Baldo: The Guardian Owls
- August 26, 2021
- Naps Team
Baldo: The Guardian Owls falls short of the heights set by its inspiration, but it is still a respectable action RPG.
Get on Steam"Baldo: The Guardian Owls" is an action-adventure game with puzzle-solving elements. The player controls Baldo, a young boy chosen by destiny to gather the legendary elemental spirits and prevent an ancient prophecy from coming true. With its charming art style and immersive world-building, players will explore a vast open world, meet memorable characters, and uncover the mysteries of the land.
Reviews
- The game features beautiful art and animation reminiscent of Studio Ghibli, enhancing the overall experience.
- It offers challenging puzzles and problem-solving elements that engage players of all ages, making it enjoyable for both kids and adults.
- The storyline is captivating, and the game has received significant improvements since its initial release, making it a hidden gem for fans of Zelda-like games.
- The game has been criticized for being a 'knock-off' of Zelda, lacking the depth and innovation found in the original series.
- There are frequent bugs, crashes, and long loading times, which can detract from the overall gameplay experience.
- Some players find the mission descriptions unclear and the gameplay unintuitive, leading to frustration, especially for younger audiences.
- story10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The story is generally described as enjoyable and enchanting, with solid flow and appealing visuals, though it lacks innovation. Players appreciate the cute narrative and the inclusion of DLC, but express frustration with vague mission descriptions and an abundance of fetch quests that can detract from the experience. Overall, while the storyline is engaging, it is marred by gameplay mechanics that can lead to confusion and frustration.
“The storyline is enjoyable, and when I start playing, I have to make myself stop.”
“Enchanting storyline and amazing visuals.”
“The story is solid and flows well throughout.”
“The mission descriptions are often not very helpful, which causes great frustration in kids. It is far too easy to just run past something you desperately need in this game.”
“Fetch quests from the get-go.”
“The story is cute, but the dungeons are hard, and the game requires playing two prequels first, which can be overwhelming.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their enchanting art style, often compared to Studio Ghibli and general anime aesthetics. Players appreciate the cute and delicate design, which enhances the overall experience, although some feel that other titles in the 'Zelda-like' genre execute graphics more effectively. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's charm and appeal.
“This game really made him feel like he was playing Zelda, but the art style is amazing; I think it looks like Studio Ghibli art, and we both love it.”
“Enchanting storyline and amazing visuals.”
“Fantastic game, absolutely love the art style.”
“The graphics are cute and all, but in my opinion, games like Tunic and Death's Door are done right in the 'Zelda-like' genre of games.”
“Art style is similar to Ghibli in certain areas but reminds of general anime style in others.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many players finding it memorable and engaging. It complements the beautiful art style and gameplay, drawing favorable comparisons to the music of the Legend of Zelda series. Overall, the soundtrack contributes significantly to the game's charm and enjoyment.
“The music is awesome and the animation (which looks like it was painted) is excellent.”
“Beautiful game, fun as can be, amazing music, and just challenging enough to be enjoyable and engaging!”
“The story, the art style, the characters, and even started to learn and hum the music.”
“The music is forgettable and lacks the emotional depth that the game needs.”
“While the game has great visuals, the soundtrack feels repetitive and uninspired.”
“The music doesn't match the tone of the game, making it hard to stay immersed in the experience.”
- gameplay3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The gameplay is reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda, featuring similar mechanics and challenges, complemented by improved music and illustration style. While the puzzles are engaging, the Switch version suffers from performance issues, including slow loading times and crashes, which are common across many titles on the platform. Overall, players appreciate the gameplay experience despite these technical drawbacks.
“The puzzles are good and the gameplay challenging.”
“If you like The Legend of Zelda, you'll like this game. There's better music, better illustration style, and the same gameplay style, with similar advantages and disadvantages.”
“If you like The Legend of Zelda, you'll like this game. There's better music, better illustration style, and the same gameplay style, with the same advantages and disadvantages as The Legend of Zelda. However, the Switch version is very easy to crash and reads very slowly. This is almost a common problem with most Switch versions.”
“I like the gameplay.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have stability issues, including frequent crashes and lengthy load times, which detract from the overall experience.
“The game is a bit buggy, as it crashes frequently and the load times can be excessively long.”
“I experienced numerous crashes while playing, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
“The stability issues are frustrating; the game often freezes and takes too long to load.”
Critic Reviews
‘Cause darling I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream
Went wrong somewhere along the line. The original idea might have promise, but in practice it has failed. Threatens to be interesting sometimes, but rarely.
35%Baldo: The Guardian Owls Review – Buckling Hard
Baldo: The Guardian Owls looks great, but major issues with everything from combat to puzzles to exploration and more ensure that it's consistently a chore to play.
40%Baldo: The Guardian Owls Review – A Ghibli Adventure That Isn’t Very Good
Baldo: The Guardian Owls falls short of the heights set by its inspiration, but it is still a respectable action RPG.
50%
