Does Octodad deserve a High 8?
Octodad: Dadliest Catch has to be the most random, insane game that I’ve come across. You play as an octopus masquerading as a human who gets married, has kids and tries to keep his identity secret from his family and the rest of the world. You go around doing mundane tasks like brewing coffee and chopping wood to doing the shopping down the mall, then you’re dragged to the sea centre by your family and you can only hope the experts there don’t notice what you really are.
Controlling the octopus is perhaps the trickiest thing I’ve come across in gaming, you essentially have to wrestle with the controls to get him to move where you want him to as you tap the left and right triggers to get him to take steps, while using the analog sticks to move his tentacles, climbing obstacles is a complete mess, in one instance I spent half an hour trying to climb over some shelves in a freezer to get to a frozen pizza, it was painful.
The game is also on the short side with only a few areas to play through, but the ones that are there are hilarious and random, they can differ from putting up a bird house and being sucked into your neighbour’s lawnmower to climbing a tower of boxes to get some juice for your son, some people will know what you are and will try and kill you like the butcher in the shop and your neighbour that I previously mentioned.
Visually, Octodad is a nice looking game but a bit on the basic side and doesn’t exactly push the PS4 much. It does offer 2 player co-op and Move support for those who can do that, I personally was unable to do so sadly, but it’s nice to have it there. The cutscenes are well done and the animation is brilliant, it’s just annoying that the controls let the experience down.
The Verdict
Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a weird one, it has a great idea and setting, it implements it well…but the controls really let it down for me, it’s one of the most frustrating, yet guilty pleasures I’ve come across in years. I’d give it a try for sure, just be prepared to be annoyed and delighted at the same time.
