I Broke a Few Eggs Playing Fowl Damage, And You Should, Too

One of the things PAX is always home to is their “PAX Rising Showcase.” Though quite a lot of PAX is always comprised of indie titles (and I love it for that), these are special projects with small development teams that “stood out” for the curation team at PAX. And every time PAX rolls around, I end up spending a lot of time there.

This year, at the PAX Rising Showcase, I spent far too long breaking an egg.

That is because I was obsessively playing Fowl Damage, the new game from Itch.io master and occasional Peglin artist and developer May Gardens. In it, you play as a small egg, and you must roll through a strange factory without breaking. The catch? Eggs are fragile, and the height which you can jump is high enough that you can break from it.

It is hard for me to put into words how much I love a simple concept perfectly hatched, and Fowl Damage is that. The game takes the classic precision platformer formula that fuels everything from Mega-man to Celeste, and adds in an element that limits its most basic movement element. And you know what they say: limitation always breeds creativity.

But what do you actually do in Fowl Gardens? Well, quite simply, you roll, and you jump. That’s it. But within that narrow constraint, the fragility of your yolkloric main character takes center stage. Roll off a drop that’s just a tiny bit too far? Splat. Jump up and land back at the same elevation you started? Splat. Leap up while the corner of the ceiling is just barely in your way? Splat.

This turns every screen into a movement puzzle, akin to Super Meat Boy, Celeste, or a dozen other recent examples, but in a way that is as immediately intuitive and simple as a Mario game. There are secret areas with feathers, in order to encourage exploration and deliver challenge, but also the basic gameplay can be challenging enough, as you both need to solve the traversal puzzle and execute it well. But, unlike Super Meat Boy or Celeste, I didn’t find myself too terribly challenged, lending an almost cozy, relaxing feel to the game that left me with a puzzled smirk instead of a heavy sigh when I failed.

Though those wanting more of a challenge shouldn’t feel put out either, as the full release of the game — which comes out in less than 2 weeks on September 13th on Steam — will also include a “Mario Maker-esque” level editor.

Now, I love hearing the term “Level Editor” in my platformers because it will surely allow for some very devious levels and extend the gameplay from a fairly curt 5-ish hours, into the infinity-realm of player-created-content. Given the tightness and fun of the core mechanic, I can only imagine the wild possibilities that will present themselves when the world has its chance to give them a whirl.

And I’d be remiss to not mention the art and vibes. Because it shows quite a lot of Peglin charm (and if you aren’t playing Peglin in your free time on your phone, you should be), while also being its own, slightly asynchronous thing. While I can’t pretend that Fowl Damage was the single most graphically or artistically impressive game at PAX, what I can say is that its look certainly adds to its charm, and to its little mystery.

You see, the cute, simplistic little 12×12(ish) sprite that represents the egg (who I would die for) is placed against the pixelated backdrop of a strange, abandoned factory of unknown purpose, creating a sense of tension between those two elements that actually has me wanting to know more about the world this lil’ egg game.

Essentially, everything just comes together nicely in Fowl Damage. May Gardens has done an exceptional job taking a simple premise and expanding it with complicated puzzles, engrossing art, and tight game-feel. And the decision to include a level editor means that that can, potentially, grow indefinitely with a bright enough community.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with Fowl Damage, and glad to hear that it wouldn’t be too long before I can get my hands on the full version (now that I’ve spent quite a bit of time going through the demo to find every collectible feather). If you are in the market for a new precision platformer, and want something lightweight but still filled with potential complexity, why not crack a few eggs?

Fowl Damage will be available for $15 on Steam here or on Itch.io here. And if you’re creatively (or sadistically) inclined, I look forward to playing your levels.