Grapple Dog (Nintendo Switch) Review

Swinging into a Wholesome Adventure

Cute 2D platformers have been a staple of my gaming life since the very beginning of my relationship with this medium which is why playing a new game in this genre can be so rewarding. I know what minutiae to look for with a sharp perception of design elements that set apart the exceptional from the passable. Grapple Dog surprised me with well-crafted gameplay and visual aspects but a few minor tweaks could make this game truly amazing. 

Grapple Dog is a perfect title for the game as players mainly swing around levels as a dog named Pablo with a grappling hook. Characters are bouncy and colors are bright as the hero searches for inventions from a long-gone genius before the robot Nul finds them and uses them for nefarious purposes. The adventure is full of funny dialogue and charming character designs, giving the entire game a warm and fuzzy feeling. Almost every single visual asset pops through its subtle and expressive animation. It feels like this was a game created by a team that truly wanted to make a fun game first and foremost. It’s something that we see frequently in the indie development space but it’s getting hard to find elsewhere as modern game design trends still skew towards greedy, product-oriented sensibilities to the point that staple franchises from notable companies are found abandoning what makes games special. 

Platformers are defined by their controls and movement; Grapple Dog has mostly excellent mechanics backing its wacky obstacle courses. While the character’s movements don’t quite meet up to my expectations, the levels are designed around those character limitations in a way that makes the game flow when one gets used to it. There is a more defined jump arc in Grapple Dog with less air control than I would like, leaving me to bop into enemies or fall just over a ledge. Pablo also sticks unnecessarily tight to walls and jumping away from them can be tricky in some situations. Primarily the game is played with jump, grapple, and slam actions each mapped to a button. Chaining those moves together results in a fair amount of player skill expression. Those who enjoy Grapple Dog’s mechanics can test themselves further in the optional time trials. I’ve already found subtle ways to affect Pablo’s trajectory such as throwing out a grapple to push the character slightly further and I expect there to be more techniques to discover for players seeking optimization.  

It helps that there are a few great accessibility options for Grapple Dog and the game is fairly forgiving with checkpoints. Infinite Jumps and No Damage are available, similar to what helped me through multiple playthroughs of Infernax. However, there is no way to reallocate controls and remap buttons as of this writing, which I find to be a strange omission considering how many other great options there are for accessibility.

Characters are expressive and the dialogue is often funny.

Even the level selection screen is full of charm as Pablo sails on a ship full of explorers eager to uncover the secrets of the past. It makes cruising through the levels feel cohesive, even though much of the game’s level design feels like it exists in a video game world unlike say the levels of Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze where platforms appear more natural to the game’s setting. Grapple Dog could probably release a Super Mario Maker-style level maker and it would make sense due to assets having defined properties. The game just feels like a collection of pieces rather than a window into a cartoon world.  

Where Grapple Dog trips me up the most is the momentum-based gameplay. Pablo has to build up to a top running speed, much like Sonic in his classic Sega Genesis outings or how running always felt awkward to me in Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse on SNES. I think including a sprint button might help mitigate this feeling since I would have more control over when Pablo runs but I did get used to it. Throwing Pablo around on a grappling hook can also lead to wild physics issues and awkward angles but again with practice, it’s manageable. There might be a performance issue or two that needs to be ironed out; I played on Switch and there was some slowdown here and there. 

While the backgrounds are nice, levels do feel like a collection of assets rather than a cohesive world.

Another area that I think could use improvement is the game’s soundtrack. The base tunes are actually a lot of fun and maintain the lighthearted energy perfectly. However, each track is short so it results in a lot of repeated measures. There also wasn’t nearly as much variety in tracks from level to level unlike Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, another platformer with fantastic design. Either expanding tracks to be longer before they’re looped or creating more tracks for each level would add just that much more flair to an already stylish game. 

Aside from the music, the sound effects are delightful and remind me a lot of Blue’s Clues. Pablo has these little barks and yelps that sound almost human-made as if someone just made cute noises into a microphone and jazzed them up a little in post-processing. Again, this adds to the game’s overall adorable charm, culminating in the ability to give Pablo a celebratory pat on the head after beating a level. 

Mastering the game and collecting all of the items gives this adventure plenty of reasons to come back to it. I think that fans of 2D platformers especially could find this to be one of the best games of recent memory. There are just a few nitpicks I have with the game’s movement and soundtrack that hold it back from being near perfect. A sequel with just as much polish, more ambitious level visuals, expanded soundtrack, and additional content would be fantastic. 

Overall, Grapple Dog is delightfully charming. 

Pablo is a good dog.

Developers Medallion Games clearly have lots of talent and Super Rare Originals as a publisher clearly have an eye for finding quality games. Both companies are worth following and I hope we get to see more from everyone involved. 

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 8/10

VISUALS - 9/10

SOUND - 7/10

CONTROLS - 8/10

REPLAY VALUE - 8/10

OVERALL - 8/10

More information about Grapple Dog can be found on the official website. A digital Switch copy was provided for the purpose of review. Screenshots were captured using native features of the base Nintendo Switch console. Grapple Dog is currently available on PC and Switch.