Recent reviews by Woolock

General Review:
Overall Rating: 8/10
Notes: Great game, just needs a bit more polish.
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Yet Again, just like the previous game, this one gives me enough drive to write another review. And also like the last game, this one delivers a splendid experience.

Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines, like Grapple Dog before it, is a platforming game focused on grapple hook swinging gameplay, with plenty of obstacles and treasures to surmount using your agility and reflexes. Once again, the controls feel very responsive, with only one caveat that I’ll discuss later. Moving in tandem with the controls, the levels expertly weave your movesets and abilities into fun platforming levels, with mechanics and gimmicks new and returning. I especially liked the environments of the levels this time around, and seeing how these mechanics mesh with their respective, quirky worlds.

Now for the new stuff. Pablo’s been more refined this time around, ditching the previously cumbersome run meter in exchange for a quick dash punch. This not only makes Pablo’s movement more snappy and consistent, but gives him better ground speed and more options to deal with foes on the ground. A much welcomed change. More than that, we have a new playstyle: Luna. Pablo’s partner on this mission. Her gameplay focuses less on running through enemies, and instead choosing to gun them down instead. She can dash over and through obstacles, and with her signature sidearm, she can give enemies a face full of bullet shots while gliding in the air. And lastly, both characters get equipped with level specific power ups. From a grass hookshot, to a fireball dash, and even an electric shotgun, the new powerups spice up the level design in interesting ways.

Now we come to the awkward parts. Unlike the last game, there aren’t really much in terms of “difficulty spikes”, but there is a new overarching problem with the game: Luna’s flow. Unlike her partner, Pablo, Luna has less momentum to her gameplay. Having to shoot enemies down in situations that Pablo would have just bopped them on the head and be done with it slows the pace of the game down a bit. Not to mention, Luna’s unique kit of bullet gliding and dashes gives her kit some…unusually high mobility. While Pablo’s movement is usually tied to the whim of the stage design, Luna’s movement stares the stage in the face and sticks it’s tongue out at it while flying over it. Not that freedom isn’t appreciated, far from it. It is actually very nice. But it does have the unfortunate side effect of cheesing some of the early to mid game level design a bit. This combination of problems makes Luna feel like a less agile, floaty version of Pablo, which doesn’t really evoke the same feel as Pablo’s Levels or the previous game, to a bit of a detriment if you ask me. Also the previously mentioned control issue comes up in her levels occasionally, where her targeting reticle is sometimes hard to control while it’s not auto locked on something. Not a game breaking problem, but it is something to mention.

With those quips aside, I’m thankful to see this game be made. The first game was already fantastic, and to see a sequel that improves on the formula and add it’s own spin on it is very endearing, and I hope to see more of where this series goes in the future. I hope this series continues to evolve and change in impressive ways, and until then, I heavily recommend you give this game and the previous game a try.

General Review:
Overall Rating: 8/10
Notes: Great game, just has a few awkward moments that keep it from being higher.
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Not everyday that we get the urge to review a game, but this one’s an interesting exception. Speaking as someone who’s gotten all the gems in the game, this one’s quite the adventure.

Grapple Dog is a platformer with grapple hook and swinging physics. Its gameplay revolves around swinging on a grapple hook from location to location and overcoming whatever obstacles are in the way, finding secret gems, and getting to the end of the level. Not exactly the most “groundbreaking” premise per say, but the way the game goes about it more than makes up for it. With the grapple hook taking center stage in most of the game’s platforming segments, it becomes more about manipulating your positioning and momentum than just running and jumping skills. There is a bit of a learning curve to it, but once you get it down, it feels really satisfying to go at fast speeds.

On the subject of high speed, the controls. Controls are very responsive and fairly fluid, which works wonderfully for a physics platformer such as this. The running and jumping feel good, the swinging feels great, and even moves some games gloss over such as the ground pound and wall jump are given special care in this game and treated as a true part of your kit. And this gameplay isn’t mindless either, as the game constantly tests your brain as well as your reflexes.

The levels are fairly well designed for the most part. Revolving around your kit of moves to get through tricky and intricate challenges. And with each stage introducing a new hazard, mechanic, or gimmick, you get to learn and familiarize yourself with each part of the game as you go along; making it so that you never feel overwhelmed by understanding the mechanics of the game. And with each Boss level at the end of each world testing you on the mechanics in said worlds, you get to refresh yourself on every mechanic before heading off to the next world.

Aside from the gameplay though, the art style is really nice. A fairly cartoony and boldly colored world surrounds you and the characters you meet as you swing from place to place. And the characters you meet are very colorful as well, with most of them even being interactable within the stages themselves. And the humor in this game is fairly good as well. Not exactly Oscar worthy, but it was pleasant and got a chuckle out of us often. And as for the plot, though it’s fairly generic and basic, it was captivating enough to keep us going through the game.


Now, for the downsides. I will say, the difficulty in this game can be a bit…screwy. Not in the case of “borderline unplayable”, but just be aware that if you are planning to 100% complete this game, World 3 is going to give you a rough time. Many times in World 3, and especially in the bonus stages, feel as though the area was the final world, not halfway through the game. Not to mention the Snake Mouth enemies that are introduced in this world are overly punishing and difficult to adjust to. Once you get through that though most of the rest of the game becomes a breeze compared to it, which is weird. In addition to that though, the walking/building up speed feature frankly feels unnecessary and convolutes the movement much more than it needs to. Too many times I found myself getting hit and killed because Pablo decided to go for his morning stroll instead of running for his life.

Other than the issues we just listed, we’re happy to have played this game. Being much more unique than the standard platformers we see nowadays really gave us a greatly different experience. And if there is another game on the way, we’re excited to see where it takes its story and gameplay.