Dap

About

"Dap" is a horror-action-adventure game where you guide a group of delicate creatures called Daps through a corrupted, otherworldly forest. Fight off threats, solve puzzles, and avoid the infection that transforms your companions into something alien and terrifying. The goal is to lead them to safety and find a way back home in this eerie and beautiful world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+10

94%

Audience ScoreBased on 103 reviews

graphics27 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features stunning visuals and a unique art style that creates a captivating atmosphere.
Gameplay is engaging and offers a mix of exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving, with moments of tension and surprise.
The sound design and music enhance the eerie and immersive experience, making it a memorable journey.

Gameplay can feel repetitive and lacks variety, leading to moments of frustration.
The save system is punishing, requiring players to restart the game if they miss collectibles, which can be tedious.
Controls can be poorly mapped, making it difficult to perform certain actions fluidly, especially during intense moments.

graphics
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
36%
6%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning and unique art style, which effectively enhances the atmospheric experience. Reviewers highlight the beautiful pixel art, captivating visuals, and immersive sound design, creating a surreal and eerie ambiance that complements the gameplay. While the aesthetics are celebrated, some players note that the visual complexity can occasionally hinder gameplay clarity.
- “The visuals and art style are absolutely outstanding, and I would recommend playing just for that alone.”
- “One of the most beautiful games I've played recently; the visuals and atmosphere are simply outstanding and very unique as well.”
- “The art direction is outstanding; the peculiar visuals and the sound/music create a very intense and captivating atmosphere, both on the relaxing and oppressive ends.”
- “The art style is disarming, and initially led me to believe this game would be a relatively chill romp in the forest with a light spooky atmosphere... I am pleased to inform you that I was wrong about this.”
- “It looks like sprite graphics with higher quality due to some effects that are applied to it.”
- “For someone like me, the quality and beauty of the art style is enough to draw the attention away from it, but it can be a valid complaint for some people.”
gameplay
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
44%
8%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its atmospheric design and unique mechanics, offering a blend of exploration and action that can be both engaging and challenging. While some players appreciate the simplicity and creativity of the mechanics, others find the gameplay lacking in variety and depth, leading to mixed feelings about its overall execution. Despite occasional frustrations and a sense of repetition, many reviewers highlight the enjoyable and immersive experience that the game provides, particularly for those who appreciate its artistic elements.
- “The gameplay is fun and engaging, and throws things at you to keep it fresh.”
- “The atmospheric visuals and sounds of this game are extremely well done, the soundtrack is also outstanding, and the gameplay is very unique and fun.”
- “The gameplay is as challenging as it is intuitive and everything is so bizarre and unique you'll find yourself quickly absorbed in this strange world and its dark but hopeful tale.”
- “Stellar aesthetics and atmosphere, some cool areas to explore, really wanted to love it... but just too little gameplay variety and depth.”
- “The gameplay can feel a little repetitive at times, but the game ends right before it becomes an annoyance.”
- “Gameplay has a flaw because it's not very engaging.”
atmosphere
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
33%
8%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning aesthetics, unique art direction, and captivating sound design, creating a surreal and immersive experience. Reviewers highlight the contrast between the cute visuals and the darker, more foreboding elements, contributing to a rich and intense ambiance that enhances exploration and gameplay. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as both beautiful and haunting, making it a standout feature that deeply engages players.
- “I think that a great deal of artistic value lies in this game's art direction, atmosphere, and sound design.”
- “The art direction is outstanding, the peculiar visuals and the sound/music create a very intense and captivating atmosphere, both on the relaxing and oppressive ends.”
- “Dap is a masterpiece of indie 'alternative' horror, with a fantastic art design, soundtrack, setting, and atmosphere.”
- “The lynchian atmosphere is terrifying at times and really helps motivate you through the story.”
- “This thing drips with an alien atmosphere I have never felt before in a game!”
- “The art style is disarming, and initially led me to believe this game would be a relatively chill romp in the forest with a light spooky atmosphere... I am pleased to inform you that I was wrong about this.”
story
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
46%
11%
The story of the game is described as dark yet hopeful, with a unique and atmospheric narrative that unfolds through exploration and gameplay mechanics. While some players found the storytelling occasionally confusing or overly explicit, many appreciated its immersive quality and intriguing, cryptic elements. Overall, the narrative is seen as a key aspect that enhances the gaming experience, complemented by stunning visuals and sound design.
- “Its story is dark but filled with hope.”
- “The sound design is excellent and the plot is interesting and suitably mysterious.”
- “The visuals are amazing and the story is nice and mysterious.”
- “I found it hard to understand the story.”
- “Maybe the game could've benefited from a little bit more obscure dialogues - as it is, the game characters pretty much explain the story and what it's about to the player, and that kind of detracts from the overall experience.”
- “It's a simple game with simple controls, but I find that the story itself is the main reason to keep playing alongside.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
25%
19%
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric quality, enhancing both the surreal and foreboding elements of the experience. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as outstanding, complementing the unique art style and sound design, which together create an intense and captivating atmosphere. Overall, the music is considered a key component of the game's immersive and enjoyable gameplay.
- “The art direction is outstanding, the peculiar visuals and the sound/music create a very intense and captivating atmosphere, both on the relaxing and oppressive ends.”
- “I really love the sound design, everything from the enemies exploding to the daps communicating to the calm & intense soundtrack, all top-notch!”
- “The game has disarmingly cute graphics, but the environment's monstrous food-chain and the atmospheric music make for a surreal, foreboding experience.”
- “The art direction is outstanding; the peculiar visuals and the sound/music create a very intense and captivating atmosphere, both on the relaxing and oppressive ends.”
- “From enemies' lowly, bass-infested 'dap', demonic versions of the one you'll grow to know and love, to the attacks, the music, everything in this game plays a role, and they're all played perfectly.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the inability to skip cutscenes on subsequent playthroughs, which can detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the depth that exploration offers, the repetitive nature of grinding can become frustrating, leading to a mixed reception. Overall, the grinding elements could benefit from improvements to enhance player enjoyment.
- “And as you cannot skip cutscenes even on a second playthrough, it just feels...unnecessarily tedious.”
- “Were this tediousness removed or mitigated, I would gladly recommend it.”
- “This is annoying because you can easily miss things if you don't fully explore them, which becomes kind of tedious after a while.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game demonstrates excellent stability, running smoothly on the Steam Deck without any reported bugs or glitches.
- “Runs great on Steam Deck.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its touching story, which resonates deeply with players and evokes strong feelings throughout the gameplay experience.
- “The game features a touching story that resonates deeply with players.”
- “I was moved to tears by the emotional depth of the characters and their journeys.”
- “The narrative beautifully captures the complexities of love and loss, leaving a lasting impact.”