Octodad: Dadliest Catch (2014)

-- Part of my Itch.io Bundle Project - Attempting to play and rate every game in the 2020 Bundle for Racial Justice --

• Rating: 4.0 / 10
• Year played: 2020
• Playtime: 5-15 mins
• Completion level: Played some, didn't finish
• Verdict: Not my thing but maybe it's yours

A lovingly-crafted game with an unbelievably dumb premise. I remember when this went viral, but I kinda ignored it (along with all the other "youtuber bait" games that went viral around that time - I never played Goat Simulator either). I don't really feel like I missed out on much. This would maybe be fun to play with some friends and some beers, but I'm in quarantine and on a diet, so onto the pile of "mediocre games I won't pick up again" it goes.

Young Horses certainly seems to have a knack for getting in super early at the start of the console generation with some bizarre game that seems like a must-play due in part to a strange concept but also the fact that well... there really wasn't much else to play on your brand new PlayStation. And so, due to the fact that I couldn't afford the system at the time and that my friend wanted to play something cooperative on his new PS4, Octodad: Dadliest Catch was the first PS4 game I ever completed.

It's got one of the most intentionally obtuse control schemes of all time and is utterly hilarious for the majority of it's brief runtime. Young Horses excel at cramming a surprisingly heartfelt story into a tiny, silly game. It kind of fell into the dreaded designation of "YouTube clickbait" a little bit... but hey man, that was the era. My friend and I even did the same damn thing. We had a stupid YouTube channel called DrinkWhenYouDie. It's still there. You see, before people just streamed themselves playing games on Twitch, they would record individual 15 minute videos, which they then uploaded to YouTube and spaced out over weeks. Crazy, I know. 2014 was a hell of a year.

There have been plenty of stories told throughout the ages about families weathering a tragedy together or learning to overcome things and love one another, and plenty of stories throughout the ages that are called a 'fish out of water' tale, but none are so literal as OCTODAD: DADLIEST CATCH.

We're often told that family is the single most important thing in the world. That family will be there for you, no matter what, no matter who you are, that you can always, always, depend on family. I'm here to tell you that's a big steaming pile of crap. Now, to be fair, my life is very different than other peoples. Some people have families who WILL actually do those sorts of things. Who WILL actually stand by them and every decision they make, love them unconditionally, all that hollywood schlock, but from my own experience, it has been not the least bit true. That's partially why I'm drawn to stories like this, stories with a family that actually cares about one another, even if its told under the guise of a goddamned octopus who wears a suit and somehow fathered two human children. Because, ridiculous as the premise is, the sentiment remains. Here is something I wish I had, and now I can live on in the dream. Play out my fantasy, if you will, of a loving, supportive family.

OCTODAD: DADLIEST CATCH is not just fun, it borders on goddamned joyous. It's so ridiculous and so amazingly bright and happy, even at it's supposed darkest moments, that it reminds me of games I played on the computer growing up. It was one of the first times I've felt like a kid again playing video games, and I mean that in the most sincere sense that I can muster. And even beyond the lunacy of it all, even beyond the ridiculousness that the game is built around, where you play as an octopus who's married and has human kids and mows the lawn somehow, it's heartwarming. It's just heartwarming. Because, as much as the reality may be different than what television and movies and games try to sell us, it's still nice to imagine that a family can love one another, even when faced upfront with their most uncomfortable secrets for all to see.

To stare your loved one in the eyes and realize they aren't who you exactly thought they were, but that that doesn't really change anything about them or how you feel about them, that who they really is just as fine...it brings out a primal urge in us all, I think, to want that for ourselves. Family or lover, we all want to be accepted for who we are. OCTODAD hits in the same place that GONE HOME hit for me, but in very different ways. It's still ultimately about that love that you need, that you want, that acceptance that every single person should be allowed to have to just BE, and not be judged by it, especially by their appearance. He may be an octopus, but he's a damn fine father, and he loves that woman, and god help him if his wife ever discovers tentancle hentai, because then he may be in for some weird times.

It's a fairly short game; I managed to beat it in just about 3 hours, but the love and hard work that went into it is so obvious, and for that I would easily play it time and time again. It was fun the whole way through, very funny, very endearing and just outright loony in the absolute best possible way. I didn't find it anywhere near as hard to control as other people have said it was, in fact I think of games like this, "I AM BREAD" is MUCH harder to control, and I still don't have a huge problem with that one either, but to each their own. OCTODAD exists in that sweet spot of crafting something because they genuinely wanted to, AND being successful at it, and it achieved both in spades.

While I may never have a loving, supportive family, I do have my girlfriend, and some communities online who have been more than welcoming, and that seems about the same. A lot of times, if you aren't given family, you have to MAKE family, and that's totally fine. As long as you feel accepted and happy, then who cares who your 'family' actually is. I think the one lesson OCTODAD can teach us more than anything else is that to be ourselves is a gamble, but one that often pays off for the better. I may not be a tentacled creature from the sea who wears ties and such, but I know that if he can be accepted and loved, then why can't I.

OCTODAD is, without a doubt, the single best 3 or 4 hours you could EVER spend playing a video game. I for one hope to see more OCTODAD titles in the future, and maybe, just maybe, we all can be a little more like him. Great parents, loving partners and, more than anything, sassy, slimy, quick witted creatures from the depths below, because in the end, isn't that what we all dream of?

I know I do.

This was a very silly game and I can't really give it a decent review - I got frustrated after some time and my SO completed the game while I watched. The game was played on my PSTV through the PS VITA version, so the visuals were a bit blurred and pixelated. It is a very short game, assuming that you can work the controls, and can be completed under three hours.

You play as Octodad, an octopus disguised as a human with a family and your objective is to get through life without your wife getting suspicious. There is a backstory involved in this game, where you learn how they meet, which is a little weird (but then again, this whole game is weird). You control the arms and legs independently and it is up to you to avoid causing mayhem. You will either find this game hilarious or frustrating - honestly, I was both.

I will go back to this game and play it on easy when I just want to goof off. It is a good party game when you want to annoy people. I have not tried the co-op mode, so I am curious to hear what people thought of that.

Octodad is pretty much a physics-based chore simulator: you control the purposely-wonky Octodad as you navigate through levels completing various tasks. I had fun seeing Octodad create a mess out of the various environments he was placed in, much to the dismay of the various in-game bystanders. My favorite gameplay element was using Octodad's squishy body to squeeze through tight spaces, something that was difficult to do but felt extremely satisfying when I succeeded in doing so.

The game has a simple, silly plot: you're an octopus trying to live among humans. The characters were extremely humorous, and the voice acting was well-done. I especially enjoyed the Garfield-like designs of the characters, although their models were very low-poly. The various props in the game also held this cartoony art-style, which I liked, but some emitted extremely bland particle effects that I felt clashed with the smooth physics of the objects (i.e. a cup with water just emits a few blue blurs when shaken, as opposed to clearly-identifiable drops).

The main problem with the game is that the main story is only 2 hours long. However, there does appear to be plenty of achievements to keep completionists busy, and the Steam Workshop support seems to allow for an infinite supply of levels for players that want to experience the game in new ways.

If you're looking for a short, simple, and fun game, I'd recommend this. I enjoyed playing it, and I was entertained by its fun story.