The Owl Express
It's lacking critical information, as well as foundational structures.
The Owl Express is a Time Rift found in Murder on the Owl Express of Chapter 2: Battle of the Birds. It is located at the left end of the third section of the train.
The Level
As if made to contrast the other Chapter 2 Rift, the level design as a whole tends to be more focused on intense puzzles with panels and moving platforms as the absence of active hazards. That isn't to say that there is a lack thereof, as many Sleeping Raccoons dot the last half of the level, but that the enemies present much less of a hazard than the platforming itself can at times.
At the very beginning of the level, the player is presented with a twirling platform that has a lamp post in it's center, requiring two panels to be pressed. Though not as explicit as the Time Rifts before, the solution of the puzzle is for the player to wall-jump off of a wall and onto the platform above holding the first panel and leading to the next.
At the next checkpoint is a deranged Express Owl, serving as the sole instance of the enemy type outside The Finale, followed by rotating disks. These lack large sectors, leaving them with two quarters empty and two quarters viable to be stood upon, making their fast speed very dangerous to platform upon from one another. Finally is a set of cubes which rotate to reveal one face with a panel, with all being pressed extending a bridge from the final platform.
Another checkpoint and a bridge extended from the panels leads to the signature structure of the level, a large structure of gears that actively turn in unison as if they were used in a machine. Getting up to the upper level is the most tricky part of the segment, requiring the player to ride one of the gears as it rotates skywards, requiring a little bit of observation and not entirely obvious on first glance.
At the top, pressing the final two switches stops the turning of the gears and alternates a final stack of gears so the player can jump to the top, where two Sleepy Raccoons protect the Time Piece at the end of the level.
| Time Rifts | |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1: Mafia Town |
Sewers • Bazaar • Mafia of Cooks |
| Chapter 2: Battle of the Birds |
The Owl Express • The Moon • Dead Bird Studio |
| Chapter 3: Subcon Forest |
Pipe • Village • Sleepy Subcon |
| Chapter 4: Alpine Skyline |
Twilight Bell • Curly Tail Trail • Alpine Skyline |
| Hat Kid's Spaceship |
Gallery • The Lab • Tour (DLC) |
| Chapter 6 (DLC): Arctic Cruise |
Balcony • Deep Sea |
| Chapter 7 (DLC): Nyakuza Metro |
Rumbi Factory |
| Community Rifts: Death Wish |
Rhythm Jump Studio • Twilight Travels • The Mountain Rift |