Games worth discovering

What the hell is hamburger soup

12 View2024-12-18

One Way Lane

RPGJRPGExploration

Get

Background:

I found this game through following Vindictive Drive 2's X page, but oh hell are those two games different, OWL is an apparent self insert story game about a kid with mediocre parent(s?)

Note this is a SUPER SHORT demo(3-5 minutes long) so the game will certainly shift in directions that will make this review obsolete when the full version comes out.

The game:

OWL is as uncomfortable as a story about a dysfunctional family can be, almost all of the game's content is drama(as in the genre) about some kid named Riley having a bad time.

There is VERY LITTLE gameplay, you walk and interact with objects, a lot less than in your average horror RPG game, though this doesn't look like a horror game, but a dark drama novel with a Yume Nikki like feel.

Story:

It's impossible to make this review without talking about the story but I will try to avoid spoilers as much as possible by being vague about the details.

Riley has a mediocre mother and a mediocre step father, they don't hit her but they yell at her and generally blame her for things going wrong, when Riley actually does mess up(like kids do) she is judged as if she was an adult because the consequences turn out to be amped by the toxic relationship between her guardians.

Gameplay: What?

Story: Pretty good

Graphics: Average for the genre

People who are into this type of content will like this.

Closing comments:

OWL doesn't feel like a game-game type of game, it's more like a VN with an RPG Maker skin on top, and the story is sad, so only approach if you are in for that type of ride, if the visuals trick you into thinking this is like other RPG Maker titles like Misao or The Crooked Man you will be horribly disappointed.

I saw the dev on social media, the game is a self insert, she's a tiktok famous person who got some really cool looking hair and is very open about the game being about her own childhood.

I know more than a few people who may argue that is just an average childhood, and I kinda agree(I'm from Chile so yeah), that doesn't mean it's a good childhood though, it just means we need to treat kids better, you may or may not end up depending on them when you get old! So tread carefully, kids grow up, some resentful, some even vengeful.

Some may actually end up making a game showing how crappy you are.

Mentioned games