Ever thought you were clumsy? Well, after playing Octodad, you may think again. One of the latest indie releases to be generating quite the buzz is Young Horses’ Octodad: Deadliest Catch, and after playing it for only a few minutes youll see why: it’s pure genius. 
As the eponymous Octodad, an octopus disguised as a man who somehow fools the world into believing he’s human (so much so he marries a wife and has kids, go figure that one out) you have to perform everyday chores and tasks without raising people’s suspicion. This is achieved via a simple, but tricky, control system to manipulate each of Octodad’s tentacles (which he’s arranged into arms and legs) into walking and handling objects. Walk mode locks you to his legs, and by using the left and right mouse buttons with mouse movements, you can move them around, which stick to any surface or object. With the click of a button you go to grab mode and can control his arms, so he can grab, move and manipulate objects. You can also throw objects with momentum by releasing them as you move Octodad’s arms around. 
This is all made possible by the excellent physics engine that makes Octodad into a bumbling rag doll that sticks to anything, and even walking in a straight line, which you have to try and do sometimes, is tricky, and you can easily end up wrecking entire rooms by flipping and flopping around, with humorous results. Now, you may think a game where even something as simple as walking isn’t all that appealing, but you’d be so, so wrong.
Octodad is a game that flies in the face of conventional design, and does so successfully. Here you don’t learn to double-jump, use magic or perform complex fighting combos, instead you learn how to walk, run and pick up objects to perform mundane things like weeding the garden, buy groceries and make coffee, and it’s fantastic. 
It’s also one of the funniest games we’ve ever played. You’ll be constantly laughing out loud while stumbling around trying to act normal, we guarantee it. The controls aren’t broken, by the way, they’re the whole challenge. Indeed, for the most part, they’re why the game Is so enjoyable, not to mention charming. The Pixar-style visual and audio design is great, with bold, simple looks and a merry musical score backing the action. The rag doll physics work impressively well, especially given the amount that’s asked of them, and we can imagine a slew of games emulating this in the near future (we’d put money on a drunk and disorderly title appearing soon). 
If there are shortcomings, it’s that some challenges are a little too tricky too soon. An early escape from a sushi chef is one example, and is such a change up in gameplay that it throws quite a curveball. With a few tries it’s not too much of a problem, but Octodad is at it’s best when the challenges are slower paced. 
This is a definite must buy indie title for anyone who likes to a laugh, and isn’t afraid to try something a little different.
