Owlboy Demo Comparison

Demos have always been a great way to tell if a game will be something you enjoy or not. That being said, given how short demos tend to be, they don't cover everything that will be available in the full version.

That is why we write "Demo Comparison," to see which demos you can or can't trust in comparison to the full game, and even if you should buy a game if you liked the demo. Today, Owlboy will be standing trial.

Owlboy's Demo

For its fifth anniversary, Owlboy released a demo that is meant to entice you into buying the full version.

The demo takes place a little after the main story begins, where the first combat sections of the game occur. By this point, you should already be familiar with your main character, Otus, and his best friend, Geddy, but you aren't really introduced to them since the game throws you into the middle of the action.

The demo does an alright job at showing the general combat in the short span you get to play - although you are barely taught anything more advanced, such as faster flying and dodging.

It also does little to showcase the storytelling that takes place in Owlboy, and doesn't even teach you about the world you reside in. Apart from that, you don't get to see much dialogue, and you only really get to see Geddy (easily the best character in the game) in action. This in turn means that the demo doesn't show you how annoying and unlikeable some of the other characters are.

The Full Version

The full version doesn't differ too much from the demo—and that's a problem.

The combat doesn't get any more difficult than the beginning area (the one shown on the demo) apart from some variety in enemies. And although some of them can be very fun to fight, there are very few innovative enemies in favour of swarming the player with a ton of the basic green flyers that the player faces on the first area.

The puzzles don't change much either, apart from maybe ceasing to exist in some areas. The second area has minimal puzzles, and none of them are hard enough to warrant any form of thinking from the player, most of them being straightforward and no-brainers. The disappointing aspect of this is that the first puzzles shown in the demo are very fun, despite how few there were, and then they stop appearing.

Both the combat and puzzles stop having such an important factor in them when the third area comes around, where those two mechanics are completely replaced by a stealth section that is very easy, straightforward (again), and not punishing at all. You can easily breeze through it all, and if you get caught you only need to run back to reset their attention.

Should you buy the game if you liked the demo?

Yes and no.

Yes if you're fine with that being the complete extent of the gameplay. Enemies won't get harder, and the game will often prefer quantity over quality, forcing you to fight the green flying mobs by larger groups rather than new and innovative enemies.

No if you want the game to continue evolving from what is shown in the demo. Apart from a couple of mechanics added, such as some new shooters and a teleport function that helps Geddy (your shooter buddy) get to your talons faster so you can keep shooting, the game ceases to evolve any further.

And the story... There's a lot to say about the story, and most of it isn't good. Although some characters are lovable and can be a joy to interact with, most of them are absolute arseholes with very few (if any) redeeming qualities, which leads to me not caring for the story at all. And since Otus (the owl main character) is mute, it doesn't spark any desire to see his story unfold, and oftentimes I just found myself caring more for Geddy than Otus. Even then, the story is negligible and overall boring.

I'd say passing on Owlboy is the safer bet, or getting it at a discount to make up for the short story and lack of innovation.