If there is one thing in the world that holds my heart captive as much, if not more than horror, it’s Studio Ghibli’s art. Studio Ghibli has an instantly recognizable style that creeps into my heart and cradles it like a warm fluffy blanket. There is something about how at peace the art style makes me feel that’s hard to explain.
Therefore, when I first saw Baldo: The Guardian Owls, an isometric action-adventure RPG that very clearly took inspiration from both The Legend of Zelda (which I love) and Studio Ghibli (that makes my heart happy), I was sold. The central premise of Baldo: The Guardian Owls is that you play a young boy who is attempting to save the world. That’s it.
While the plot is very Legend of Zelda-like, that is also as close as the game gets to emulating the beloved classic. In reality, you just run around as Baldo, talking to much older adults who constantly burden you, a small child, with their problems and expect you to fix what they could not—but wrapped in a presentation that makes everything seem lighthearted and “cutsie”.
Before sitting down to write this review, I spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how to approach it. Usually, when writing reviews, I have it pretty easy; I either love the game and think you will too, or I hate the game and try to get you not to waste your time with it as I did. However, things aren’t quite so cooky cutter when it comes to Baldo: The Guardian Owls. The game isn’t great by any means, but at the same time, it also isn’t terrible, and to top it off, it’s a game where you can FEEL the love and passion behind it and yet… I can’t say it’s a game I’d recommend easily.
I wouldn’t say I regretted my time playing Baldo: The Guardian Owls or that I wasn’t entertained. However, I will say that every time I started the game up, I felt an insatiable urge to boot up a game like Tunic instead.
My biggest issue with Baldo: The Guardian Owls comes down to the simple fact that nothing in the game feels smooth, polished or rounded off. Upon completing the game, I started to have conversations with those around me who played the title, and the same phrasing kept popping up “if you can get passed XYZ” or “if you just ignore XYZ”, and honestly if that’s not concerning I don’t know what is. Sure, he’s a great guy; if you can ignore his murderous tendencies.
