One of the most common types of games you’ll find littered throughout the different digital storefronts are 2D platformers, and it can be easy to miss that one diamond in the rough. If your looking for that fun and challenging platformer that everyone in your household can take a turn playing, then let me be your guide and tell you the tale of Grapple Dog.
Grapple Dog is a sidescrollin’ adventure game that is responsive yet floaty, easy to pick up and play, but hard to conquer. It’s fun, but at the same time, it can cause some expletives to escape your mouth; at least it did for me. You play as Pablo, a cute, if not slightly dim-witted, pup who goes off on an adventure with an older Ostrich and super bright Bunny. Pablo stumbles upon a grappling hook during their latest adventure and accidentally lets evil loose upon the world. The writing and art style of Grapple Dog is so charming and whimsical; it’s got an atmosphere that honestly anyone could sit back and enjoy.
I talked a bit about Grapple Dog on the dotEXE podcast, and if you listened, you know that I compared it a bit to Sonic the Hedgehog. I still stand by that comparison after a few hours with the game. Similar to how Sonic gradually picks up speed, Pablo will jog before he can run. Along those lines, the game starts you off slow but will get you moving if you’re nailing those grapple swings and jumps just right. The game’s art is so bright and colorful, feeling right out of a 16-bit platformer. It’s not 16-bit, but that color palette sure feels just as inviting, and thankfully the game doesn’t actively do anything to turn you away. Usually, in a game like this, the developers have difficulty balancing the difficulty-to-fun ratio, but Grapple Dog seems to have hit the sweet spot.
The first few levels are quite easy, and it left me feeling like I wanted a little more out of it, so I decided to collect all the hidden crystals throughout the level. Think of the Yoshi or Red coins in Mario, and you’ll get an idea of how most of these are hidden. But as the game progressed, it got more challenging, and I skipped some of those crystals to make my way through the stage first. You know, as one would do to understand the level layout. The grapple swings were becoming more precise, jumps a bit tougher, and enemy placement a little more tricky.
Combat in Grapple dog also feels similar to the blue hedgehog. You can jump on enemies to attack them, and some even let you grapple them! Ideally, it will pull you in, dispose of them quicker, and make for easier gap clearing. As a reward for all your hard work traversing the world and destroying enemies, you can get the ability to pet Pablo during the stats screen. But only if you complete enough of the challenges put forth. Otherwise, you don’t get to tell him he’s a good boy.
Overall, you’ll be adventuring through six or so worlds with a set of ten or so sub-worlds. Think Super Mario Bros 3 or some of the newer Mario 2D titles. You pilot the boat and sail to each island. If you have enough of the crystals, you can unlock bonus stages that you can sail to and complete. Shoot, if you have enough crystals to unlock a boss stage, you can skip a bunch of the sub-levels and head directly to it.
Boss fights are engaging and quite fun, though some felt too long. The best example would be the very first encounter, you’re facing a giant dinosaur, and he’s chasing you through the level. You’ll get to some stopping points and hit the boss. You end up hitting him like 5 or 6 times, breaking what felt like should have been three. If you’re familiar with the “Mario rule of 3’s”, as I like to call it, boss battles tend to have three hits or three stages before they are defeated. Just something nice and comfortable about that number. I’m not saying this is something that Grapple Dog should have adhered to, but with its aesthetic and platforming, I guess, in my head, it was just pre-determined that you’d only have to land three hits.
If you are looking to modify your game for accessibility, you can change things like the amount of damage Pablo takes and make the game easier or more accessible so that all can enjoy it. I wouldn’t call it an easy mode, but more so the ability to open up the gameplay.
Even though Grapple Dog is just one 2D platformer in a sea of them, I believe this can be your one diamond in the rough. It’s a game that feels responsive and is relatively easy for anyone to pick up and play. It isn’t a cakewalk, though, and you will find challenges ahead, but at the same time, you’re going to soak up the bright colors and the fun story, placing this near the top of your lists.
A Steam code was provided by the publisher for review purposes
