Dogworld

[h1][b]'... please, Boy! This is probably our only shot!'[/b][/h1] [h2]Dogworld is a metroidvania platformer where you uncover the world left behind after the humanity hunkered down underground. Slide away and shoot through many obstacles stopping you in a journey... full of dogs. And save it from the Daddy AI that has gone rogue.[/h2] [h1]Story... is in the title.[/h1] You explore the world as a human, only known as Boy, who is freed from the capsule after an accident blasting you away onto the surface. Void of any human life, as true per short brief on history right before you were sent out there, you slowly uncover strange creatures now inhabiting the world. Nearly all of them with dog features. And some... dogs that can talk. You also learn that the AI encapsulating all of the humans (nick)named Daddy is hurting the same dogs for reasons you will have to uncover yourself, as you help the pack from that AI. The game features three different endings, to which the game will warn you where you're entering the point of no return. Some decisions you take will determine the fate when you reach the end. Pay attention to it and keep uncovering secrets for better outcome. [b]Main reason why I state this is that the game doesn't stress that enough and it'll be your main factor for replay value. Once you save the progress beyond that line, all missed secrets, gear that you didn't upgrade will remain that way indefinitely. The only way for you to go back is to boot up a new one.[/b] [h1]Shoot. Slide. Pet. Repeat.[/h1] Simple gameplay of shooting enemies until they're pixels. And as you progress, you get your hands on more weaponry to overcome your challenges. [b]Shotgun[/b], Machine Gun, Barrel Launcher, to which you can switch on the fly. And later, as you uncover secrets, slay monsters, or win many claw machine prizes, you can talk to Micah and spend the currency to upgrade the efficiency of your favorite weapons. You can even combine two weapons into one powerful synergy, if you manage to find secret blueprints. Whatever you do, [b]keep your Shotgun close[/b], as it is the key to uncovering most of secrets. [spoiler]hint hint[/spoiler] Your only way to truly defend yourself is to slide. It gives you up to half a second of invincibility, dodging any incoming fire or enemy that's about to touch you. This mechanic will prove mandatory for not only your survival, but as additional means to traverse landscapes, the further you progress in the game. Oh yea, did I mention you can pet dogs?! [h1]Bosses. Test of skill and patience[/h1] Dogworld can be a challenging platformer, but nothing will compare to it than the Boss fights. Early on, some have simple patterns to follow, while later boss fights will be constantly reminding you that you must slide away from trouble as frequently as possible to survive some of the attacks. They can get really infuriating, as your timing will be factored in later on, leaving a trial and error kind of loop until you bested a boss. Should also mention that this game features designated save zones. [h1]Chiptune in action. Done right![/h1] A serious praise has to go to the game's soundtrack. One of the main reasons as to why it kept me playing the game. Adrenaline pumping chiptune tracks seamlessly blends within the game, no matter if it's for ambience, exploration or encounters. Highly recommended to check out the [url=https://lateralis.bandcamp.com/album/dogworld-ost]Bandcamp[/url], as it's the only way to listen to the album, by the time I wrote this review. [h1]Dogworld may not be for everyone. A simple gameplay with a 1bit asthetic and plenty of charming details that the average boy could easily miss out. Regardless, you venture into the solid storyline packed with retro platforming, shooting and dodging with this one. Absolute recommendation to anybody who's a sucker for things retro and challenge. While it's unrelated, let this game be a reminder that indie game developers always start small. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1608640/OTXO/]Because this is the next game we've got from this developer.[/url][/h1]

One of my most loved action adventure games in recent history. The world building is immersive, visuals beautiful, music elevates it, doesn't get tired, is incredible (one of the only game soundtracks I've listened to a lot at other times). Simple pure, satisfying fun gameplay with a great story that is in perfect balance. Gives me the feeling of being a kid again but with the up to date responsive mechanics and goes beyond pure modern re-creation of retro games as it feels like a genuine piece of art. Can't recommend this game enough. Worth every penny at full price to me.

