Game Review: Octodad: Dadliest Catch (PS Vita)

Man, I had high hopes for Octodad and the octane of hilarity that it might provide me with. And man, was I disappointed.

To be fair to the game, it really is what it says on the tin: a funky physics game. That’s it.

I think I was looking for that Laugh Out Loud moment the whole time. I should have known that the fact that I don’t find the Stooges funny should have been an indication of what I’d think of this game.

Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a game where you’re an octopus who is married to a human woman. A woman you’ve had kids with (don’t ask). The whole think with the game is that you must not let the humans know that you’re an octopus, despite your tremendously clumsy way of moving around.

You control various limbs (tentacles) with buttons and analog sticks, and the game tasks you with retrieving objects and solving basic puzzles.

I have to admit, the fun factor of seeing Octodad squiggle about ran flat for me in about 5 minutes. The rest of the time I spent trying to like the game for what it was, and not for what I had wanted it to be.

It runs great on Vita, though, and it looks surprisingly pretty. The animations are really well done, and the dialogue has its moments.

The interactions between Octodad and his wife are some of my favorite memories of the game, as it reminds me how clueless love can make you (really, lady? no clue about him being an octopus, then?).

Octodad’s fierce battle with his arch-nemesis, a Chef, also has highlights worth remembering.

All in all, I was surprised by the fact that the story seemed to be the best thing about this game about physics.

Was it all bad? No, not at all. Like I mentioned before, from a technical point of view, the game is flawless. It runs great, sounds awesome and looks fantastic. The story is funny and adds a lot to the game.

The problem is the gameplay. It just gets old so, so fast, that you stop caring about the fact that the game runs great, and that the story is good. Solving the puzzles quickly becomes a chore rather than something enjoyable.

I really wanted to like this game. And maybe that’s the whole moral of the story: Just like everyone else, I wanted Octodad to be something he’s not.