First Impressions: Octodad: Dadliest Catch (PS Vita)

Octodad took YouTube by storm, and the sub-genre of funky physics games (I’m looking at you, Goat Simulator) is rising as fast as found footage did a decade before in film. And it’s getting just as much hate.

The main complaint against this type of game is that they are gimmicky and rely to heavily on the “just for laughs” YouTuber/Twitcher community.

From what I’ve played of Octodad so far, it’s easy to see why: from the outside, it looks like a 1920s shtick comedy sketch. However, deep within lies a heart of pure… tentacle gold. Or at least, Sterling silver.

The story has actually been surprisingly entertaining, and the dialogue very well written.

I came into Octodad expecting a gimmick fest, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by finding some good level design and story arcs.

It’s not all fantastic in the land of octopuses (yes, that’s the correct plural for octopus, I looked it up).

The puzzles start becoming repetitive after a while, mostly because as the game progresses, new mechanics aren’t really introduced. The level design helps counteract this to some extent, but there’s only so much fun I can have lifting objects with a tentacle.

This is, of course, a “first impressions” article. It may very well be that after I get past a few more levels, I feel differently about it all.

On the technical side, we’re back to green grass. The game looks great on the Vita, and it sounds just as good. The dialogue is of particular note, bringing some fantastic comedic timing along with it.

It remains to be seen if Octodad can win my heart over completely with his suction cups (that sounds dirty). So far, the game has been fun, but its limitations are starting to show.

Be on the lookout for a full review soon.

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About Marcos Codas 384 Articles
Lover of portable gaming and horror cinema. Indie filmmaker and game developer. Multimedia producer. Born in Paraguay, raised in Canada. Huge fan of "The Blair Witch Project", and "Sonic 3D Blast". Deputy head at Vita Player and its parent organization, Infinite Frontiers. Like what I do? Donate a coffee: https://www.paypal.me/marcoscodas

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