![]() While the controls have been optimized as much as they could be for the touchscreen, you can play with MFi controllers. The game will murder your battery, but it performs at a very high level. The mobile port deserves a lot of credit for being fantastic, as far as features and performances go. While the game being a desktop and console game first means it was able to put in a lot more in the way of production values than most mobile-only games, Octodad does stand out a lot because of how well-made it is. Children in entertainment tend to be precocious and/or annoying, and this game does a good job at minimizing those factors. ![]() The writing, including the interpretations of Octodad’s various blubs and gurgles, is fantastic. The game really does a great job at succeeding at being a game of high emotions and high comedy. But you can also enjoy the game just on a surface level of “it is difficult to get that lawnmower out of the shed with all those sportsballs!" While I don’t think that many people are actually octopi, I can certainly relate to the idea that I look like I’ve got my stuff together, but really am just flailing about to see what works. The whole experience is about trying to pretend that you’re something that you’re really not. It’s easy to see where the connection to the idea of impostor syndrome comes in with this game. This all while you have octopus limbs that don’t do a great job at simulating human legs and hands, and the human tasks that you must accomplish. You’ll catch on pretty quickly, though – you control an octopus that is pretending to be human, trying to do normal human things like going grocery shopping, mowing the lawn, and avoiding the maniacal chef who wants nothing more than to reveal you for the fraud that you are. And if the game feels like you’re jumping into something you should know more about, that’s because it is a sequel to a student game that the principals of the studio made while they were students at DePaul. Don’t ask why the children are human, you won’t get any good answers. The game also severely needs anti-aliasing or screen resolution options, as it loads in full-screen but is blurry.Finally on mobile, Young Horses’ Octodad: Dadliest Catch ($4.99) has you controlling the eponymous Octodad, an octopus who has a wife and two children, and is just really trying to keep this good thing going. However, it’s possible to find yourself stuck on a level with no way to progress, as there isn’t even a simple ‘float’ button for movement. Speedrun Squid is listed as a prototype, so some problems can be forgiven. Games like Slay the Spire have turned branching maps into a narrative success, so Speedrun Squid could decide to follow suit and enhance player choice. Speedrun Squid features an overworld map that, although linear, suggests a sense of overall progression. However, it’s a little difficult to initially gauge which surfaces you can hook onto, and it’s possible to get snagged on the scenery. The squid is constantly wiggling a couple of legs, and parallax scrolling helps give a sense of movement and depth as you swing or float your way through each level. Speedrun Squid uses a pixel-art side-on presentation similar to any number of side-scrollers and platformers. Being underwater, the squid gradually floats downwards, meaning you have to try and time your swings correctly to progress. ![]() Players can latch onto specific rocks, towards which the squid then propels itself. This feature is an initial disappointment but doesn’t stop the leg-as-grappling-hook mechanic from being an entertaining gimmick. Unusual control schemeĮven though squids have six tentacles, Speedrun Squid only uses one. Speedrun Squid captures some of this energy in an engaging, if occasionally clumsy, prototype. They implement deliberate dodgy controls to create a fun type of chaos, where you’re fighting against the game itself. ![]() Games based on less-than-reliable physics, such as Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy and Octodad: Dadliest Catch, are a popular genre unto themselves. You’ll need to avoid bottomless pits, spikes, and evil crabs as you chase fish through each level to the exit. You guide a squid through rocky underwater caverns using its tentacle as a grappling hook.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |