
There are other, smaller gags, mostly coming in the package of one-liners or secluded references. The developers make Octodad grill burgers because they likely think it’s really funny to watch an octopus attempt to grill burgers. You could read that as a broader commentary on paranoia, and how sometimes it feels like our mildest miscalculations are being watched by the whole room, but that sort of joyless interpretation robs Octodad of its chaotic temper. This actually turns him into a fairly sympathetic character, since all Octodad wants is to blend in, but he seriously can’t help but make a mess out of everything. Needless to say, Octodad has a lot of trouble when it comes to that level of precision. This is especially hilarious towards the beginning of the game, when you’re instructed to walk down a very narrow aisle at a wedding. The controls are intentionally unreliable, which means your octopus will spend a lot of time swinging its tentacles around the map, causing a whole bunch of misfortune. Personally, I can’t help but be a little bit charmed. Do you think an octopus romping around a suburban neighborhood is funny? If that conceit doesn’t grab you, then Octodad doesn’t have much else to offer. This draws a very specific line in the sand. Because of this, Octodad is characterized as a deeply stressed-out creature, constantly terrified that his true identity will be unceremoniously revealed to his blissfully ignorant family. Outside of a few marine biologists and an angry sushi chef, nobody in the world recognizes your latent aquatic nature. You must mow the lawns, chop the firewood, and buy the groceries. Its story is simple: you are the father figure in a classic American household, and you are also an octopus. Whether that’s worth your monetary investment really comes down to your particular definition of genius. It is more gag than game, a borderline troll job with its heart in the right place. Originally built by a couple students back in 2010, Octodad is meant to befuddle, beguile, flabbergast, and delight. If that doesn’t infer the general tone of Octodad: Dadliest Catch, I’m not sure what will. The fact that everyone remains oblivious to the truth-even your journalist wife-is one of the best parts of the experience.It’s a game where you’re an octopus in a business suit, inhabiting a world in which everyone, including your wife and kids, is delicately unaware that you are an octopus in a business suit. Because you’re actually an octopus? No, because you’re not dressed.

The tone is set from the start, as you guide Octodad through his wedding day: An usher opens your dressing room and is shocked at what he sees.

It’s hilarious: Octodad derives humor not only from its interactions, but also its script and characters, delivering plenty of strong laughs throughout. Flipping burgers? Chopping firewood? Sneaking around guards? You’ll have to find a way to get them all done without causing too much of a ruckus-but there’s plenty of fun in failure here as you try to get a hang of the controls. You’ll individually control two tentacles as legs and two more as arms as you walk through your backyard, the supermarket, an aquarium, and other locales, all while completing tasks obviously not suited to your frame.

Luckily, his form comes in handy at times: to obtain a pizza behind a locked door, you’ll need to wriggle through the freezer shelves. That’s hard enough for most real-life humans, and sure enough, it’s a tricky challenge for your cartoonish cephalopod. Up for this zany campaign? Here are three reasons to take up the goofy quest.Ĭumbersome can be fun: As an octopus, how do you pose as a human for several years? Well, you wear a three-piece suit and quickly deflect all suspicious queries with gibberish-but more importantly, you walk upright, don’t continuously bump into people, and avoid demolishing every room you step into. Octodad delivers fumbly fun and plenty of chuckles, whether you’re playing on iPhone, iPad, orĪ dedicated gamepad, as well. Octodad’s floppy body produces a lot of wonderfully silly poses along the way-like this one.
