Dolphin Swim
- April 10, 2019
- Marshall Latimer
Get on SteamDolphin Swim. A simple experience in seeing how long you can last navigating a zig zag path.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a variety of difficulty levels, allowing players to choose a relaxing or challenging experience.
- It features a cute art style and occasional events that add some visual variety.
- The game is free-to-play with no microtransactions, making it accessible to everyone.
- The graphics and overall visual quality are very low, often described as outdated and unappealing.
- Controls are clunky and can lead to frustration, with many players experiencing issues like frame drops.
- The constant addition of new achievements makes it impossible for completionists to achieve 100%, leading to player dissatisfaction.
- graphics7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are polarizing, with some praising its cute, dorky art style and retro pixel aesthetics, while others criticize the minimalistic design and eye-straining backgrounds. Overall, opinions vary widely, with some players appreciating the artistic effort and others finding the visuals lacking and detrimental to gameplay.
“The game has a dorky but cute art style, and there are occasional events that will change the look up a bit.”
“Good graphics, good music, good gameplay.”
“With the ever-increasing number of AAA developers showing off visuals and features that don't make it into the final game, it's a refreshing change to see a developer who has wholeheartedly poured his life and soul into the end product.”
“The game features obsolete retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
“The graphics are minimalistic, and the gameplay is simply stress-inducing.”
“The graphics of the background hurt the eyes, the controls are clunky, and most times you die is the result of frame drops.”
- music6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's music is minimal, with no real soundtrack during gameplay, relying instead on sound effects that can create a musical feel when moving quickly. While some players find the main menu music annoying and the overall sound design lacking, others appreciate the sound effects and graphics. Overall, opinions on the music and art direction vary, with some players expressing personal preferences against them.
“During gameplay, there's no music, just the recurrent swoosh sound of changing direction, though the sound effect has a few variations.”
“Good graphics, good music, good gameplay.”
“The main menu's music is annoying, the main game lacks music, the graphics are minimalistic, and the gameplay is simply stress-inducing.”
“During gameplay there's no music, just the recurrent swoosh sound of changing direction, though the sound effect has a few variations.”
“There's no real music, but every time you turn, some sounds play, which ends up sounding a bit like music when you make a lot of moves quickly.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some users finding it stress-inducing and lacking engaging music, while others appreciate the graphics and overall gameplay experience. The absence of background music during play is noted as a drawback, despite some positive sound effects.
“Good graphics, good music, good gameplay.”
“The main menu's music is annoying, the main game lacks music, the graphics are minimalistic, and the gameplay is simply stress-inducing.”
“During gameplay, there's no music, just the recurrent swoosh sound of changing direction, though the sound effect has a few variations.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is completely free, which contrasts with the common criticism of Gamemaker Studio being used for low-effort cash grabs.
“Very often, game maker studios are used to create shovelware and lazy cash grabs, although in this case, the game is completely free.”
- story1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game lacks a traditional story, focusing instead on pure, repetitive arcade gameplay, which some players appreciate as it removes the potential for a flawed plot.
“There is no story, therefore eliminating any chance for the plot to be bad; it is just pure, repetitive, arcade fun!”
“The narrative feels disjointed and lacks any real depth, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“Character development is almost non-existent, leaving players with little to connect to.”
