This Review Is Sure To Be A Hoot

Owl Slayer is a game created by bobbler

Hey everybody welcome back to another one of my reviews. Today we will be analyzing the game Owl Slayer by one of our veteran members Bobbler. Bobbler used to dominate the game creating scene back when Sploder was in its early phases. He currently boasts three games in the EGL, both being plats. While a little outdated today they proved to be very revolutionary and exemplary examples of how a game should have been made when everybody was testing the waters. When Bobbler mentioned he was going to make a game for this year's EGD I wasn't sure to expect. Was it going to be something legendary or would it be a flop. What did I think? ...Well lets find out.

The first thing I noticed when playing the game was the art direction and graphics style bobbler went for. To be honest, it isn't winning any awards based on the detail and mastery of the graphics creator that other members like Shadross are able to convey, however I felt that the simple style and backgrounds were a refreshing change from the plain platformer backgrounds and skins. Its actually almost comic in a sense that a game with such a silly disposition would take up such an art style. The scenery isn't anything special, but I think its appropriate for the way Bobbler presents the whole game.

I think the biggest strength of this game is its creativity. Where the game lacks in gameplay, which I'll talk about later, it makes up for in the ways it shines. Level 3 in particular was the height of his innovation, utilizing the graphics creator to accent the arcade-esque style of the level (in the giant signs that direct the player as what to do) The whole concept behind level 3 is brilliant really. I think Bobbler went out of his way to try and implement his full personality into the game. From the, albeit childish but still great humor to the random easter eggs (I see you sunglasses cloud) I think Bobbler is really able to create an experience unlike most other games on the site, which is a great change of pace considering a great deal of EGD games entered this year were lackluster. They were, in technicality, better than this one, but Owl Slayer shines a lot more.

Going along with that, Bobbler kept the action sequences exciting and fresh, putting the enemies in spots that are unique to the commonalities seen in most games today. The way he makes the probes not so annoying (they are still annoying but he does a pretty good job) and the clever turret placement, particularly the elevator sequence makes what substance this game does have stand out amongst other platformers.

I think due to this game's rather short length, its kind of made for everyone in a sense, though it lacks elements from every style of game its still easily relateable to anyone that wants to give the game a try.

I'm talon you, no game is perfect

Now I mentioned earlier that I didn't think the gameplay was anything special, and I stand by that fact. The game was fun, which I think is important, but it didn't have much substance to it. There wasn't much thinking involved and it was just kind of a plow fest with my guns that I had. The final boss was kind of interesting but again didn't require much interaction. This isn't a problem and it doesn't bring about a negative prospect with the game but I feel like it detracts from a much bigger picture. The game is pretty short too, which isn't a problem but it left me feeling like I should have gotten more, because really there isn't much gameplay before you get to the end. Also this game is very unforgiving, if you use too many bullets or get stunned by anything you are bound to get hit by the abundance of ranged enemies. The one extra life was a saving grace, but I wish I had an easier time getting through the levels where I actually needed it.

Another thing I found while playing the game was that Bobbler cut a lot of corners, in that If you took it upon yourself to explore just a little bit out of the way you would find sections undecorated, or in my case I found a game breaking glitch with some ramp tiles. This isn't a HUGE issue because these instances are far and few between, but I just wish Bobbler had been a bit more careful and contemplated any possible situation that may make things look a little lazy.

I think this game is a good example of how the platformer world doesn't have to be dominated by massive 12 leveled RPG or Puzzle games. This game doesn't do anything special gameplay wise but its a nice diversion from the same regurgitated stuff going on. Not to say a huge game isn't a bad thing, done right it is fantastic, but this game is just something special that you can sit down for 20 minutes and experience the whole thing, which is refreshing. I know it took me a couple tries to beat this game, but I was rarely ever discouraged to try again, which happens to much with other games these days. also the final boss being literally a bunch of owls is hilarious.

Ratings:

Verdict:

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=-Decent-=

Owl be back for more

I feel as though this is an above average game. Definitely worth the feature. EGL Wise I would consider it, mainly because of its immense creativity which most games lack these days. If its one thing Bobbler should improve on coming away from this game, it would be to add more substance to the gameplay by mixing up the level designs and making the game less linear in order to extend the amount of interaction between the player and the game. Its a good game thats worth the play, and this time it won't take 2 hours to complete.