And that’s just not enough.As a father and a flawed soul on this earth, I absolutely loved Octodad as an analogy for how inadequate I often feel in the real world. While the game starts out strong, with a charming premise and an endearing cast of characters, its best qualities are quickly discarded in favor of a generic, drab, action game with a poor control scheme. Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a great example of the harm video-game tropes can do to a solid, innovative concept. Octodad’s premise and gimmick break down under the weight of its self-serious story, and the whole product suffers for it. It sounds silly to say, “I want to do chores in a video game, except as an octopus,” but that’s exactly what I want. There are limitless possibilities far more interesting than the high-stakes, video game-esque, “Play the Hero!” scenario we actually got in Octodad. I wanted to see Octodad just, well, being a dad.įorget the villian, I just want to spend time with Octodad’s kids. I wanted more, but I wanted more of that initial promise. And the sequence shouldn’t even be that hard, except your AI partner occasionally fails to react the way she’s supposed to when she’s supposed to and causes the fight to grind to a halt.Įven though it clocked in at barely two hours long, I was more than ready for Octodad to be over by the end. The whole ordeal is compounded by a generic “do this thing three times” boss fight where one mistake causes the entire sequence to restart. Instead, I’m wrestling against my own incompetence because it’s a hindrance, in a game where forced incompetence is supposed to be the joke. I just want to gallop around awkwardly and look silly and accidentally run the lawnmower over my own head. It sounds silly to say, “I want to do chores in a video game, except as an octopus,” but that’s exactly what I want. Stealth missions, puzzles that require nigh-pinpoint accuracy-these are frustrating enough in normal games, but in a game with a purposefully obfuscated control scheme? Trample your wife’s garden and she’ll reprimand you! Throw the burgers on the ground and nobody bats an eyelid! Slip on a banana peel and look ridiculous!īut without giving the plot away, Octodad’s back half takes a turn for the serious. The game is at its best when the stakes are low. It’s a lot harder than it sounds. And a lot sillier. By pulling the left or right trigger, the sticks instead take control of Octodad’s legs. By default, the left analog stick moves one of your arms toward and away from your body, while the right stick raises and lowers the arm. You’ll control three appendages in the game. I assume the developers agree, seeing as you unlock a Steam achievement for plugging in a controller. In that spirit, I do not recommend playing this game with a mouse and keyboard-plug in a gamepad if you’ve got one handy. ![]() Think QWOP, Surgeon Simulator, or Probably Archery. Octodad: Dadliest Catch joins a legion of other recent games where movement is the hardest mechanic to master. ![]() And, as the game’s excellent theme song helpfully informs you, “nobody suspects a thing.” Well, except for your archenemy, a crazed chef who is somehow the only person who sees through your incredibly poor disguise to your true nature.Įven finding a tux can be an adventure when you’re an octopus in a suit. Yes, you are a father who is also an octopus-thus the “Octodad” name.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |