Octodad: Dadliest Catch

Dadliest Catch is a wily, outstanding title in the vein of infamous freeware QWOP. With awkward controls, volatile physics and formidable environmental puzzles working in compelling harmony, Dadliest Catch makes the player the architect of physical comedy in a brilliant and idiosyncratic way.

Smartly built, endlessly entertaining, and unexpectedly heartwarming, Dadliest Catch manages to turn an utterly ridiculous concept into one of the most surprising games in recent memory.

Octodad: Dadliest Catch has a brilliant concept, a hilarious story and the same goes for the gameplay. The shortness of the story mode is a letdown, but not because it doesn't justify the price tag. Whether it's a sequel or a feature film by Pixar, Octodad is an unforgettable character that deserves more time in the limelight.

At first it looks like a silly experiment, but once you sink your tentacles into the game, you’ll encounter challenging and manic arcade fun.

It keeps you laughing with the sheer absurdity of its lead character, the not-so-subtle references, and fumbling physical comedy that's made all the more potent through your participation. Like a plate of sushi, it might seem a bit pricey for what you get, but it's worth paying a small premium for a fresh catch.

While it is too short an experience it’s a great, unique one and I urge anyone who likes fun games to give it a go.

Octodad: Dadliest Catch may be a one-joke game, but the team at Young Horses has taken that joke and squeezed as much hilarity out of it as possible. Don’t ask questions about the man in the suit — just buy the game.

In a game like this there's careful line between frustration and elation, and Octodad walks it (or slides down, falls along, slithers against - whatever) with appreciable balance.

The brilliant design used throughout Octodad: Dadliest Catch brings out the absolute best from a bizarre concept that simply needs to be played to be believed.

Octodad is an engaging, unique game which crashes the everyday and the uncanny head-on with aplomb, and one particularly enjoyable to onlookers. Simple tasks inevitably degenerate into Buster Keaton-evoking farces – with soundtrack nods to silent film accompanists to boot – and my only gripes with Dadliest Catch are an occasionally wayward camera and a few cruel difficulty spikes necessitating repetition of short sections ad nauseam. Otherwise, it’s a blast.

Some late-game issues not withstanding, Dadliest Catch is a charming, bizarre, genuinely likable little game.

Though it has some issues with framerate drops and its approach to control is definitely not for everybody, Dadliest Catch kept a smile on my face for most of its duration.

A brilliant comedy that takes place in a sandbox world. It's hilarious and poignant at the same time, and above anything else it's a lot of fun.

Young Horses has done an excellent job taking the diamond in the rough that was the original Octodad student project and turning it into a short but charmingly absurdist physics game.

Octodad: Dadliest Catch is anything but intuitive, and that’s exactly what makes it this much fun. While you’re doing everyday things with your family you’ll be rolling on the floor laughing, whilst also feeling something for the characters and its story. All the more a shame that the camera isn’t cooperative at times and certain moments simply don’t work, because Octodad: Dadliest Catch is something special.