Grapple Dog

Grapple Dog is a lot of fun, and for platform fans new or old it should provide plenty of entertainment. But the concept doesn’t push the ingenuity slider high enough, and many of its other tricks have been used aplenty elsewhere.

I loves me some 2D action platforming and now that I played Grapple Dog, I'm one happy bear so let's see what this indie is all about.

Grapple Dog is a charming and inventive 2D platformer with a solid foundation that’s not afraid to ramp up the challenge when needed. It still needs some work in the performance and accessibility departments, but fans of the genre should still check it out.

A fun platformer that offers quite the challenge, Grapple Dog scratches that nostalgia itch but is still pretty ruff around the edges.

At it’s best (which is when you first hit a new level) Grapple Dog is an absolute joy. Pablo is an adorable protagonist and it’s one of the most appealing platformers I’ve had my hands on this side of Sonic 3. If you’ve watched Into the Spider-Verse and remember the “thwip and release” scene, you’ll understand just how satisfying it is to nail traversing Grapple Dog’s more challenging obstacles.

Grapple Dog is a light, breezy mascot platformer that hooks you with precise, simple controls.

It is a shame that parts of Grapple Dog get in its own way so much because I do really like this game. In fact, I would recommend most people play it. I haven’t mentioned the wonderful art design that could have been plucked from cult-classic Hal Laboratory game. Nor have I talked about the zany music which feels like it was ripped from a Sega CD title thanks to its short loops and crunchy low bitrate yelps from someone going “WOO!” or “I WANNA GET INTO IT”.