[h1]It's not all about the soundtrack! [/h1] First, when I stumbled on this game it was only for the cool chiptune soundtrack that I thought I should give Dogworld a try. And let me tell you how awesome did it turn out to be. [list] [*]The game is actually full of juicy gameplay, don't mind the B&W aesthetic. The controls are smooth and responsive, no clunky moves either (although you can't crouch, which for me feels unnatural in this kind of games). Furthermore, there is a cool dodge-sliding mechanic that makes you invulnerable for a duration of the slide: it makes the game so fast-paced and dynamic while also is vital to surviving in boss fights. [*]The gameplay comes with nice platforming sections which rarely take more than a few attempts to beat (well, maybe except for the final one). [*]The difficulty rises moderately over the playthrough and tends to be challenging closer to the end. Bosses usually get new/faster attacks at 50% HP mark which gets really noticeable in the second part of the game, so you will likely need some time to adjust accrodingly and beat them. Still, the final boss is a whole another story, and my playtime would've been a few hours shorter if it wasn't for him. Sure it is beatable, but I feel like some players might just rage quit because of it. [*]The game has a range of weapons that do really differ from each other in range/speed/damage, so you may try different arms vs different bosses. Every gun can be modified, which means you have a good motivation to look out for the pots of gold (or you can try your luck gambling in town, that actually helped me to upgrade the most expensive weapon). There is even more variability with hidden blueprints that can combine 2 guns into a new weapon (although it’s an irreversible option). I found only one of those but it really felt like a strong upgrade. However, there is a big but(t) for the weapon section: if you switch weapon, you will likely get back your previous gun when you finish shooting. The logic wasn’t clarified anywhere and only late in the game did I find out that you need to hold fire for 5-10 secs to set a chosen weapon as a default gun. It’s a really annoying thing that needs to be pointed out so I hope this review will help someone! [*]Gameplay aside, the soundtrack pumps just as I expected, there is a lot of cool tunes that provide atmosphere for the levels. Still, If I haven’t missed anything, I didn’t hear the trailer soundtracks in the game, which was extremely disappointing T_T As for the B&W graphics, it really didn’t bother me and I got quite used to it. My 5 cents concern the sky in the game: there is a plenty of surface levels where you have a blank half of the screen because someone forgot to put stars, planets, comets, spaceships or at least clouds there (this game is in space setting, so I think some cool views in the sky would be quite immersive). [*]The game has a number of characters (dogs are nice and cute), which constantly interact with the hero between levels. You get local tasks while advancing to the main goal so it doesn’t feel like squandering around clearing levels. As soon as you beat the final boss the story ends abruptly, as if the dev was in a hurry. I mean, don’t we deserve at least some final [strike]barks [/strike] words of gratitude from the dogies? Smh… [h2]TLDR [/h2] It's been a year since the release and judging from the number of reviews seems to me like the game is really underrated and maybe didn't get much publicity, which I was sorry to see. At some point of the playthrough when I stopped clearing stuff on the first try this game became a 2D blockbuster! Dogworld has every component of a hit, it just takes some time before they all merge and the game truly unfolds its beauty. I’m looking forward to Dogworld 2, since with such an ending it feels like there’s enough room story-wise for the sequel! Or maybe just because of the feeling you get when you get out of the pod and the first tune "Sunlight" starts playing...

结尾结束得太快，后面要是能有个合照什么的就好了

Save the doggos, destroy robots, feel good.

Play Dogworld. https://youtu.be/vUELAe0tz6Q

I think this game is overall fine. I wouldn't say it really impressed me as much as I wanted it too, but I would hardly say it's bad. The Good - - The game's controls are tight and responsive. Movement feels completely in your control. - There is a good variety of weapons in the game. If you don't like one, then you can easily just get another and have fun with that one. - The difficulty is about right. No challenge is that difficult or that easy. Even if the boss fights feel a little trial and error-y - It looks pretty good. The general design of the enemies and the use of red in the visuals are both pretty good. - Dogs - Very Cute. Love Roxy and the one in the barrel. - I love the implementation of the Shotgun, using it to give you a slight boost to higher areas and make jumps longer is just a really great use for a weapons and is just really fun. The Bad - - Changing weapons can be rather cumbersome honestly. It can be hard to switch from one weapon to another in the heat of combat. Especially if you don't memorize the order you have. The Barrel Gun exasperates this issue. A Weapon wheel would have helped. - Some of the enemies can be a little annoying. Some can slip under your weapon's fire and it is little irritating to hit them. Others can get on top of you and end up being disorienting taking more health than you'd expect. Especially the water enemies. - Some of the later areas feel like they have save points too far a part making them feel longer than they actually are. - I hate how weapons blueprints remove weapons from your inventory when the weapon you get fills a different purpose than the weapons removed. I got the Tristar and the Shotgun and Plasma Rifle were removed from my inventory and it just wasn't great tbh. - Environments can look samey. Personal Nitpicks - (These aren't big issues, or even issues really. I just wanted to express them I guess.) - The game feels like it strikes a weird balance between an arcadey run and gun shooter and a slower paced 2D platformer that has more platforming, puzzle elements, and dialouge. That one or the other doesn't feel as fleshed out as I'd like. - Big nitpick, but I feel like the later areas end up feeling more disjointed than not since you just teleport to them instead of walking there. - Not a fan of how the main character's sprite looks; it's a little to chunky IMO. - Not enough Dog content. - I felt like there should be at least one more movement option to some end. For puzzle solving or faster movement or whatever else. - The double jump feels tacked on as well. Especially when the shotgun filled basically the same purpose as it. It doesn't feel like it adds as much as I'd like. - The main antagonist's name is Daddy. I hate it. - Exploration doesn't feel like it is has enough reward to it. - The story feels a little light to me. - A good few of the boss fights feel like they were there to just be there with very little impact beyond just being there. - The sound takes a bit to get use to, but once you do, it is pretty solid Conclusions - I think this game is alright. Others might get more out of it than I did, So if this game sparks your interest I'd say give it a shot. There is obvious love and passion that went into this game. It feels like this could have been something really good, but to me personally it was just okay. Then again I did walk into this with expectations of a metroidvania, which it certainly is not and that is on me for expecting that. But hey what can you do.

Great little metroidvania. Good music & bosses