Confession time. When I covered Key Fairy earlier this year, I was immediately taken by its incredible hand-drawn art style and pacifist approach to a genre that’s traditionally packed with gratuitous violence. However, watching the movement-based gameplay in the announcement trailer didn’t set my world on fire, so my excitement was somewhat tempered.
With that said, this will be part preview, part apology. After going hands-on with Key Fairy during PAX Aus 2025, I’ll be getting my eyes tested, because I haven’t stopped thinking about how fluid and fun this game is on the sticks.
Chatting with the folks at Owl Machine as I waited to go hands-on, it quickly became clear that Key Fairy is a collection of eclectic and creative ideas. The obvious example of this is its monochromatic art style, which reminds me of the PS1 game Vib-Ribbon, but that creativity extends beyond the visual. According to the dev I spoke with, the brief they gave the composer was to imitate a piano falling down a set of stairs. It’s a mad request, but it’s one that matches the game’s offbeat tone perfectly.
Once I was handed the Steam Deck running the demo and began to move around, I realised that my snap judgement was misguided. The titular fairy moves slowly, spinning and swaying with each step, until you use the grapple tied to the trigger. This sends the winged protagonist careening in the direction you’re aiming. Releasing and redeploying the grapple mid-movement shows off the fluidity of this mechanic, causing the fairy to elegantly glide across the map at breakneck speeds.
A clever little tile-based door puzzle introduced me to the intuitive movement, and mere moments later, I was flinging myself around like lightning, whether I had a reason to make haste or not. The traversal is so satisfying, and it has a level of tactility to it that can’t be explained or shown, only experienced. At least, that’s how I’ll try to exonerate myself.
Of course, you’re not just moving around for the joy of it; this is a bullet-hell after all. Monsters and other beasties, blinded by rage, will attack you on sight, emitting stars as they do so. Using your nimble movement abilities, you’ll need to collect these stars to bring them back to a calm state, wherein you can talk to them and understand their plight.
It’s a loop that sounds simple but can be hard to pull off. Stars generate close to your foes, forcing you to get close, take chances, and often make mistakes. Swinging around is easy and fun, but encounters with soon-to-be friends ramp up the challenge. This goes doubly for boss fights. I ran into a huge crown that dominated the boss area and ended my time with the demo after a few short minutes, thanks to its screen-wiping attacks. With that said, I felt determined to go back after the loss, not defeated or frustrated.
I could drone on and on about how excellent I think the art style is and how I want the creepy and characters tattooed on me, but I’ll be sure to do plenty of that when I inevitably review the game once it launches. One last thing that I’ll point out is Key Fairy’s quirky and charming writing. Every interaction I had with woodland creatures or quelled monsters was an offbeat conversation filled with endearingly awkward phrases and odd sentences that put a crooked smile on my face. Chatting with these strange beings felt like a reward on its own, which is genuinely quite the feat.
I would’ve championed Key Fairy one way or another, because I love when you can see the heart and soul that’s been put into something, and this wacky little title is the perfect example. What I wasn’t expecting was to come home from PAX Aus, play the Steam demo five times over and bemoan to anyone who will listen that the game isn’t out yet.
So, once more, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding Owl Machine, now please, let me play more.
You can wishlist Key Fairy on Steam here.
