld segments. I also feel that the dungeons would have benefitted from a map for you to view, as they can feel mazelike. It often feels like you're playing a Metroid game without a map. While it's not crazily difficult to find out where to go next, but a map definitely would've helped. There are also some bugs that hurt the game, as I clipped through the environments a couple of times, which made me get stuck inside a wall and unable to proceed without reloading a checkpoint. Checkpoints are fairly common, so this didn't destroy my enjoyment of the game, but it was bothersome when it happened. The game really shines when it provides the player room to breathe and explore its detailed overworld at his or her own pace. My main critique is that there simply isn't enough of the overworld. I wish it would have played to this strength more often. I would have loved to see more shops, more characters to talk to, and more places to freely explore, as these sections are the true highlight of the experience, along with the excellent pacing of the storytelling. Owlboy is an enjoyably short experience that doesn't overstay its welcome. I wish there was more of its overworld to get lost in- it establishes such a wonderful universe, but spends most of its time in more standard video game dungeons. Its plot features some truly extraordinary small moments. It's a very good time, and feels like the perfect candidate for a sequel. Sadly, in an era of unnecessary sequels, it seems that this truly deserving game will not be receiving one.