Octodad: Dadliest Catch Reviews
Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a game that embraces its craziness. The title's zany controls lead to some even stranger onscreen occurrences, and that culminates in a lot of unexpected entertainment. The release does start to grate in long sessions, and perhaps doesn't have enough gameplay variety to carry its core idea, but with PlayStation Move support and a ridiculous co-op component, the package will spread a smile across even the sternest countenance.
Its brevity and reliance on contrived challenges work against Octodad: Deadliest Catch, but when it's at its best, it's a damn hilarious game that'll charm the pants off most players.
Octodad is a clever game that is fun in the same sense something like Goat Simulator is. It is hilarity, physics-based mayhem that is entirely random. The difference here is that the developers tried to streamline it with actual objectives and level progression, which can lead to frustration.
Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a quirky mix of physics and mini-games wrapped up into a story about an Octopus that pretends to be a man and simply wants to live a normal life with his family.
The brilliant design used throughout Octodad: Dadliest Catch brings out the absolute best from a bizarre concept that simply needs to be played to be believed.
I wanted to like Octodad more than I did. The concept and craziness of the idea intrigued me and the humor was great. If Octodad were a more robust adventure, I would have very few complaints. While it started out as a great experience, sadly, much like the floppy tentacles of Octodad, Dadliest Catch couldn't hold itself up and began to flail wildly all over the place. The hilarity and novelty wear thin quickly and there was too often that my tentacles became glitched inside of random objects or the environment itself. Octodad is worth experiencing just for how different it is from most other games out there, not to mention the trying multi-limb mode that is the co-op, but don't expect to be enthralled by it for longer than it takes to watch a couple of ocean life documentaries.
Once the novelty and the wackiness have worn off, you are left with a short and sometimes haphazard experience that treads an incredibly fine (and wobbly) line between hilarity and frustration. While kids will love the simple, bold, bright cartoon-like characters and physical humour, older players will likely feel that they are constantly at odds with the game's controls and become immune to its charms. If you haven't experienced Octodad before it's worth checking out, but be cautious - it will make you giggle as well as probably stretch your patience.
So grab some friends, throw Octodad: Dadliest Catch up on the big screen, and prepare to laugh and stumble your way through the life of one of the world's best dads.
Octodad isn't a game that's for everyone but it is unique and for that I applaud it.
Octodad has brilliant ideas, endearing characters and a great sense of humour, but as a game it's not quite where it should be. The deliberately vague controls cause a little frustration along with the hilarity, and it's not long enough or rich enough to hold your interest for more than an evening or afternoon. There's potential here for something great, but Octodad needs to stretch those tentacles further if it wants to reach that point.
Originally and stupidly funny, with plenty of charm wrapped up in a package that is a bit too short.
Smartly built, endlessly entertaining, and unexpectedly heartwarming, Dadliest Catch manages to turn an utterly ridiculous concept into one of the most surprising games in recent memory.
Dadliest Catch is a wily, outstanding title in the vein of infamous freeware QWOP. With awkward controls, volatile physics and formidable environmental puzzles working in compelling harmony, Dadliest Catch makes the player the architect of physical comedy in a brilliant and idiosyncratic way.
As a game, Octodad seems less interested in entertaining and is more intent on taking the player through a journey, and by its own design can be an incredibly stressful affair. Break it down and you'll see why: challenges involve shopping, chopping wood and pouring yourself a cup of coffee. Add this on top of a few technical hiccups, such as slowdown and some drops in framerates, and you have a middle of the road title.However, this game is all about portraying life's bigger picture and would appear to be one big analogy for some of life's biggest challenges and the problems some of us face, depending on you interpret it. That in itself is good art and also where Octodad is a success. The real fun lies in seeking your own meaning behind this bizarre title and helping Octodad cross the metaphorical finish lines that seem to plague his every turn - no matter how mundane the challenges are or how taxing it may be to guide him through life, he's a character you'll want to see succeed.
Dadliest Catch may have the worst control scheme of any game I've ever played, and that's the entire point.
Young Horses' Octodad: Dadliest Catch makes up for clunky controls and a rough final act with undeniable humor and charm.
Don't get me wrong, Octodad is a ton of fun. It's got a self-aware irreverence—call it the Katamari factor—that you usually only find in indie games. That being said, with games like that, I usually focus on the stand-out moments, like the big reveals in Gone Home, the progressive decay of Limbo, or even the silly mysteries of something as slight as Frog Fractions. Octodad doesn't have anything like that. It's a giddy little glide full of heart and genuine goodwill, but never manifesting into anything more than a distraction.
Playing and enjoying Octodad: Dadliest Catch seems to require an active narcotic influence; however, thanks to deliberately obtuse controls and a conscious sense of humor, even the most capable operator will inevitably render their invertebrate avatar a hilarious mess of tentacles and destruction. In a game like this there's careful line between frustration and elation, and Octodad walks it (or slides down, falls along, slithers against - whatever) with appreciable balance.
Still, Octodad is three hours of fun I wouldn't want to throw back. While it is too short an experience it's a great, unique one and I urge anyone who likes fun games to give it a go. Anyone who played Surgeon Simulator and thought it was hilarious should immediately pick up Octodad, and anyone who thought it was funny but wanted a fuller game experience should be covered too. Dadliest Catch is funny, charming, challenging, and packed with loveliness. It's over too quickly, but I can't think of anything I'd rather be playing in that time.
Octodad succeeds as both a gut-busting slapstick routine and a touching treatise on what it means to be a family. It's a little short, and it won't turn the gaming world on its head, but at least it's fun, replayable, heartwarming and didn't cost 15 million dollars.