I'm a relatively big fan of 2D Metroidvanias. Really enjoyed Ori, Shadow Complex, Guacamelee, all the Shantae PC ports, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, even Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirrors of Fate. Now I will say I did not like Axiom Verge, but that's because I have specific a beef with its graphics how it handled secrets being too slavishly retro.

I recently played through Owlboy and it just didn't hook me at all, I felt like I was just going through the motions and it was a bit of a chore to finish it despite it not being that long. What's odd is that I fancy myself a wee bit of a hobbyist reviewer and I can usually put to words why I don't particularly like a game. Owlboy leaves me at a loss. I can't point out one thing that I thought was particularly bad about it.

At first I thought: well it's just genre fatigue because I've played so many of these games and not anything wrong with Owlboy. However, immediately after finishing Owlboy I jumped straight into Hollow Knight, which is roughly the same thing, and I'm enjoying that far more.

Did anyone else feel similarly "meh" about Owlboy and can elucidate why better than me?

I fell off of it very quickly because I found the gameplay really boring. I was surprised by how mediocre it seemed to me after hearing so much praise for it. It didn't help that I kind of found the characters insufferable.

I think the main issue for me was that nothing about the gameplay felt smooth or satisfying. I didn't enjoy the combat or puzzle-solving, and the level design just didn't seem interesting to me.

I bought it and dropped it after playing for few hours. It looked great and had some charm to it, but eh...it became meh.

I played through Owlboy and while I did enjoy much of my time with it, the gameplay came across as kind of too straightforward and a bit bland at times. Like it always felt like they wanted to do way more with it and that it was somewhat unfinished in a way, which is a bit ironic considering the long development time. The writing is also poor so both the character development and plot suffers.

For me Owlboy is a quintessential 3/5 or 6/10 if I were to place a score on it. Just above average, mostly thanks to the excellent visuals and soundtrack.

I also dropped it pretty quickly from lack of interest. Just felt no pull whatsoever to keep playing once my curiosity due to the hype had evaporated. I give it 2/5. Nice presentation, but so boring it's a chore to play.

Is Dust an elysian tale a metroidvania? If so i think thats the best metroidvania ive played.

@treetrunk: Dust is one yeah. I liked Dust a lot until the last level/last boss. Disliked a lot about that.

Owlboy just seems like it has hype because it finally got released. This near ten year development of an indie game finally came out and was ok and then everyone stopped talking about it.

I have yet to play Owl Boy but I was super hyped about it in 2011... Seems like a lot of reviewers praised the game but players stopped talking about it pretty quickly and I've not heard that much positive buzz around the game. Maybe when the game comes out on Switch I'll give it a shot myself but the game had almost completely fallen off my radar until I saw this thread.

Actually I remember seeing one person on Twitter really hating on the game and recommended everyone play Pharaoh Rebirth+, a Japanese indie Metroidvania, instead. I ended up picking it up on a Steam sale and it is indeed very good so maybe check that out if you love the genre. There is also a HG101 article about the game if you want to learn more about it.

I was thinking that perhaps the flying was the game's problem. By effectively eliminating platforming, they remove a big part of the genre. However I really, really liked Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet and Aquaria and you're not jumping on platforms in either of those.

I guess it's just a combination of a whole bunch of little things that add up to it being a boring game.

Because its shit.

I thought it was a well made one of those games, but it didn't become one of my favorite types of those games or one of my favorite games of last year. I liked it, but it wasn't amazing or anything like that. So yeah, I think it's a good game, but exceptional, not at all. As for you, it seems you just didn't take interest in it. It seems it's one of those games that you feel you should like, and there are many games similar to it that you love so you don't understand why you aren't into Owlboy? Only you can answer that. However, it's possible that Owlboy in this moment in time just isn't the game you desire to play. That can affect my enjoyment of some games.

I've just started it, and I can't say that it's hooked me in thus far. I mean, it doesn't seem like a BAD game. It was recommended to me by a person whose video games opinions I trust a great deal, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I think I'm mostly disappointed because the game I actually want to play, Hollow Knight, is plagued by abysmal frame rate and long load times despite my PC being rather robust. Owlboy is just the girl I had to date because my first choice was busy.

@lentfilms: I had a pretty good time with Pharaoh Rebirth until I hit the mine cart level which was COMPLETE bullshit... and I'm someone who usually likes mine cart levels! Its a pretty fun side-scroller, I wouldn't really call it a Metroid-like or an open world game though.

You should look into Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap as it's kind of a pre-super metroid/SOTN Metroidvania, it even starts with a direct retelling of the previous game's end.

I'm in a really similar boat. It sure looks pretty, but... honestly that's about all I think it has going for it. I wasn't too enthralled by the lackluster gameplay, the drab design of the overworld and dungeons, and the long exposition crawl you have to go through before the meat of the game really begins.

Compare that to another game that I've really been enjoying, Hollow Knight, and the game just dumps you right in, has solid controls that feel great and a more intriguing gothic atmosphere in its setting with vibrant lush areas interspersed here and there.

I'd argue that Owlboy is not a "Metroidvania" at all. It's pretty linear, from what I remember it's basically a handful of dungeon type areas you go through in order. And it doesn't have much of a map to explore, or many abilities to gain (and all the ones you do get are awarded at key story points). I view it as a pretty straight-forward action game, with a fairly touching story and great visuals/audio. The kicker is that I don't think the action or encounter/scenario design is that great. I never felt it controlled as well as I wanted, and even then a lot of what you were doing was very simple and unsatisfying. Not to mention those stealth sections... For me it was a combination of rough controls and bland design that brought the game down.

I have to do this, it's too good to pass up. My apologies for the trauma you all may receive. The reason why you feel so indifferent about Owlboy is:

"You just don't give a hoot."

Owlboy looks gorgeous and has some neat characters and a decent story, but the game play feels like an afterthought. I just finished it last night, and I did enjoy it for the most part, but long, tedious level design and sloppy, very samey game play throughout (minus a few gimmicky bits here and there like a stealth section and one where they take away your ability to fly, ugh) make it a tough one to recommend to anyone looking for something with tight, fun controls and addictive game play. It also is barely a Metroidvania. You get very few abilities and they're mostly for combat and not that useful for getting to new areas. Almost all progress is gated by the story and not by what abilities you have. There's also an incredibly frustrating minigame you have to complete if you want all the items (and the last one you get is very useful.)