Owlboy Key Art
Image: D-Pad Studio

D-Pad Studio takes pride in their work, and rightfully so. Way back in 2016, they released Owlboy, a free-flying metroidvania with gorgeous pixel art and some rough mechanical edges. While they've tweaked and tuned it a bit over the years, they've done something big to celebrate the game's tenth anniversary: A major tune-up update, combined with a massive discount, letting new folks get in on the best version of a still great-looking game for just two dollars.

The game's big gimmick is that the character you're playing as - the titular owlboy, Otus - doesn't have any hands (or feet) free, because he's too busy flapping and carrying around buddies to handle the shooting and other actions, twin-stick style. The big v1.0 update (patch notes here) adds a new Auto Aim mode so you can play single-stick style; your carried gunner character automatically targets the nearest enemy, making for a less demanding game if that's your desire.

Screen-shake and flash effects can also be disabled, and there's an option to automatically drop your gunner character when dodging if you really want to get out of trouble fast. The biggest gameplay tweak is the addition of the Super Dash move. Hold the roll button to sprint through the air in that direction, making travelling through the levels much faster.

Enemies can be stunned by dropping gunners on their heads, pickups can be thrown with greater control, and combat in general has been tuned up to be faster and more satisfying. Plus, Alphonse's big blunderbuss blast attack knock causes knockback and stun on more enemy types, as it rightfully should, rewarding players who are bold enough to get right up point-blank in an enemy's face.

All of this is the result of D-Pad listening to the complaints and grumbles people had about the game over the past decade, especially from the speedrunner crowd (who love Metroidvanias - that's just a science fact). Now cutscenes can be fast-forwarded through, and a lot of areas where the game would halt your movement to show you something, you can just keep on rolling, saving several seconds. Beyond that, there's a dedicated speedrunning branch of the game on Steam, optionally restoring a bunch of glitches that can be used to skip through the action even faster. Everyone wins.

This is also their second anniversary overhaul update. Back in 2023, they went and fully remade and expanded their arcade score-attack shooter Savant - Ascent. A free update for all existing owners, although latecomers can get the expanded Savant - Ascent Remix version for $10. The studio is currently working on multiplayer platform brawler Vikings on Trampolines, which looks every bit as good as you'd hope, and seems like no other game going. Here's hoping they're still kicking in 2037-2038 to do an anniversary update for that one, too!

Owlboy is normally £16.75/$20, but until November 15th, it's 90% off. Between the new update and that price, I think that's an easy pick for any fan of all things Metroid-esque, or just people who love gorgeous pixel art in general.