Octodad: Dadliest Catch is really funny for the first hour or so you spend with it, before settling into a more generally amiable tone for the next five hours it lasts. The music is simple but fun, and Octodad’s voice acting is great but not nearly as funny as his subtitles which attempt to convey what he is communicating. On PS4, Octodad looks crisp and clean with simple cartoony graphics, yet suffers from small yet noticeable frame-rate jitters from time to time. The game’s structure feels loose, with no grand objective or goal until the very end of the game, just a set of situations thrown at Octodad to blubber around. Ultimately, a lot of these objectives are little mini-games or side-attractions, that provide a small amount of challenge or can be bypassed entirely with some canny stepping-around of their rules. The game is larger than its predecessor, with a few hub areas with multiple objectives. Your main challenge is often simply walking, as you use the triggers to raise your feetacles from the ground and the analogue stick to stretch them over a distance, trying to form a regular walking cycle as best you can. While the game is merciful and keeps Octodad’s limbs to the human-like four, they’re still bendy appendages that stretch and contort in unpredictable ways. The entire conceit of the gameplay is as hilarious as it always was, by simply asking you to perform average everyday tasks… as an octopus. We don’t need much more explanation for what Octodad’s deal is beyond the game’s amazing theme song – “He’s got a good thing going on… Nobody suspects a thing!” While each of these plot elements is amusing, and perhaps necessary in order to expand the game and pad it out, there’s something beautiful about keeping the concept simple. This is all interspliced with flashbacks from Octodad’s past, including how he first decided to disguise himself as a human, how he met his wife and the day they got married. The game is framed around a day in Octodad’s life as he helps around the house, visits the shops and local aquarium, and is occasionally pursued by a sushi chef who seems to be the only person alive who has realised the very obvious truth of Octodad’s true species. The protagonist is, of course, Octodad – an octopus posing as a human who has somehow started a family with a lovely wife and two kids. Don’t worry if you haven’t played the original – Dadliest Catch doesn’t require you to have any prior knowledge and in fact brings you up to speed throughout the game with the protagonist’s history. You may remember Octodad from its debut as one of the most bizarre yet hilarious concepts to be produced by a student team, its success bringing this sequel, Dadliest Catch. Early adopters already have had access to Contrast, Outlast, Mercenary Kings, Flower and more, and now the PS4 is home to its very own port of the exceptionally unique Octodad: Dadliest Catch. The PlayStation 4 may be the most successful Next-Gen console, but the question on everybody’s lips is the same as with any console launch – where are all the games? This is one area where the PS4 isn’t necessarily standing apart from its brethren, and certainly not in comparison to the might of Steam and PCs, but is still providing a steady stream of enjoyment in the form of great support for indie titles.
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