Overbowed

About

"Overbowed" is a Game Boy-inspired adventure game where you explore a once-peaceful kingdom now overrun by dark magic. Armed with a magic bow, equipped with controller support, and filled with interconnected ruins, fluid combat, and collectible items, your mission is to fight past dangerous foes and uncover the kingdom's secrets. The game takes you through derelict cities, overgrown caverns, and flooded dungeons, shedding light on the past as you delve deeper into the dark places.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 62 reviews

music10 positive mentions

story1 negative mentions

The charm mechanic is innovative and allows for creative combinations that enhance gameplay and exploration.
The game features a charming retro aesthetic with great music and sound design, reminiscent of classic GameBoy titles.
The progression system is rewarding, with a good sense of exploration and backtracking that keeps players engaged.

The map system is basic and lacks features like markers or fast travel, making navigation cumbersome.
The initial difficulty spike can be frustrating, with some bosses being overly challenging for early game encounters.
Players may experience confusion due to unclear mechanics, such as the portal system and charm upgrades, leading to trial and error.

music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
27%
17%
The music and sound design in the game are widely praised for being catchy and well-suited to the game's environments, creating an excellent atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the retro feel and memorable tunes, with many expressing a desire for a soundtrack release. Overall, the music significantly enhances the gameplay experience, evoking nostalgic feelings reminiscent of childhood road trips.
- “The music and sound design are great, with nearly every tune being catchy and fitting for its environment.”
- “Excellent music and atmosphere.”
- “Fun gameplay and phenomenal music.”
- “I wish that there'd be a release of the soundtrack, or at least an upload of the tracks online.”
- “It captures the vibe of being a kid stuck in a car during a family road trip, but it's nighttime so you angle your Game Boy's screen to the window for any kind of light while your mom puts on her Donny Osmond CD and your brother's using the only pair of headphones to listen to 'Now That's What I Call Music 4.'”
- “Music is a++, lots of secrets to explore, very retro feel.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
The graphics of the game are praised for their charming Game Boy aesthetic, featuring a clean and simple presentation with distinct color palettes and visual effects for each map area. Reviewers appreciate the retro art style and music, noting that it effectively captures the nostalgic feel of classic games while maintaining solid level design. However, the 30fps limit, while authentic to the aesthetic, may lead to some input issues.
- “The art style is so charming, it captures the look of a Game Boy game perfectly, and the shifting color palette gives some great variety.”
- “Overall well worth playing, loved the Game Boy aesthetic, and it felt very tight.”
- “Additionally, the 30fps limit is true to the Game Boy aesthetic, and probably the engine, but possibly because of that, it has some issues with eating inputs.”
- “Pretty solid metroidvania with Game Boy-style graphics.”
- “Solid little Game Boy aesthetic metroidvania with very well done level design - less is definitely more here.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
25%
8%
The gameplay is praised for its variety and creativity, particularly through the engaging charm mechanic that encourages exploration. As a competent metroidvania, it features diverse biomes, solid core movement, and effective shooting mechanics, all while maintaining a bug-free experience. Overall, players find the gameplay enjoyable and complemented by excellent music.
- “This not only keeps gameplay varied, but it also rewards creativity.”
- “The charm mechanic is fun, has a tight scope while still giving you plenty of reasons to explore.”
- “The core movement is pretty good and the shooting mechanic works well.”
- “The game is totally competent metroidvania; it has different biomes, mechanics, a map, etc. There are zero bugs, and it feels pretty fun for a while.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its excellence, particularly highlighting the impactful music that enhances the overall experience.
- “The music and atmosphere are absolutely excellent.”
- “The atmosphere is immersive and captivating, enhanced by the fantastic soundtrack.”
- “The combination of the music and the overall atmosphere creates a truly unforgettable experience.”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The story progression is hindered by the requirement to defeat specific bosses, such as the bone/arena and lightning/ghost ship bosses, which can lead to frustration and moments of being stuck, as these challenges are not consistently integrated throughout the game.
- “I don't mind extra content being hidden behind stuff like that, but needing to do that multiple times (the bone/arena boss and the lightning/ghost ship boss) for main story progression and almost nowhere else in the game was a flaw that got me stuck for some time.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Players find the grinding aspect tedious due to excessive backtracking and poorly designed fast travel options, which only become available late in the game. The one-way shortcuts add to the frustration, making the experience feel unnecessarily prolonged.
- “The backtracking gets pretty tedious once you've explored most everything and are powerful enough. There are lots of shortcuts that are only one-way for some inexplicable reason, and the fast travel gates are sparse and poorly positioned, making them useless until you're almost done with the game.”
- “Grinding becomes a chore when the backtracking is so tedious. After exploring most areas and becoming powerful, the one-way shortcuts and poorly placed fast travel gates only add to the frustration.”
- “The game suffers from excessive grinding due to tedious backtracking. Once you've explored everything, the one-way shortcuts and sparse fast travel options make the experience feel unnecessarily drawn out.”