Publisher: Young Horses
Developer: Young Horses
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Release Date: April 22, 2014
MSRP: $14.99
Developer: Young Horses
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Release Date: April 22, 2014
MSRP: $14.99
One of the most downright hilarious games you will ever play
The game's catchphrase, "Loving Father. Caring Husband. Secret Octopus" should give you an indication of the absolutely bizarre concept and nature of the game. When starting the game, you aren't given much context at all, though you'll quickly pick up the simplistic, humorous, and surprisingly heartwarming plot pretty quickly. You begin the game on Octodad's wedding day, a truly triumphant moment for this sea creature turned octopus in disguise. From here on out, you must control Octodad and attempt to have him perform normal, everyday tasks without arousing much suspicion - obviously a difficult task for our protagonist. Octodad will need to get ready in the morning, cook lunch, perform chores, go shopping, and visit the aquarium, among other things, and each location and task has it's own charm that is certain to get a few laughs - not only because of the sheer hilarity of the situation, but because of the gameplay itself.
As you might imagine, controlling an octopus isn't the easiest thing in the world. The developers came up with an intuitive way to get around this situation - each of his tentacles are controlled by different shoulder buttons. This takes some getting used to, but before you know it you'll be running around as if you'd been an octopus your whole life. While the developers certainly got the controls and gameplay's simple tasks down, there are still occasional glitches where Octodad will get stuck on something in the environment and have to restart from the latest checkpoint. Other than that one glitch, I didn't notice anything else, and it ran rather smoothly.
The game's catchphrase, "Loving Father. Caring Husband. Secret Octopus" should give you an indication of the absolutely bizarre concept and nature of the game. When starting the game, you aren't given much context at all, though you'll quickly pick up the simplistic, humorous, and surprisingly heartwarming plot pretty quickly. You begin the game on Octodad's wedding day, a truly triumphant moment for this sea creature turned octopus in disguise. From here on out, you must control Octodad and attempt to have him perform normal, everyday tasks without arousing much suspicion - obviously a difficult task for our protagonist. Octodad will need to get ready in the morning, cook lunch, perform chores, go shopping, and visit the aquarium, among other things, and each location and task has it's own charm that is certain to get a few laughs - not only because of the sheer hilarity of the situation, but because of the gameplay itself.
As you might imagine, controlling an octopus isn't the easiest thing in the world. The developers came up with an intuitive way to get around this situation - each of his tentacles are controlled by different shoulder buttons. This takes some getting used to, but before you know it you'll be running around as if you'd been an octopus your whole life. While the developers certainly got the controls and gameplay's simple tasks down, there are still occasional glitches where Octodad will get stuck on something in the environment and have to restart from the latest checkpoint. Other than that one glitch, I didn't notice anything else, and it ran rather smoothly.
The graphic's cartoony style works fantastically for a game such as this, and the sound effects are great as well - Octodad's blubs and the captions that accompanied them had me laughing out loud numerous times. Other characters had solid voice acting as well, and the sound of countless objects being knocked aside, falling, and breaking in Octodad's chaotic struggle to be normal adds to the experience and humor.
While the game is inherently fun, it should be noted that it only takes about an hour and a half to beat the game, and it's tough to really justify a $15 price tag for that. There are collectible ties to find, which you can equip to Octodad, and a co-op mode, in which case each player controls a different limb on Octodad, both of which are welcome distractions but don't do too much to lengthen the experience in the long run.
Despite this, don't pass let Octodad pass you by; this is certainly one of the funniest games in recent memory, and playing it, whether alone or with a couple friends, will lead to some great memories.
Pros:
+Hilarious
+Good, heartwarming story
+Gameplay
+Attractive graphics
+Great sound design
Cons:
-Rather short
-Limited replay value
8.0 Graphics: A great art style the compliments the game nicely
9.0 Sound: Humorous sound design with great effects and dialogue
8.0 Gameplay: An absolutely riot that will leave you smiling at every turn, intuitive controls
6.5 Lasting Appeal: Ties to collect, a co-op mode, different difficulties, replayability of individual chapters, and trophies are welcome diversions, but don't ultimately lead to much replay value.
Overall: 7.6
Good
While the game is inherently fun, it should be noted that it only takes about an hour and a half to beat the game, and it's tough to really justify a $15 price tag for that. There are collectible ties to find, which you can equip to Octodad, and a co-op mode, in which case each player controls a different limb on Octodad, both of which are welcome distractions but don't do too much to lengthen the experience in the long run.
Despite this, don't pass let Octodad pass you by; this is certainly one of the funniest games in recent memory, and playing it, whether alone or with a couple friends, will lead to some great memories.
Pros:
+Hilarious
+Good, heartwarming story
+Gameplay
+Attractive graphics
+Great sound design
Cons:
-Rather short
-Limited replay value
8.0 Graphics: A great art style the compliments the game nicely
9.0 Sound: Humorous sound design with great effects and dialogue
8.0 Gameplay: An absolutely riot that will leave you smiling at every turn, intuitive controls
6.5 Lasting Appeal: Ties to collect, a co-op mode, different difficulties, replayability of individual chapters, and trophies are welcome diversions, but don't ultimately lead to much replay value.
Overall: 7.6
Good