Indie titles usually don’t get the amount of playtime as my other games do, and it’s very rare that I see one to the end, but Octodad: Dadliest Catch was a fun experience but a flawed one. My first major complaint is the controls, which, I know, they’re supposed to be annoying and that’s what makes it fun. However, there were a few scenarios throughout the game which were just downright frustrating (looking at you aquarium), and the ending was pretty weak. There’s not much to say about Octodad, which is fair as it doesn’t have much to say on its own. Basically, you play as an octopus who has journeyed to the land and gotten married and is now the father of a family of four. Throughout the game, you learn how you came to be on land, and why the evil chef keeps on trying to kill you so much. Octodad is one of the strangest games you’ll play, but I’m very thankful I had the experience.

How incredibly charming. I always figured its humor and gameplay would be up my alley but just never got around to it.

The gameplay is a ton of fun, but your mileage may vary based on your patience, all things considered. I think knowing it was only 2 hours and being completely wooed by its charm and specific type of humor helped tide over any issues I had trying to precisely move or grab things.

Fuck that water shooting game in the Amazon Arcade though.

Um jogo muito divertido sobre um pai polvo
O jogo em si, é bem gostosinho de se jogar,
tem diversos mini-games pra fazer enquanto não faz o objetivo principal
Os controles do jogo são bons, na dificuldade certa, enredo bem simples

Num todo, Octodad é aquele tipo de jogo pra se jogar pra passar o tempo

Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a physics based adventure where you control an octopus masquerading as a human father. Originally released in 2014 by Young Horses, the game is actually a sequel to “Octodad”, which was developed in 2011 before the official forming of Young Horses. Octodad, as I’ll refer to it, is very hard to explain properly, however, I shall do my best to do so for this review. I’ll be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version, provided to me by Young Horses.

Let’s start with addressing the concept and controls. You’re pretending to be a human father while running from a chef who’s a war veteran. It’s not your typical story in a game, but it works in so many different ways. In Octodad, going about your life as an octopus is not very easy. You control each limb separately, which makes simple actions like walking around or mowing the lawn a bit of a chore, but not in a way that makes them uninteresting or not fun. The way controls feel are very subjective in games, but the way Octodad is designed means if you don’t enjoy them, you won’t enjoy the game. I, personally, have mixed feelings about the control style, it isn’t accessible to newcomers at all. However when you get used to it, it is fluid and fun as you get into all sorts of shenanigans. Because of the style, no two play-throughs feel the same, but your enjoyment of said play-through is rooted in whether or not you enjoy mastering games.

Octodad has a variety of different levels that feel interesting to explore such as Octodad’s back-yard, an aquarium, and a fishing boat. On a second play-through, such as mine, they can feel a bit “empty”. The joy of the levels come from figuring out solutions to your issue. Once you’ve beaten the game, the lock never changes but you always have the key. For those who enjoy a good easter egg hunt, there are many collectible ties for you to grab in each level, but they don’t really change a second play-through much. This leaves me wishing there was more variety, such as a New Game + mode. Octodad features a 2 player co-op mode, but I wasn’t able to test it for the review.

Octodad’s basic level design is alright. Each level and every section in them are designed to have multiple miniature puzzles and issues within them. Like I brought up before, this hurts replayability for me, but I know some will love playing and mastering it. Octodad’s sound design is brilliant from the blubs and blurbs Octodad produces himself to the sound effects of moving and hitting things. It’s all very satisfying, and it rarely gets annoying unless it’s deliberately designed to be. The music is oddly relaxing, and I would definitely listen to this to sleep or de-stress. The graphics do show their age, but I don’t believe this hurts the game too much. For a 2014 indie, it still looks relatively good today.

The humor is something I have a hard time explaining. The game prides itself by taking most of its characters entirely serious while Octodad and The Chef are played for laughs. This works well and jokes are usually played pretty well. Octodad loves its visual humor and laughable concepts. While I can’t necessarily call it bad, it can feel immature at times. That being said, it also genuinely puts a smile on your face. I can’t help but love how the game handles itself.

Alright to those who read my reviews, say it with me now, “The game’s length can be an issue for some”. This phrase feels like a pattern in these reviews now. My play-through was forty-one minutes long, less than a full hour isn’t great even for a second play-through. According to howlongtobeat.com the average play time is just under two and a half hours for a first play-through. The game is short and you definitely feel how short it is, and the collectable’s don’t do much to extend this either. I do enjoy smaller games, but this feels too small for me, a definite downside.

Overall, I enjoyed almost all the time I spent with Octodad. From concept, to gameplay, to music, it all just felt great to me. A fun, quirky little title for those looking for physics based challenges or a nice laugh on an afternoon. If you are a fan of shorter stuff or are looking for a good game for you to play with your kids, you can’t go wrong with Octodad: Dadliest Catch.

This is kind of a replay, as I've beaten this on Steam plenty of times and played it a ton, but I've never done it on PS4 before. I was over at a friends' place for the coldpocalypse the past day and a bit, and I'd brought my PS4 and some controllers so we played through OctoDad, once with just the 3 of us and then with their third housemate for a 4-player run!

The premise of OctoDad is that you're a dad who is secretly an octopus. You need to keep secret from your wife and children as well as from the world at large your true nature while still going about your daily business. It's a very silly game where the entire mechanical premise is that it's REALLY hard to be an octopus pretending to be a human, so you control each leg and arm individually. It's something you can learn to do well eventually, but it purposefully controls so awkwardly that it's great fun to bumble through with friends (particularly on the mode that has you all shuffle limbs you're controlling every time you complete an objective XD).

Verdict: Highly recommended. This game is just an absolute joy to play with local co-op. The writing is as silly as the premise, and it's a great thing to spend an afternoon or evening going through with a couch-full of friends ^w^