Atomic Owl Review | Ruffled and Buggy Feathers

Originally fully funded in 2024 on Kickstarter, Atomic Owl is a platformer adventure with roguelite elements. Developed by Monster Theater, players embark as Prince Hidalgo to traverse through a Japanese-inspired world mixed with futuristic technology. Unfortunately, despite all the atmospheric intrigue, Atomic Owl ends up becoming a bland adventure for players to dredge through.

Through a brief introduction, we find out that Prince Hidalgo is the leader of the Bladewings - a crew of other anthropomorphic owls who are both friends and fierce warriors. However, Omega Wing, the leader of the crows, ends up corrupting Hidalgo’s friends and knocking him out. Hidalgo awakens two years later with his weapons now infused with the energy that corrupted his friends. Instead of getting corrupted, the energy that attacked the Bladewings gets trapped in 

Hidalgo’s weapon basically becomes his buddy. Throughout the game, Mezameta (the consciousness) offers some exposition and occasional ominous comments to Hidalgo to push the narrative. Unfortunately, the narrative never goes beyond simple exposition and foundation for the game. It offers context, which is appreciated, but any attempt at emotional moments are never earned and fall flat.

Though the narrative leaves a lot to be desired, I really enjoyed the aesthetic of the world. The infusion of feudal Japan crossed with neon futuristic vibes was fun to see. This, paired with the incredible hand-drawn pixel art, gave a lot for me to enjoy visually. In particular, the particle effects throughout the game, whether it be from combat or in the background, shined through and added another dash of visual beauty and attention to detail.

The gameplay for Atomic Owl, which was the aspect I was most excited about, ended up becoming the most disappointing element. Atomic Owl focuses on its standard platforming mechanics along with its simple combat and very light roguelite elements. In the opening area, I was excited by the dynamic zoom in and outs of the camera, focusing on the atmospheric tone and picturesque scenery that I was traversing through. However, that was quickly forgotten and the rest of the game became a much more traditional platformer. This isn’t to say that the traditional platforming was bad at all. Instead, it was more very typical, but increasingly mundane the longer I played. 

There are also several challenge rooms sprinkled throughout the levels, which are intended to be a significant step up from the other areas of the game. Though they are a bit tougher, they offer some decent rewards with upgrades and leveling up that can be worth it for players to engage with. However, I was surprised that they were impossible to re-enter once you defeat them - an unexpected outcome for a game that emphasizes its roguelite elements.

Leaning into the roguelite elements for a bit, I was bummed by the minimalist approach for this aspect of the gameplay. While you are traversing through your run of the game, you will seldom get power-ups that can help with the combat of the game. For example, an ability can grant you a triple jump, while another will inflict poison if you use a blade on an enemy, and another would slow down all enemies. There were only a handful of abilities, and before I knew it, it seemed like I saw and tried them all out. I quickly figured out which ones I preferred and hoped I would get those in each run. Furthermore, it also felt very inconsistent with the amount of abilities I would get in each run. On my latest run, I was able to procure four, but on the two before that I was only able to obtain two. Though that difference seems minimal, it had a profound effect on how successful or tedious some of the fights would be.

Additionally, Atomic Owl had several permanent upgrades that could aid in your progression. Increased damage, occasional health regeneration, along with a few other typical actions were nice to see and upgrade. My most sought after ability that allows for an extra life for the player, granting full health, once again gave me a bit more hope to complete the game. Atomic Owl also has a secondary permanent upgrade system where your character gradually levels up after collecting a certain amount of glowing orbs. This increases his health incrementally, which, after a few challenge rooms, can make a big difference, especially since you must beat the game in one run. 

Completing the game in one run is often a tentpole characteristic with roguelite games, however, Atomic Owl never quite makes this element exciting. After each loss, I would check to see if I have enough currency to add to my permanent upgrades and then immediately jump back into the first level. With this, it ends up becoming the exact same thing over and over again - run through the level, attack the same enemies in the same spots, and defeat the bosses in the same way. Sure, I would occasionally get different abilities, but since there was always only one way to go through the level, there was no encouragement or incentive to try something new.

This also became the same thing for the combat encounters. Though Hidalgo had four weapons - hammer, sword, whip, and mini-swords - I kept to the same two almost exclusively throughout the game. On the rare occasion I would have to swap to break an enemy’s shield, I would immediately revert back to the weapons that inflicted the most damage while providing me the least opportunity to receive enemy damage. The combat eventually became a nuisance that I had to complete in hopes of finishing the game.

And those hopes to complete the game leads to the final disappointment. Atomic Owl, frustratingly, had an incredible amount of bugs and issues. Nearly every boss on the first time I beat them would not progress the game. After a few moments, I realized that the game had been bugged and annoyingly had to force the game to quit, unfairly ending my run. This even happened on the final boss, where they were defeated, but the game would not progress. I even had my character fall through the levels, forcing even more unintended ends to my run. All of this just became gut punches to my experience of Atomic Owl, and really had me questioning whether or not I would continue to play it. Eventually, the end of the game became a wet blanket instead of a neon-infused power of excitement.

Breakdown

Game Name: Atomic Owl

Developer: Monster Theater

Publisher: Eastasiasoft Limited

Availability: PC (Available now), PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox X|S (TBA)

Game Length: 4 hours

Reviewed on PC via Steam Deck

Final Thoughts

Though Atomic Owl is a visual feast for the eyes, it’s difficult to recommend the game. The progress-breaking bugs, tedious repetitive levels, and unexciting enemies are reminders that you should be weary of this game. I am hopeful that the bugs get fixed, but even then, the underlying gameplay issues still remain.