Owlboy similar games & best alternatives

Owlboy - Trailer
Owlboy - owlboy_1.avif
Owlboy - owlboy_2.avif
Owlboy - owlboy_3.avif
Owlboy - owlboy_4.avif
Owlboy - owlboy_5.avif
Owlboy - owlboy_6.avif

Owlboy

PlayStation 4, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch • 2016

Should you play it?

Owlboy is a story-driven platform adventure game, where you can fly and explore a brand new world in the clouds! Pick up your friends, and bring them with you as you explore the open skies, in one of the most detailed adventures of this era.

What works

  • Stunning pixel art and animation
  • Engaging and emotional story
  • Excellent orchestral soundtrack
  • Unique companion-based gameplay
  • Well-crafted characters and world

Things to keep in mind

  • Lack of map and fast travel causes navigation issues
  • Short game length with limited replay value
  • Some frustrating platforming and boss fights
  • Linear progression despite metroidvania label
  • Minor control and ui annoyances

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Crypt Custodian

  • The Bunny Graveyard

  • Laika: Aged Through Blood

  • Underhero

  • Nefarious

  • Shantae: Half-Genie Hero

Less intimate

Games that feels like Owlboy but with less focus on close relationships

  • Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams

  • Glimmer in Mirror

  • Vernal Edge

  • MindSeize

  • Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom

  • Pepper Grinder

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Owlboy: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Survival, Violence, Competition, Thrill. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Violence, Survival, Fantasy.

Last update: 03/08/2026